Islamabad: (PTI) Pakistani actor Ali Zafar`s impassioned plea for peace on an Indian TV show while promoting his latest film ‘London, New York, Paris’, hasn`t gone down well with his Pakistani fans.
Zafar cried on film critic Komal Nahta`s show, saying he never felt like an outsider in India and how well Bollywood has been treating him.
“I tell people back home that I cannot express in words how well I am treated in India… for a boy like me this was beyond my expectations,” he said on the show wiping his tears.
Zafar had difficulty answering the host`s next question (“you did not lose your innocence”) and his reply seemed totally off the mark.
“…If u give love to the universe you only get love… if hate is all you have inside you, you only get hate… I don`t know why people don`t love, all you need to do is love… we`ve wasted so much time hating each other.”
Asked if he was talking in general or in the context of Indo-Pakistan relations, Zafar said, “What happens in the world is people cut each others` throats, give sadness to each other, the two countries are also part of this… we`ve lost too much in all this… The future generations deserve much better.
“We need to evolve faster and get humanity out of its misery… we should get out of these petty issues. Getting tired…” he added.
Zafar said it was his heartfelt desire that the two countries learn to coexist and believe in humanity more than anything else. His latest film has received mixed reviews and this interview has not exactly earned him many fans.
Pakistani websites are brimming with comments making fun of the actor. “I agree with peace, but those tears were fake. Ali Bhai ka best performance of all time. Oscar belongs 2 Ali Zafar…” read a comment on the website siasat.pk.
Others accused him of being an “opportunist”, “money maker” and angling for an “Indian passport”.
“He is one of those people, who would do anything for money, literally anything”; “he can cry all he wants, everyone knows the true face of Ali Zafar. It starts with money and ends with money for him. He will sell his soul for money” and “peace is good for business” read some of the comments.
While Zafar himself has been retweeting and endorsing kind comments on his movie, Twitter users are calling him a “drama queen”.
“..now we can actually call him `actor` after this performance!” reads a tweet. Another Twitter user said this interview would not help him save “London, Paris, New York”.
Zafar started working at the age of 18 and used to make portraits in a hotel lobby before striking big in the world of music and then Bollywood.
His tears failed to impress several Indians fans too. Incidentally this isn`t the first time Zafar has cried on camera.
