Ali Zafar

Biography:  Ali Zafar (Urdu, Punjabi: علی ظفر) also known as Prince of Pop, is a Pakistani musician, actor, painter and model probably most noted around South Asia for his music, including his hit songs like "Channo", "Rangeen", "Chal Dil Merey", "Dekha", "Masty" and "Sajania". He started his singing career with his hit song "Jugnuon se bhar le aanchal" in the film Shararat directed by Pakistani actress and director Samina Peerzada. Zafar recently won the "Youth Icon" award from the Lux Style Awards 2007, in Malaysia. Early life and career Ali Zafar was born on May 18 in Lahore, Pakistan to two professors at the University of the Punjab . He initially attended the C.A.A. Public School and later moved to the Beaconhouse School System from where he topped in his matric examinations. He later graduated from the National College of Arts as a painter in 2002 with honors. Before entering the Pakistani musical scene, Ali Zafar worked as a model for several commercial advertisement besides acting in television. He worked in the Pakistani television serial Lunda-Bazar, Kanch Ke Par and in the teenage sitcom College Jeans. He was also in the music video of Preeto sung by Abrar-ul-Haq. Music career Ali Zafar made his debut as a musician with the album Huqa Pani, released in Pakistan in 2003 and worldwide in 2005. The album was an instant hit, selling over 600,000 worldwide and winning several major awards and nominations. It also put Ali into the league of the most popular artists ever to have come out of Pakistan with a massive fan following locally and internationally. It was described by The Hindu as "take a Kishore Kumar-like voice, club it with yuppie Ibiza-ish electronic beats, and add a bit of nostalgic lyrics". His comparison to Kishore Kumar was frequently made initially but with time he proved to be perhaps the most versatile singer in the modern generation with a distinct vocal tone and qualities, specially during his folk and Sufi renditions in the "Coke Studio Sessions", where he surprised his audiences with live renditions of difficult notes with much ease and ranging his singing from pop to folk to semi-classical. His new songs, namely "Allah Hu", "Yaar Dhadhi Ishq" (a cover), "Nahin Ray Nahin" and "Daastan-e-Ishq" won the hearts of millions all over the world once again and earned him a new era of fan following. Ali won award for "Best Album" category at the Lux Style Awards in 2004 for his massive hit album Huqa Pani In addition to the album's popularity being reflected in the shops and by critics, it has been widely claimed that Himesh Reshammiya plagiarised one of the most well-known tracks from the album, Rangeen, for the song Dillagi Mein Jo . Soon Pritam too copied his track "Channo" as "Chori ki Baatein"(Fight Club). Ali Zafar launched his second album "Masty" nationwide in Pakistan in November 2006. He has since released four videosfrom the album called "Masty", "Sajania", "Dekha" and "Aasmaan". A press conference for the release of the album was held in Lahore. The album has been released by Fire Records. Ali Zafar released his second album "Masty" in India in February 2007. The album contains two additional remix tracks and has been launched by "FrankFinn Records". Ali recently released his third and long awaited single, "Dekha", off his second album, which was the most expensive music video of Pakistan, costing more than seven million rupees but was a failure on charts. The video was shot in Malaysia, produced by the Lux Company, and has the famous Pakistani actresses/models, Reema Khan, Meera, and Amina Haq, starring in it. Ali has a multitalented personality besides a singer, painter, model and an actor, he proved himself as a good music director and producer by directing and producing his music video "Ek Pal" from his first album Huqa Pani which was a big hit nationwide. Personal life Ali Zafar married long-time-fiance Ayesha Fazli on July 28, 2009 in Lahore, Pakistan.