Ali Zafar is beaming with pride after bagging the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award on the doyen of cinema’s birth anniversary this year. Having flown down especially from Dubai and joining stalwarts like Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Vidya Balan and Ekta Kapoor – Ali was presented a trophy for his outstanding service to the film industry. The coveted 143rd Dadasaheb Phalke Awards were presented, honouring artists, behind the camera as well as on screen for their significant contribution to cinema. An elated Ali said, “This is a huge honour and I’m still very small for it. Dadasaheb was the Father of Indian cinema and I’d like to thank everyone for thinking me worthy of this. I’m overwhelmed and still falling short of words.” The occasion also gave Ali an opportunity to meet the legendary Dilip Kumar. “Dilipsaab for me has always been more than just an inspiration as an actor. He’s an ideology more than an idol. I pray for his health,” he said. Interestingly, Ali is the first multi-faceted personality (besides being an actor, he is a lyricist, composer and singer too) from Pakistan to have been bestowed with this honour. After having won laurels for his performance in ‘Tere Bin Laden’, ‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’ and ‘London Paris New York’, the actor is all set to show his funny side in David Dhawan’s ‘Chashme Buddoor’ where he essays the part played by Farooque Shaikh in the original.
