I would like to come back as the greatest lover in the world: Ali Zafar

Pop singer Ali Zafar on expensive jeans, nuclear weapons and honouring his promises...

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

To be able to find joy in sadness.

What is your greatest fear?

To start fearing things.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

My silence for others.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Not reasoning, or questioning things.

What is your greatest extravagance?

A pair of jeans. Could’ve bought five for that price.

What is your current state of mind?

Contemplative, peaceful and hopeful.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Pride.

On what occasion do you lie?

When truth would be destructive.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?

I can’t complain and be unthankful for whatever little I have.

Which living person do you most despise?

All those who despise the less fortunate.

What is the quality you most like in a man?

To think beyond his manhood.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

That she can produce an entire human being.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

Hmmm.

When and where were you happiest?

When my son was born.

Which talent would you most like to have?

To be able to dismantle an atomic bomb.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Be more talkative.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Sticking to my promises to myself and making my parents proud of me.

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

The greatest lover in the world.

Where would you most like to live?

Where I have my rights and my freedom.

What is your most treasured possession?

My guitar.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Feeling satisfaction and joy in inflicting pain upon others.

If you didn’t do your current job, what would you choose to do?

Vanish.

What is your most marked characteristic?

Being a perfectionist — I’m  never completely happy with my own work.

Who is your hero of fiction?

Superman.

Who are your heroes in real life?

Edhi, Imran Khan in cricket, Christopher Reeves and Martin Luther King.

What is your greatest regret?

I spoke to my dad once in a raised voice.

How many hours of load shedding did you experience yesterday?

One.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2010.