We just spoke to Ali Safina as he visited FUCHSIA HQ and asked all that has been on audiences minds about FairyTale, Kuch Ankahi & more…Read on for exclusives!
Ace actor, Ali Safina is an enigma of versatility – nailing both his much lauded comic roles and his nuanced serious ones as well, what more could a fan ask? He chooses his scripts quite selectively as per him and we definitely see that in his rare appearances. He is widely appreciated for his impeccable comic timing and seamless transition between roles. Audiences agree, watching him perform is a treat!
A mechanical engineer, Ali holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering, however he ventured in the entertainment industry, starting off as a video and disc jockey and then a host at MTV Pakistan (The good ol’ days) before finally embarking on his acting journey. He has performed in many acclaimed projects with his debut in PTV’s “Daag e Nadama”. The same year, he also acted in a Geo TV comedy drama “Takkay Ki Ayegi Baraat”. The drama was a sequel to hit drama “Dolly ki Ayegi Baraat” and another “Annie Ki Ayegi Baraat”. He achieved gradual and much lauded fame by playing the lead role of Takka. He has further acted in hits (among others): Suno Chanda 2 – the much hyped sequel of Suno Chanda airing on Hum TV alongside Farhan Saeed and Iqra Aziz.
But his claim to fame presently, has been the recently watched Ramzan drama, Fairytale that many deemed to be an absolute delight to watch. Ali Safina deserves all the credit that he gets and some more for his characterization as A.K.Khan. From the multi-layered, complex Saif in Kuch Ankahi who has many shades of grey to a shady comical, sketchy, fun showman in FairyTale. The comedy and complexity in his characters shine through, definitely making one believe that there is nobody out there who could do it better.
The complete OST is yet to be released
Ali Safina – Kuch Ankahi
We had a quick chat with him on his character choices, snapping out of character, being quite different as a person to all his popular roles and his advice to Saif, Kuch Ankahi cast members, hope for Saif and lastly, on fatherhood.
What He Loved About AK In FairyTale – Experience On Set & With The Cast!
One thing Ali Safina loved about his character, AK in Fairytale, was that he was very spontaneous and unpredictable, the shayar/host type role was a first for him and how “ghalib kay ishaar bolnay ka maza aya with a comic twist.” He also acted out a funny dialogue from the drama: “apnay alfaz main itna zehr kahan say laatay hou, kya roz saanp fry karkay khaatay hou?” On working with a fresh cast on Fairytale, he reminisced how it was excellent working on the set with a lot of people for the first time, with Hamza Sohail, Sehar, Adnan, Aena, Amna, Saman Ansari, Salim saab and the cutest dado. Ali went on to say there were all only good vibes and zero problematic behavior!
What Is The Real Ali Safina Like & How He Snaps Out Of His Drama Avatar
It’s no surprise how Ali’s comic roles are hugely popular thus we had to ask, is the real Ali Safina just as comical in real life or not? To which he let us know, he is jovial, easy to approach, but ultimately an introvert and you won’t see him out there cracking jokes. He quipped and credited his comic popularity to good training! Getting out of character can be a real struggle for actors and everyone deals with the challenge in several different ways, Ali for one prefers to sleep it off! At times when he goes home and feels like the character is still lingering around in him – it’s a sign to shower it off and take a nap to snap out of it. Sometimes people end up not understanding and thinking he might be rude. As a result, in the morning, he could still be in that zone, seldom drained and sometimes totally fresh.
Kuch Ankahi: Cast Members & Best Memory!
Kuch Ankahi has given some fun memories to Ali, we did a quick fun trivia asking him who among his cast members he would wake up in case of an emergency? And this is what he had to tell us!
No surprises – He chose Mira Sethi! He even wanted to add Nadeem Baig who has been his mentor and source of advice, he added Sajal Aly because even though it’s their first time working together, she is a very helpful person, also Irsa Ghazal because she keeps telling him to take his magnesium and zinc vitamins. Hmm what’s the secret behind those? We’ll have to ask Irza Ghazal herself before we start popping some ourselves?
The best memory for him on the sets was the night they shot the ost – he was clueless about how many shots he would have (little did he and we know). He decided he might not be considered and it would be just the hero, heroine. Well, Ali you are no less than any hero! To his surprise, director Nadeem Baig called him towards the end to give some shots! He described how it was late August/September with a romance-laden post monsoon weather, he gave his shots and let loose to unleash his inner hero – he also let us know how the complete OST is yet to be released. What? We didn’t even know we would get another version, wait for it guys and gals!
His Advice & Hope For Saif in Kuch Ankahi!
Saif’s character will come full circle, though we mustn’t expect rainbows or butterflies but it will be in line with the character’s arc and give us sufficient closure.
Ali Safina – Kuch Ankahi
Wise words for Saif on Kuch Ankahi? As Ali Safina, his advice to Saif would be to: “run away from all the women in your life currently, save yourself and just run, come back when you think you can handle it!” He was also careful enough to add a disclaimer: it’s only because the main women in his life (his mother & Shagufta) are quite toxic.
Lastly, the question on audiences’ minds – is there any hope for Saif, since he is choosing to remain in a toxic relationship/place, is it possible to heal and break away from those toxic patterns or not? Very candidly, he told us these toxic patterns don’t change overnight, the most important thing is transparency – in the beginning Saif’s character was difficult to decipher, whether it was negative, positive, black and white, or grey? It was opaque, no light was passing through but now it is more evident to us and him, what he’s all about. He gave us hope saying Saif’s character will come full circle, though we mustn’t expect rainbows or butterflies but it will be in line with the character’s arc and give us sufficient closure.
Being A Father
Ali Safina is also a father to a lovely 7 year old. We wanted to know if there are some things he does consciously as a father, somethings he wants to do differently. How his dad inspired him on parenthood? He responds that watching his father raise his sister was a prime example and now that he is a father himself he tries to follow in his footsteps. He has seen his father treat him, his brother and sister all the same without differentiation. Whether in terms of education, rules, extra curricular, it was all equal.
And that, dear folks, is Ali Safina aka Saif ur Rehman aka A.K.Khan and more in a nutshell! Tell us what you find out about him from this chat that you didn’t know before!
Tags: ali safinaEntertainmentFairy TaleKuch Ankahipakistani dramas
