On the inaugural day of the Abhivyakti Season 4 Lit Fest at Chandimandir, Boman Irani delights

Celebrated actor and now director, Boman Irani is a master class in himself — not just in movie-making, but also life! The keynote speaker at Abhivyakti Season 4 — Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) Lit Fest at Chandimandir on Friday, such is his magic that the spacious venue was full — at nine in the morning! Selfies with pretty ladies, dressed to nine in their nine yards, enthusiastic students clad in winter uniforms to attentive Army men, and women, in their uniforms — each wanted a piece of Boman’s bounteous pie.

So, when Dr Asthana of Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., took to the podium, he lived up to the expectations!

Boman, an anxious, dyslexic, shy kid with dyscalculia and stutter was raised in an all-women household with his buas, masis, mamis and chachis fussing over the bechara kid! Till his mother, a young widow in debt, took over the financial reins of the house and her child. Knowing that little Boman found true happiness on stage, she made sure he pursued the path. A waiter, a photographer, a theatre artiste… Applause as a film actor was to come to him slightly later in life. But when it did, Boman was prepared!

His entry into Rajkumar Hirani’s Munna Bhai MBBS was by fluke or fate, you decide — Boman recounts the experience. Ram Madhvani made a film Let’s Talk with Boman on a handicam. The film was never released, but as it was being edited another filmmaker had a look and enquired who the actor was. He gave Boman two lakh rupees as advance for his ‘next’ film. There was no story, no film at that time. Finally, months later, Boman got a brief about the film — ‘a gunda who wants to be a doctor’. And his role — a doctor who keeps laughing! Boman couldn’t have found anything more ludicrous than this but when he met Rajkumar Hirani, he fell in love with the script and the film we all have come to love! The man who gave the advance was Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who knew that once the cinema discovered Boman, he would have no dates!

Two decade on, Boman now has a film company and his debut film as director, The Mehta Boys, has won ‘The Best Feature Film’ award at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival and Best actor for Boman at International Film Festival of South Asia (IFFSA), Toronto Film Festival. Looking forward to the India premiere at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, he is looking at release by next year.

Boman levels the credit to team, while taking some in his characteristic zestful way. “We won the Best Film at Chicago and the Best Actor at Toronto. It was a team effort. And even the director was not too bad, his name is Boman Irani. He helped me a little bit.”

Having done it all, its film writing and writing in general that Boman stressed on. “I am overwhelmed at the response at AWWA Lit Fest. The most important is what’s going to be the by-product of all of this — it is going to be writers who will come up with their stories, who are going to publish it. It’s a meeting place, it’s a Literary Fest. And I’m always there to support any kind of artistic endeavour. For me, the most important thing in the world is something that keeps me going. So, this is not just a festival where people are well-dressed and come out in the morning. It’s about celebrating literature and artistic interpretation. Coming to the literary festival this year is important for me because writing is a very, very unappreciated aspect of filmmaking!”

Meanwhile, actress Pooja Batra was also present on the inaugural day of the Lit Fest.

Heartfelt homage

Boman Irani, the illustrious actor and writer, in a momentous tribute to the upcoming 555th Prakash Purab of Guru Nanak, released an exquisite pictorial art work depicting the visuals of sacred Gurdwara Ber Sahib, Sultanpur Lodhi, during his visit to Punjab. The pictorial brochure has been crafted by Punjab’s eminent author, nature artist and heritage promoter, and former Additional Advocate General, Punjab, Harpreet Sandhu. Acknowledging Sandhu’s dedicated efforts, Boman said, “This pictorial work is not just a compilation of visuals, but a heartfelt homage to the sanctity and serenity of the sacred shrine Ber Sahib, situated in Sultanpur Lodhi.”