Interview: Boman Irani
By: Arora Rai
Bollywood fans will get a double-dose of Boman Irani this weekend, as the veteran actor is starring in diversified roles in both Hum Tum Aur Ghost and Well Done Abba. While the niche actor has mostly taken on comedic roles, Boman will be throwing audiences for a loop this weekend when they see him portraying nontraditional characters.
In speaking to the media about playing the lead role in Shyam Benegal’s Well Done Abba, Boman said it was a breath of fresh air to step outside his traditional boundaries and portray a plainer character.
Indeed, while he was last remembered playing the hilariously dictatorial school headmaster in 3 Idiots, Boman told reporters it was both refreshing and challenging to play an everyday man in Well Done Abba.
“It is nice to play different kinds of characters,” Boman humbly told the press during this week’s promotional campaign in Mumbai. “I have not played such a simplistic character. To make a simple character exciting to watch is a great challenge. I am happy to play the role of Abba. It is one of my most favorite roles.”
It is a role that bears only one thing in common with his other film opening this weekend – Boman’s character in Well Done Abba is named Armaan, coincidentally the same name of the lead male role in Hum Tum Aur Ghost, which also stars Irani as a supporting cast member.
The name is where the similarities end, both with the two films and with the characters Boman traditionally plays. In Well Done Abba, Boman’s rendition of Armaan Ali is that of a Mumbai taxi driver in Mumbai who seeks to find a husband for his daughter living in another city and takes one month leave in order to do so. While things do not necessarily go as planned when he is ready to return to work, the plot takes quite a unique twist.
“As Armaan returns late to Mumbai, his employer wants to sack him. But Armaan has a story to tell that is humorous and hilarious,” Boman stated in his chat with the Press Trust of India. “The character is extremely beautiful. I feel there is so much I can relate to the character making it real. The character understands very less…of government schemes and all. He is like a common person who is affected by the system.”
While Well Done Abba is a solid sketch of a simple man trying to do simple things, the 52-year-old Boman said the film is not quite a social commentary on politics in India. Instead, he feels the film is just providing powerful insight on how everyday people struggle in their dealings with the government.
“The film shows how development projects that the government initiates get hijacked by corruption. The movie is not a political game; it is about the basic working … of how the system functions,” Boman told the press. “We are not talking about how one government toppled another. We do not sit and watch news channels to listen to political commentaries or read newspapers to understand politics. The film shows how the common-man understands politics and how he gets affected by it.”
Pondering on how the film’s overarching theme is relatable to the everyday man, Boman cites an example of how the proverbial system makes it tough for not-so-influential people to get ahead in life. “For making a ration card, one not only makes endless rounds to get it but has to listen to abuses and even bribe as well,” the actor candidly admitted to the press. “This system does not allow you to make your work easy and simple.”
The problem is not just systemic, Boman said, but also personal, as few people, if any, have the courage to challenge the system to make positive change.
“Because we are afraid of the system, we go on respecting the system too much. The time has come that the system starts respecting us,” Boman emphatically stated. “It is about time the system respects us. It is echoing my sentiment also. That is the beauty of (my) character (in Well Done Abba).”
To his credit, Boman is more than just words, as he has accepted roles in socially conscious films beyond Well Done Abba. The multi-faceted, well-spoken actor has also taken on significant roles in Munnabhai and 3 Idiots.
He hopes to continue giving a voice to the powerless while also challenging his professional self in Well Done Abba, which also stars Minnisha, Ila Arun, Sammir Dattani, Sonali Kulkarni, and Ravi Kishen.
It opens on March 26th, in direct competition with Boman’s other film, Hum Tum Aur Ghost.
