Tata Safari

The do-it-yourself guy that he is, Zulfi Sayed loves the simplicity of his all-black Tata Safari.

Waiting for model Zulfi Sayed at a coffee bar, I’m mentally putting the tall actor behind the wheel of a Land Cruiser or a Merc or at least, astride a four-cylinder Kawker. But Shah Jahan of the recent epic flick Taj Mahal emerges out of a jet black Tata Safari. “I know what you are thinking,” says the 1997 Gladrags Manhunt contest winner “But owning my Tata Safari has been a very pleasant experience.”
The actor loves driving and pilots his Safari all by himself in Mumbai’s mad traffic. And as coffee lubricates our conversation, what strikes me is his penchant for value and economy. “Driving around in low-slung sports cars will leave me with nothing but a battered under-body. Makes no sense to me.” Logical. But he’s not the sort to let a good opportunity go by. His most memorable time on the driver’s seat was down the road from Germany to Amsterdam in an open-top Merc SLK. “That was something,” remembers the 32-year-old actor. “Great roads, a beautiful countryside and no speed limits.”
The first car the actor had for himself was a Maruti 800, way back in college. Before that, he says, his automotive memories are about the spacious back-seat of his family’s Ambassador. They have now moved on to a Toyota Innova, though. Ask him about it and he says, “It’s big, spacious, can take a lot of people and their luggage and it’s diesel. Makes perfect sense for dashing off to our coffee plantation in Coorg.”
“But, he adds, “it may seem surprising that there doesn’t seem another car that can beat the comfort of an Amby to this day.”
The basement of Syed’s family home in Bangalore houses a pretty kitted out garage and the actor says that though he’s not an expert mechanic, he has enough and more tools to set right minor problems.”
But the garage is not exactly for repairing stuff. Rather, it houses a legend—the Yamaha RD 350. The guy is proud of the Yam and sees that it’s put to the best possible use. How? He lends it for rallys in and around Bangalore. He has even navigated Anup Chauhan in the Coorg Bike Rally of 1998. “Sitting pillion while participating in a Coorg rally was the most exciting time I’ve ever had.”
But when his acting and modeling assignments saw him shift base to Mumbai, the Safari came into the picture. His buying decision was based on very practical concerns. Bought in 2004, the key thing that attracted him towards the SUV was its utter simplicity. “It’s a very straightforward vehicle, solid and spacious. And any roadside mechanic can attend to it in case of a major problem,” he says.
Zulfi takes good care of his car and has never missed a service appointment. And what helps him endure traffic jams is his JBL music system that’s usually asked to play funky electronic music.
By the way, doing duty at his coffee estate are two Mahindra 540s. “You would know the roads in Coorg. And even the Safari is no good there. But it’s ideal habitat for the rugged Mahindras. ”
While the Safari remains his fave, he does mention of his wish to be chauffeured around in a Merc S500 for a day. Though something as ostentatious as an S-class is just not his kind of automobile. Syed’s next car? “Well, the Safari is doing just about fine for now. But what do you know, I may just go in for the DICOR.”