Ali Zafar explains Maya Ali’s correlation with ‘Julie’

Ali Zafar, everyone who knows him will agree, is one of the most charming superstars in the country. He knows how to engage an audience and woo his fans. He’s also quite the lady magnet and heart throb. Ali is balancing his inner Chi these days and you’ll find him in total Zen mode, with beads in his wrist and Shifu in his words of wisdom. While we love him in this new phase (for which he’s up at the crack of dawn to meditate) we also can’t forget the Channos, Sajania’s Madhubalas in his life, especially since he just sang a song about Julie. Now who is Julie?

We met up for lunch at Flo and of course, I asked point blank. Who is Julie; is this an endearment for Maya Ali, his current co-star in Teefa in Trouble, who he speaks very highly of? This is what he said about Julie…

“Julie, more than a song, is an idea and an ideal,” he replied, philosophically as he sipped on his mint tea. “That real happiness and peace lies in human values and relationships based on love and care, grace and gratitude and not the blind quest to acquire fame, money, power or social standing. Unfortunately, most of us (driven by our egos) have been influenced by the system to think that the measure of success is determined by your bank balance, the car you drive or your picture in a magazine holding a branded bag or an expensive watch. Subsequently we tend to choose our friendships and relationships that serve such pursuits. Whereas all the great people we remember through history are not known for their hunger to acquire any of this. They are known for their pursuit that determined how many lives they touched and changed during their time through this life. And that for me, is the only measure of success.”

“The sooner we realise this the better,” he continued. “Or be prepared to live with the vacuum that refuses to fill itself even after acquiring all the worldly gains and pleasures and then we keep wondering why so many of the “successful” people in the world need drugs or stimulants to feel happy or valiums to sleep. It’s time for all of us to wake up or live a lie.”

What about Maya? Is she also a ‘Julie’ I asked, equally philosophically…

“From what I have learnt about her she is far from being a Julie,” he said. “When I met her she had just lost her father. I saw a girl struggling and working hard to give comfort to her single mother and family and trying to maintain a balance. I highly value such people. She’s been a delight to work with; she has curiosity to learn, not just about work but life. Very hard working and grounded. I feel she is going to reach heights that even she doesn’t know of. I hope she wouldn’t let her innocence be corrupted.”

That’s that. Now we know. I was also lucky enough to see some stills from Teefa and I must say Ali and Maya do look good together. Looking at them I would have thought that Maya was Julie, and that too the type that you’re locked in a room with – ‘Na kuch tere buss main Julie, Na kuch mere buss main…” – if you know what I mean. But nope, we’re in Nirvana here.

Hear the song again and see if Ali’s words hold true.