Ali Zafar

Ali Zafar is an avant garde artist of this day and age, a creative force who has spent more than two decades leading movements, breaking barriers and rewriting records. His is a story of resilience, sheer hard work and unwavering consistency. A self made man and a devoted family man, with spirituality as the core essence of everything he creates, he is a complete entertainer in the fullest sense of the word. He is also one of very few artists in the world to work at the highest level across so many crafts. Singer, songwriter, composer, producer, actor, filmmaker and painter, he writes, composes and produces his own music, writes, produces and stars in his own films, and paints his own canvases. His is a journey that began far from the spotlight. He started out as a young painter, sketching portraits of guests in a hotel lobby to find his way, an artist in the most literal sense long before the world knew his name. On nothing but raw talent and self belief, he rose from those humble beginnings to become one of South Asia's most prominent and versatile artists. He arrived in 2003 with his debut album Huqa Pani, which sold over five million copies and became one of the biggest selling records in Pakistan's history, taking him to the very top almost overnight and earning him the title "Prince of Pop." More than two decades on, he has sustained that place through relentless consistency, creativity and craft.