A MAN FOR
ALL SEASONS
THE
WORLD’S
HIS
STAGE
I
t takes a rare breed of ac-
tor able to cross-pollinate
acting chops and cultural
appeal to find success in
both Hollywood and
Bollywood. Ali Fazal’s big break
came in 2013 with the hit Hindi
comedy Fukrey, a film (a sequel is
in the works) about four friends
who concoct a harebrained get-
rich-quick scheme that goes
awry. Since then the Indian-born
Fazal, 30, has been a regular on
the Bollywood circuit—but
the actor, whose floppy-haired
charm apparently translates in-
ternationally, has set his sights
beyond his home country.
Shooting for Vogue near
Joshua Tree National Park gave
him his taste of California—he’ll
soon be back on the West Coast
to promote his next project, Vic-
toria and Abdul, the true story of
Queen Victoria’s (Judi Dench) un-
expected friendship with a young
Indian clerk played by Fazal. Like
the actor, the film—shot in India,
Scotland, and a handful of small
towns around the United King-
dom—melds the English- and
Hindi-speaking worlds.
Despite both his full-blown
Hollywood-star potential and his
weighty Bollywood presence—
he cites Indian designers Manish
Malhotra and Shantanu & Nikhil
as his red-carpet go-tos—Fazal
radiates a humbling lack of pre-
tension. (“I have a weird job for a
grown man,” reads his Instagram
bio.) But while the actor might
not take himself too seriously, the
same can’t be said of his craft.
With a steady stream of projects
in the pipeline and his forthcom-
ing directorial debut, Fazal is a
multinational force whose State-
side arrival comes at just the right
moment. “It’s a strange time,”
says the actor, “but we are seeing
a sudden burst of people from
everywhere, and I want to be part
of it.”— LILAH RAMZI
FAZAL WEARS
A SALVATORE
FERRAGAMO SUIT,
AN A.P.C. SHIRT,
AND A J.CREW TIE.