Gearing up to judge a reality show (though till now he hasn't held reality TV in very high regard), Atif tells CS why he likes to stay low-key, literally:
Moolah matters not
There's just so much happening in my life that I don't want to add to my problems by discussing things in public. I want to be able to give my time to my mom and dad, my family and friends.
I might get a million roles and songs to do a few years from now, but I won't get this time with my loved ones again. That doesn't mean that I don't like money. I want it all, but I'm not in a rush to get it.
Winning fans
Like every one else, I also enjoy the attention that I get from my fans. If they respect your talent, it's great, but I don't like it when they go overboard.
I remember, there was a time when I was performing in Australia when a female fan took off her top in front of me. That felt very odd. Then once on my birthday, a group of girls came to my house and asked for me. And they were only in their underwear.
That's not the kind of attention that I appreciate. But yes, I also have fans doing nice things for me that are respectful and mean a lot. I don't consider myself as an icon. I'm not here to win the world, I'm just here to win myself.Future fix
Life's been good to me so far. As I look back, this year has truly been special. It brought many surprises -- my debut film Bol happened, I got to perform with Guns N' Roses, became friends with the bandmates, toured odd places like Surinam, Trinidad, Bali and China.
Other than that, I was able to identify a lot of 'distractions' in my life that I needed to get rid of. And I did.
So yes, it's been a very goal-oriented year for me and I'm really looking forward to 2012 too. I don't plan the future, but I would love to go back to places like Japan and Australia and walk on the Bondi Beach.
And next year, I also hope to attend a few concerts like a normal guy and enjoy myself. Oh yes, and I also need to buy myself a new machine.
