Ali Fazal: Time for Indian Cinema to Explode Onto Global Stage

Actor Ali Fazal, who played one of the title roles in Stephen Frears’ directorial “Victoria & Abdul” with veteran actor Judi Dench, feels that now is the time for Indian cinema to make its presence felt like never before on global platforms. Would he agree that this is the time in Bollywood when most of the “outsiders” are doing phenomenally well including the actors?

“They segregated people from the outside but your question is also typecasting the working class... there is no inside. It’s time for Indian cinema to explode into the global stage. Talent will not be avoided,” Ali said in an e-mail interview.

Ali, who impressed the audience with his roles in films like “3 Idiots”, “Fukrey” and “Happy Bhag Jayegi”, made his Hollywood debut with “Fast and Furious 7” featuring Hollywood stars like Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson.

Talking about doing diverse roles, he said: “Earlier it wasn’t deliberate as I did what came my way. But yes, now I choose unpredictability as that’s the key to my creative juices.”

It’s not just his acting career, he is also one of the fittest actors in Bollywood. Ali is trained by Shivoham - a celebrity fitness trainer and brand ambassador of SF Health Tech, which is a new fitness equipment manufacturing brand founded by Sacket Kamdar and Varun Rode along with Shivoham.

“A lot of my discipline came from CrossFit... by the man who introduced CrossFit to India - Shivoham. According to me, CrossFit uses a lot of your own body and equipment as accessories,” he said.

But what does he have to say about this entire obsession with fitness that is making stars lookout for roles that make them look good?

“It’s obsessive in all the wrong sense. Many people forget about the fitness part and jump to the perfect cosmetic body. It’s empty. I can outrun a lot of eight pack holders in Bollywood. Put them on the field or the court or the outdoor. An actor has to be ready to get into all shapes and sizes and be able to master the subject,” he said.