From being a waiter to a sports photographer to an award-winning film star, he has done it all.
Boman Irani, known for his appearances in Bollywood films like Munnabhai MBBS and 3 Idiots, is one of the few renowned people who began their real career late at the age of 44. He went through several career changes before finding the ideal one.
Despite early setbacks and a late start as an actor, Boman Irani never lost sight of his passion and commitment to hard-working.
“My father died in May 1959, and I was born in December of the same year. We were different from other families because my family was in turmoil. I was always surrounded by women in my family. I had never heard of a male voice,” shared Boman in his Josh Talk.
The actor had dyslexia and had speech problems as a child, so he was one of the quiet kids in the class.
“People used to make fun of me because I used to speak like ‘Virus’, my character from 3 idiots. I had anxiety issues and felt that something was dreadfully wrong with me, I rarely opened my mouth until I was 12 (seventh grade),” he said.
His family relocated to Mumbai and tried to get admission to St. Mary School. After he failed to pronounce the word ‘horse’ and ‘mouse’ from the pictures showed to identify, the school’s Father disqualified him.
“After the school reopened a week later, the same Father called my mother and said they would give the admission and bring the best out of me,” he added.
“Despite being anxious in school, I passed my tenth grade. I gave it my all after which I traveled to Pune and decided to continue my education at one of the Wadia colleges. I realized I lacked the confidence to pursue a career as a doctor, engineer, or so on,” he further said.
Boman soon realized his passion for arts and gave a thought to becoming a waiter.
“If nothing else, I thought I’d make a fantastic waiter! I spent a few weeks at a short hospitality course before returning to my grandmother. I was terrified to tell her about everything, but I summoned the strength to say, “Grandmother, I want to become a waiter!“, Boman Irani said.
Soon after, he decided to make a career in the hotel industry and reached out to The Taj Mahal Palace.
“I went to The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, where my boss asked me about my qualifications, to which I responded, “Food and Beverage.” ‘Ignoramus, the entire restaurant is all about food and beverage!’ he exclaimed. ‘What department are you in?’ ‘Rendezvous Restaurant, I said.“
‘So you want to start at the top?’ the boss remarked, sarcastically. Excellent ‘You fool, begin at the bottom!’ Boman was then assigned for room service and he worked there for two years, paid his dues, gathered some money, and put them in the bank.
He worked with his family’s legacy after his return from working with Mumbai’s top restaurant.
“We had a tiny shop in Mumbai for 12 years where we sold Gujarati foods. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was upsetting me. I was agitated. Just as I was pondering my life choices in the shop, I met the most lovely woman, my mother-in-law, who introduced me to my wife, Zenobia Irani. I learned to be a proud wafer-wala dukandaar after being married at 25 and becoming a father at 26,” he said.
He felt guilty for not taking his family for vacation even after seven years of marriage. He felt responsible for his children. Irani decided to earn better money to keep his family happy. He purchased a camera from his savings and started doing sports photography.
Boman said, “I eventually began selling photographs of people participating in sports such as cricket, basketball, and other games for Rs. 25 each. I would purposefully take images of the students since I knew their parents would always purchase their children’s photographs. I was able to make some decent money as a result of this. I gradually paid off all of my debts.“
After his photography career, he stepped into the field of acting at the age of 55. Talking about this he said, “Shiamak Davar and I met in a studio three months later, and we went out for lunch, where I met Alyque Padamsee, who asked me to audition for a theatre role.“
Irani was given a two-and-a-half-minute part. Even though the play was a flop, he received positive feedback. He was given a role in another play, “I am not Bajirao,” in which he had to be a 75-year-old guy, for which he was paid Rs. 200. Boman was supposed to perform the play in a 150-person auditorium.
“A gentleman approached us a few days before the opening night and remarked, “Why are you presenting this play in such a small theatre, you need a huge one.” Why hire such a large theatre for such a short play, we questioned. ‘Nothing in this world is little or trivial,’ he replied. We rented the TATA Theatre, a 1200 seater, for some inexplicable reason, and it was completely sold out. In the same theatre, the play ran continuously for ten years,” he said.
“After some time, a friend of mine called and said, “I’d want to make an innovative film with only two actors.” We shot nonstop for eight months for this project. The director later said he completely forgot to inform us that they had no intention of releasing this film,” Irani recalled.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who was also present at the time of editing, asked folks about Irani during the filming. He took him out to dinner the next evening and presented him a cheque for Rs. Two lakhs. Irani was shocked and inquired as to why. To which he answered that he would want to cast him for a movie in December.
“One fine day, he called me up and said, “Boman script is ready.” When I asked him the title of the film, he replied, “Munna Bhai MBBS.” I couldn’t understand what he was saying, so I questioned the storyline. He surprised me once more! ‘Ek Gunda, doctor banta hai,’ says the narrator. I asked about my role, and he replied that I was playing as a Dean. I asked him what I would be doing and he said, ‘Kuch nahi, bas hasta rehta hai’.
Boman Irani shared the screen as a debut actor with Sanjay Dutt. After which he was attending the first award function of his life.
“Arshad Warsi approached me backstage and inquired about my attire for the award ceremony. In my entire life, I have never owned a suit. Arshad contacted his celebrity tailor and requested that he make me a suit. The awards ceremony began, and the suit came. I was so excited that I wore the costume in complete darkness. Prem Chopra said, “The best-supporting actor-male goes to Boman Irani,” as I was putting my buttons on,” he said proudly.
He added, “I rushed onto the platform, tripped on the dark steps, wounded my hand and dusted my suit like I had done my entire life! I walked up to the stage and received my first trophy“.
And there was no looking back. He started getting offers to several other movies like 3 Idiots, Main Hoon Na, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Dostana, and many more.
Boman Irani proved that age is just a number. Despite getting a late start in his career, he’s making the most of it by taking on a variety of roles. He’s now has earned a name for himself in the entertainment world with his passion and dedication.
This versatile 61-year-old actor is a testimony that there is no right time to do what you love to do in life. If you believe in something, go out and do it. The world will adjust.