Ali Abbas Zafar's Dehradun home, which he built from scratch, doubles up as his writing pad; filmmaker has finished scripting Katrina Kaif's superhero film there

Ali Abbas Zafar's Dehradun home, which he built from scratch, doubles up as his writing pad; filmmaker has finished scripting Katrina Kaif's superhero film there
Ali-Abbas-Zafar
Ali Abbas Zafar brought in Eid at his new bungalow up in the hills, which boasts of a sound mixing, editing studio; director locked script of his next from new ‘writing pad’

Last year, on this day, Ali Abbas Zafar was gearing up for his Eid release, the Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif-starrer period-drama, Bharat. This year, the writer-director brought in the festival quietly at his new home, nestled amidst the mountains and a 45-minute drive from Dehradun airport. He moved in there with his parents in March, just before the nationwide lockdown was imposed.

“I was lucky to get out of Mumbai early. I left Dehradun in 1999 to go to Delhi University and since then, I have never spent so much time at a stretch with my mom and dad here. It is a blessing in disguise,” exults Ali, admitting that he hadn’t taken a break since Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011). “I have got some much-needed sleep, fresh air and lots of time to write.”

Facade of the Dehradun bungalow; the living room; Ali shows view from balcony at the back of the house; the bedroom

Facade of the Dehradun bungalow; the living room; Ali shows view from balcony at the back of the house; the bedroom


The house is Ali’s gift to his parents. “My parents, like me, were raised in Dehradun and this town is close to our hearts. I bought a plot of land here after Sultan and constructed this house through the making of Tiger Zinda Hai, Bharat and a show that I wrapped up recently,” he shares, informing that he designed the dream home from scratch—acquiring land to finalising the interiors. “Mom and dad are very happy. It is a good change for us to be in the middle of the mountains and so close to nature.”

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Once normalcy returns, Ali will fly back to Mumbai to start work on his upcoming films. Ask him if the house would be his holiday destination and he laughs, “I have written all my films either in Dehradun or Mussoorie. I cut myself off from Mumbai to write peacefully here. So, yes, this will be my writing pad.”

I was lucky to get out of Mumbai early. I left Dehradun in 1999 to go to Delhi University and since then, I have never spent so much time at a stretch with my mom and dad here. It is a blessing in disguise. I have got some much-needed sleep, fresh air and lots of time to write.

Ali Abbas Zafar

The filmmaker admits that the house has been designed in a way to enable him to work on post-production, too. “There is a sound mixing studio here. I can also edit a film in the house. It’s very simple, all you need is a machine and the hard drive. This is like my back office out of Mumbai,” he shares.

Ali has been writing scripts during the lockdown. “My next is a superhero film with Katrina (Kaif). Recently, I locked that script and it will go on the floors once the lockdown ends. I have completed the first draft of another film as well, and hopefully that script will be ready soon,” he says, adding that once back in action, he will go on a recce for the Katrina film. “There’s a lot of prep required because of the kind of action involved and I am in touch with an international team over video calls. I’m also doing script readings with my actors and chatting with the production designer. There’s a lot happening.”

Bollywood stars learn new things during the time of self-isolation

Learner at heart!
Katrina Kaif
Sidharth Malhotra
Deepika Padukone
Shah Rukh Khan

Learner at heart!

Amid the outbreak of coronavirus that has claimed seven lives in India so far, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has announced imposition of Section 144 in the state. While the Bollywood stars have self-quarantined themselves, they have also found a way to keep themselves and hone new talents busy during this testing period.

Here are few stars who are learning new things while staying at home:

Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif was all set to meet her fans on the big screen with her new film Sooryavanshi on March 24 before COVID-19 entered India. While the situation changed, she is still finding ways to entertain her fans in these tense times. The actress has recently shared that she is learning how to play the guitar. The actress shared a short video of her lesson but kept the audio on a mute. She promised she would hopefully share another video with audio in the future. Kat wrote, "Work in progress sound coming soon in a few days hopefully can’t let down @ankurtewari #staysafe."

Sidharth Malhotra

Sidharth Malhotra is now polishing his cooking skills. The actor shared a video of trying his hands at making butter garlic prawn for the first time. "Well, it’s never too late to try something new! Here’s #MyAttemptAt cooking Butter Garlic Prawns for the first time which surprisingly turned out pretty well. Make the most of this time guys and keep trying new things," Sid captioned the video. While it looked tasty, we wonder what's in his menu next!


Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone is keeping herself busy with new things these days. While sometimes she is cleaning her wardrobe, other times she is either taking care of her skin and eating fruits. But her husband Ranveer Singh shared that the actress is now busy learning how to play the piano. Ranveer shared a picture of Deepika playing the piano and captioned it, How are you guys spending your quarantine days? Eating, sleeping, exercising, watching movies, and DP is teaching herself how to play the piano."

Shah Rukh Khan

Bollywood's Badshah Shah Rukh Khan also spending his time by learning to play some tunes on the guitar. The actor played a tune for his fans in his coronavirus video and revealed that he is learning some more tunes and will soon play for his fans.


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Salman Khan's Dabangg gets an animated series

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