
Ali Fazal in Furious 7 may have been on screen for just a few minutes, but the Fast & Furious franchise still sends him royalty checks—almost a decade later. | PuneriPages.in
By Prashant for PuneriPages.in
The Fast & Furious franchise is one of the biggest money-making machines in Hollywood. But here’s a fun little fact you might not know—one of our very own Indian actors still gets a cut from it, even today. Yep, I’m talking about Ali Fazal, who showed up in Furious 7 (2015) for just a few minutes and is still cashing royalty checks almost a decade later.
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Ali Fazal Fast and Furious Royalties: The Surprise Factor
Ali Fazal is no stranger to Indian audiences—most of us first spotted him in Fukrey, and then he went international with Victoria & Abdul and Death on the Nile. But sandwiched in between was this blink-and-you-miss role in Furious 7.
He played Safar, the cool Abu Dhabi garage owner who helps Vin Diesel and the crew connect with hacker Ramsey. Just a few scenes, but hey, he shared screen space with Paul Walker and Vin Diesel—that’s huge!
And here’s the quirky part: even now, Ali says he randomly gets checks in the mail for that role. Sometimes the amounts are laughably small, but he calls them his “princely sums” and has a good chuckle every time one shows up. Imagine opening your mailbox and finding a reminder of a Hollywood cameo from ten years ago.
So, What’s With These Fast and Furious Royalty Checks?
If you’re wondering why Hollywood keeps sending him money—it’s not charity. These are called residuals. Basically, whenever a movie is re-aired, resold, or re-streamed, the actors (and others involved) get a share. It’s like a long-term thank-you for their contribution.
For Ali, that means:
- 📺 Every time Furious 7 plays on TV somewhere in the world, ka-ching.
- 💿 When someone buys a Blu-ray or digital copy, ka-ching.
- 📱 And yes, when it’s streamed on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or anywhere else—another ka-ching.
This system is run by Hollywood unions like SAG-AFTRA, and it makes sure actors don’t just get paid once but continue to benefit as long as the movie is making money. Pretty neat, right?
Looking Back at Ali’s Cameo
Now, let’s be honest—Ali’s role wasn’t massive. But it was memorable. He got to be part of that insane Abu Dhabi sequence, rubbed shoulders with the Fast family, and gave Indian fans a reason to nudge their friends in the theater and go, “Arre, woh apna Ali Fazal hai!”
For Ali himself, it turned out to be more than just a bucket-list moment. It became this quirky, ongoing reminder that sometimes even a three-minute role in the right movie can keep paying off—literally.
What We Can Take Away
Ali Fazal still earning from Furious 7 shows the big difference between Bollywood and Hollywood when it comes to contracts and payments. In India, once the shoot is done, the paycheck is done. But in Hollywood, the movie’s life continues—and so do the payments.
And honestly, it’s a pretty cool piece of trivia for all of us. An Indian actor got into one of the world’s biggest film franchises, had a short but fun role, and even now, his mailbox keeps sending him little reminders of it.
So next time you watch Furious 7 on TV or OTT, just know—you might have unknowingly sent a few rupees Ali Fazal’s way. Not bad for three minutes of screen time, right? 😄