Zayn Malik (Photo: Miller Mobley)
Zayn Malik has topped the longest – running 50 Sexiest Asian Men list for a 2nd year in a row. The former One Direction member rounded off a dream year that saw him launch a hugely successful solo singing career to come number one again in the popular poll compiled by UK based Eastern Eye Newspaper. India cinematic heartthrob Hrithik Roshan, who topped the poll in 2014 and was dethroned by Zayn Malik in 2015, once again came in 2nd & Pakistani actor Fawad Khan was in the 3rd position.
The 23 – year – old, Zayn Malik is the youngest ever to top the poll in 2015, once again topped the list based on millions of votes and heat generated by celebrities in 2016. The latest win continued the incredible momentum generated by the unstoppable pop superstar, who has topped the charts and gained massive attention across the globe, including in media & on social networking sites.
Eastern Eye’s award – winning entertainment editor Asjad Nazir, who founded the list and puts it together annually said Zayn Malik received more global attention than any other Asian star in 2015 and got even more in 2016. “The singer / songwriter showed comprehensively there was life after boy band One Direction with a rip – roaring start to his solo career. It was as if he struck a match, casually threw it at the world and stepped back to watch a wildfire sweep across the continents with his songs burning up the charts. The hot right now pop superstar saw media going into meltdown, social networking sites overheat and countless fans seeing their own temperatures skyrocket,” said Asjad Nazir.
The mass interest in the 13th edition of the list was such that it was trending on Twitter across different countries including India during the voting process. Popular Indian television star Ashish Sharma (4) & Bollywood’s current box office king Salman Khan (5) complete the top 5. Others in the 2016 top 10 are Barun Sobti (6), Shahid Kapoor (7), Vivian Dsena (8), Ali Zafar (9) & Ranveer Singh (10).
The highest placed newcomer in this year’s list is 24 – year – old Indian television actor Param Singh (19) and the oldest in 51 – year – old Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan (17).The youngest in the 13 edition of the list is 18 – year – old Pakistani tea – stall holder Arshad Khan (31), who is the 1st man to be ever included as an editor’s choice. “Impoverished teenager Arshad Khan broke the Internet earlier this year when his photograph serving tea sent females around the world into a frenzy. He has since been plucked from obscurity and gained global media attention along with a new career in modeling. He makes the list for representing the every day man and for showing the most impossible dream can come,” said Asjad Nazir.
Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, who will make her Hollywood debut in soon to be released thriller xXx: Return Of Xander Cage, had earlier topped the 50 Sexiest Asian Women list for the 1st time ever.
Hrithik Roshan (2) remained the highest placed Indian for the 6th year in succession & Virat Kohli (23) was once again the only sportsman to make the list. “Apart from now being the most eligible bachelor in Bollywood, Hrithik remains the biggest pin up the industry has to offer and that was once again showed by the volume of votes he received,” said Asjad Nazir.
Ali Zafar (9), had been the highest placed Pakistani in the list for the last 9 years, but was finally toppled by fellow countryman Fawad Khan (3) in the 2016 edition.
Others in the 2016 list include last year’s highest placed newcomer Parth Samthaan (11), Varun Dhawan (12), Gautam Rode (15), Akshay Kumar (20), Karan Tacker (24), Sidhant Gupta (27), Arjun Kapoor (37), Diljit Dosanjh (42), Harshvardhan Rane (45) & Namik Paul (49).
The full countdown of 2016’s 50 Sexiest Asian Men is published in the UK’s most established & popular Asian newspaper, Eastern Eye, on 16th Dec, 2016. “This remains the most relatable list of hottest men published anywhere in the world and explains the large number of guys who vote,” Asjad Nazir explained.
To round it off Asjad Nazir is an award -winning entertainment writer, who has had over 6 million words published globally during his career and has the longest running weekly newspaper column in UK, which has been going strong for 16 years. He has interviewed over 1000 major celebrities, hosted podcasts for Apple that have been made available to over 850 million iTunes users for free and is perhaps the biggest supporter of new talent in UK, having given over 2000 newcomers their 1st major press coverage. Asjad Nazir has been used as an expert by major radio & TV including BBC world news, written 3 books on Indian cinema and is currently producing a major TV talk show featuring A – list international celebrities. In 2015 – 2016 over 600 media globally covered his work in some way. He founded the long running 50 Sexiest Asian Men & Women lists in 2003, which generate millions of votes annually and gain global media coverage.
About The Asian Media & Marketing Group
With a 48 – year heritage, The Asian Media & Marketing Group (AMG), publishes a stable of market leading magazines for the Asian community in UK & USA. The company hosts a number of hugely successful events & award dinners affiliated with its magazines. AMG is now Britain’s biggest Asian publishing house and its titles includes Eastern Eye newspaper, Garavi Gujarat newsweekly, Asian Trader, Pharmacy Business, Asian Hospitality, the Asian Rich List, the Asian Rich List Midlands and the GG2 Power List.
