‘Work-life balance’ is a weighty term, you see. Self-professed mindset gurus and hustle culture denouncers will fight it out unto perpetuity, only to conclude sans verdict. Such is the nature of work, especially if it boasts of an overlap with one’s passions. Especially true for an actor with a calibre like our cover star Ali Fazal, the boy-next-door who has shared screen space with the likes of Dame Judi Dench and Gal Gadot. Fazal is a living example of balance shrouded in glitz. He walks into the ELLE India office, running a slight 15 minutes late as he was on daddy duty, on a slightly gloomy Saturday morning, walking the corridors reverberating with chatter from the busy day before.
“Shooting at the ELLE India office was fancy. My first impression: a typical office comprising mostly grids and lines, so there’s only that much you can say about it, but it’s more about the people who sit in those chairs and desks,” he said in a voice note that captured his initial impressions. I briefly wondered if he glanced at my messy table laden with candles and a pot planter I’ve been meaning to take home since 1924. “Once we started shooting it became a very cosy space and in fact, it felt like I was invading that space because each desk had its own little features, memories and experiences all pasted alongside their respective laptops and workstations. I’m really glad that ELLE gave me that space to be creative with the whole team. That was really cool,” he said.
Fazal is still reeling from the hearty outpouring of all the love received for the third instalment of Amazon India’s very popular Mirzapur series, especially for his heartfelt portrayal of the spirited character Guddu Pandit. Reflecting on the camaraderie on set, he says, “All the moments have been memorable, from my friendship with Vikrant (Massey) all the way from season one to Divyenndu, Abhishek Banerjee, Shweta Tripathi, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Pankaj (Tripathi), whom I’ve known since Fukrey. I always have fun with them. This gang really stuck with me.”
Having worked on multiple interesting films outside India, he stresses on the feigned differences between the two landscapes and credits the expanse of economies as the deciding factor.“The scale suddenly skyrockets, because you’re catering to 200-plus countries, with a worldwide release. My big takeaway was that the detailing of the costumes, from Victoria & Abdul (2017) to Death on the Nile (2022) were sincerely period authentic. They even refused to use modern hooks inside. For Death on the Nile, I must have gone through some 30-plus suits. Each time the director would stop between shots and ask for even the collar pin’s colour to be fixed.” The sheer attention to detail is commendable. “And Judi, ah. Judi is Judi because Judi is Judi and Judi is just so cool. I absolutely love her and she deserves everything she’s gotten and continues to do. She’s one of the best co-actors of my life. I will cherish that forever.”
Amidst all this talk of acting and favourite co-stars, an intrusive question came up in my mind and Fazal put me at ease enough to ask him: Tell me about your hair, Ali? There’s evidently been quite an evolution. He says, “Yes, hair does hold memories. And with cinema, those memories get captured. The looks get captured and imprinted. My short-haired look as Guddu Pandit for ‘Mirzapur’ became a statement of sorts. This year, in a lot of things I’m doing, my hair is very long. It’s been the longest actually. It all tells a different story. And sure, styling becomes even harder, especially in cinema.”
From hair, the topic then shifts to men’s fashion in 2024 and he confesses his disdain for standardised sizes being the norm. Fazal’s affinity for yesteryear tailoring shines through. “Owning suits, engaging with tailors, we unfortunately don’t do that anymore. We’re so sucked into the ready-made world and just go for a large, XL, medium or small. Individuality can never be standardised,” he says.
Ali is currently busy being a father to his one-month-old daughter (“It’s a deeply personal journey and I am discovering things” he tells us when we ask him about the new chapter in his life) and also on his production projects. “We at Pushing Buttons Studios started producing as of last year. We’re on a great run, which I’m really excited about, with our first film Girls Will Be Girls slated to release in India at the end of this year. If not acting then maybe you could find me directing, but it would take a lot for me to direct. It’s truly a deep dive into the world you are planning to create and lead an entire bunch of people. I want to, one day, but I think I need the right tools as I’m still learning. So, I’ll stick to acting and producing for now,” he shares candidly.
ELLE India Editor: Ainee Nizami Ahmedi; Videographer: Mourya Dandu; Photographer: Soujit Das; Jr. Fashion Editor: Shaeroy Chinoy; Asst. Art Director: Sanjana Suvarna; Cover Design: Sakshi Badani; Bookings Coordinator: Anushka Patil; Hair & Makeup: Arbaj Ali; Artists PR Agency: Hardly Anonymous Communications; Assisted by: Vaishnavi Misra (styling) Khushi Nagpal, Zehra Ahmedi (Bookings)
