Actor Boman Irani has had an unconventional career; he made his film acting debut when he was already in his 40s, and didn’t starting acting until after he’d turned 30. Before that, he spent over a decade selling potato wafers at his family business, and working as a waiter in a five-star hotel. In a new interview, Boman said that he had a ‘very troubled childhood’, because his anxiety got in the way of his life. He said that he couldn’t bear to be in public, and because of his reserved nature, was made to feel inferior.
Appearing on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast, he said that his father died before he was born, and that his mother found herself in charge of a failing business. Somehow, she found the strength to turn the business around, even though she didn’t have any past experience. Boman said that, although his childhood had happy moments, he can only describe it as ‘troubled’. He received love from his mother, his sisters, and his aunt, but he had a terrible speech impediment that made him an easy target. “Yeh toh duffer hai,” people would say to him, to his face.
“My mother never let me know about any financial issues that were going on, but at the age of five or six, I realised that my mother had turned the business around. She worked very hard, because she was in debt. I have no idea how she raised me, I have no idea how she paid back all the debt. My father died before I was born. She wasn’t a businesswoman, nor had she ever worked at a shop,” he said. Opening up about his personality as a child, he said, “I was a very nervous kid, very shy. I wouldn’t talk to anybody. Imagine, now you can’t get me to shut up!”
Boman Irani has appeared in several blockbusters.
Boman said that because he had a stutter, and because he was so terrified of being in public, he was attacked. He needed to go through that phase, he said, in order to learn that he could transform into a confident man. “In Sholay, Gabbar Singh has a line, ‘Jo dar gaya woh mar gaya’. I really believe that. Don’t be afraid, because what’s the worse that can happen?” Boman said that he worked at the shop for years and years, but decided to pursue his passion for photography when he became older.
His difficulties didn’t end. “I was completely wiped out. There were huge problems. I started working professionally as a photographer at the age of 32. I took loans upon loans. I was paying interest on interest. It was quite ridiculous. It was a very difficult phase. It would’ve been logical to keep working at the shop, but I have a creative animal inside me. What was supposed to do with him?” After a couple of years, choreographer Shiamak Davar advised Boman to act in plays. He took him to Alyque Padamsee, and said that he would be quite an ideal candidate.
Boman Irani has appeared in several blockbusters.
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Boman worked in plays for years, earning a meagre income alongside his photography business. Gradually, his plays became popular, which is where directors began to take notice of him. Boman did a film. “Money was still a problem. I did my first film at the age of 44. Nobody watched my film Let’s Talk, but somehow, Vidhu Vinod Chopra watched it. He liked it, and asked to meet me. He gave me money. I asked him, ‘Why?’ He said that he doesn’t have any film for me, but still he gave me money. I never cashed that cheque, because I hadn’t worked for it.”
Eight months later, Boman said, Vinod Chopra offered him the role that would change his life. He was cast as the comical dean in Munna Bhai MBBS, which became a blockbuster hit. Boman has since appeared in major hit such as PK, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Sanju, Jolly LLB, Happy New Year, Dilwale, Total Dhamaal, Dilwale, 3 Idiots, Housefull, and many more. His films have made a combined total of over Rs 4000 crore.
