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Zulfi?s royal rendezvous
Zulfi Syed on his next release, the Akbar Khan directed Taj Mahal, life and love...
The nervousness and shy smile is gone. In its place is self-assurance of a different kind. Model- turned-actor Zulfi Syed may have had a disastrous debut with Pyaasa, two years ago, where he was paired with ex-beauty queen Yukta Mookhey but now, he’d rather not remember that phase.
After that followed another immensely forgettable film, Chupke Se with Masumi Makhija and of course, that bit role in the recently released Wajahh. But, like he says, it’s all in the past.
Now, it’s a different story. He says that he wasn’t signing any new films because he’s been busy shooting for Akbar Khan’s magnum opus, the period saga, Taj Mahal – An Eternal Love Story, where he plays Shah Jahan. Now, finally, the film is complete and Zulfi is relieved.
“The film took two whole years to shoot and it’s been difficult for me because all I had to look back at were my earlier two films which didn’t do well and I couldn’t give time to any other films.
“Now, you’ll see me in better films with roles that I’m excited about,” says the actor who’s known for his devastatingly boyish good looks and that lean mean body more than anything else.
Taj Mahal, which has a mammoth cast, is quite clearly the film that Zulfi has pinned his hopes on and he says it was a ‘mind-blowing’ experience shooting for the film.
“It’s expected to release right after Eid, that is in November, and I’m hoping that audiences will appreciate the hard work that’s gone into making a period film of this scale,” says the actor who’s maintained a ‘clean good boy’ image so far despite being part of the film industry for quite some time now. But that’s also because at heart he’s still the same quiet Bangalore lad who tried his hand at modelling for a lark and ended up becoming one of the best known faces on the ramp. Getting into films was the next logical step because, like Zulfi says, ‘a person has to grow.’
Considering that the actors in Taj Mahal had to speak in Urdu, it was a cakewalk for Zulfi since it is his mother-tongue. The get-up, the costumes and the huge expanse of the film ensured that it would be an experience of a different kind to shoot for a film of a bygone era and Zulfi says he’s very excited by the end product.
“Working with actors like Manisha Koirala has been great and Akbar Khan is a very patient director so that made my job easy,” says Zulfi who isn’t as much of a publicity hound as most others in his profession are, so he has been out of the public eye of late. “I thought it was better to wait till my film was near its release date and also because I was devoting all my energies to the film.”
What next, after Taj Mahal? “Well, I’m doing a film called Achanak where I play a cop and there are other as yet untitled films in the fray,” says Zulfi who believes that going slow and steady will help him win the race. He says he’s looking to do as varied roles as possible. But sometimes, aren’t his good looks a drawback since he gets only lover-boy roles these days? “I don’t think so. I know I can experiment with different roles only when filmmakers have the faith that I can pull it off. That will take some time and I have a long way to go. After all, this is just the beginning and I’m a patient man.” Point noted.
When he’s not facing the arc lights, he likes to workout at the gym or laze around at home. “I’m also trying to do the odd modelling assignment at times if it’s a really good brand. I enjoy travelling but since I do that anyway on the job, I don’t zip off too much in my free time,” explains Zulfi.
As we wrap up, I ask him one last question – for his numerous female fans. Is he seeing someone special? “Well, not really,” he grins. But then he’s always been very diplomatic!
