Ali dedicates doctorate honour to his father

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Telugu actor-comedian Ali, who will be conferred with a doctorate by the Academy of Universal Peace, is thrilled about the honour and dedicates it to his father.

"I'm extremely thrilled to have got this honour and can't wait to attach the (doctor) tag to my name," said Ali, who will receive the honour May 25 in Coimbatore.

The Academy of Universal Global Peace works towards the empowerment of deprived citizens through community services across the globe.

"It is because of my father (Mohammad Basha) that I got actively involved in charity and service to society. He always told me that it is one's responsibility to give something back to society and, therefore, I started an NGO in his name and have been contributing to society for the last five years," Ali told IANS.

Ali's NGO is called Mohammad Basha Charitable Trust, which works for the underprivileged and has been active for over 10 years now.

He feels that everybody should give back to society.

"Everybody, not just stars, should take up the responsibility of giving back to society. It doesn't matter how much you give, but what really matters is if you are willing to give something," he said.

With over three decades of experience in the industry, Ali, who started his career as a child actor in Telugu drama "Seetakoka Chiluka", has starred in more than 500 films in Tamil and Telugu.

He is known for his performance in films such as "Yamaleela", "Hello Brother", and "Amma Naana O Tamil Ammayi".

The 44-year old is currently busy shooting for upcoming Telugu romantic-drama "Attharintiki Daaredhi" with Pawan Kalyan.