At an age when most Bollywood actors end up with “itsy bitsy” roles, Boman Irani is getting to play strong and sensible characters as in the recently-released Finding Fanny.
“I think there are many situations where character actors are getting equal prominence as main leads, but eventually it is the kind of cinema that has to be explored. Finding Fanny is a great example of the same,” the 54-year-old said.
Directed by Homi Adajania, the English language Bollywood film Finding Fanny had Arjun Kapoor and Deepika Padukone as the lead pair, but the film’s USP was veteran actors Dimple Kapadia, Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapur in key roles.
“I am so glad that Finding Fanny found a great audience. I am very proud,” said Irani, who began his acting career late, but was lucky to get memorable roles soon.
He started his film career in 2001 with Everybody Says I’m Fine!, but proved his mettle as J.C. Asthana in Rajkumar Hirani’s 2003 hit comedy Munnabhai M.B.B.S. There was no looking back for him after that.
He followed it up with Being Cyrus, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Don — The Chase Begins Again and 3 Idiots.
The actor admits that in the past, there were films that had put the spotlight on senior actors and done well at the box office.
“I think Khosla Ka Ghosla was a good example where the title role was played by Anupam Kher. There have been many examples in the past too,” he said, stressing that an artiste’s age is of little significance.
“I feel it is not about characters, but more about the story. We have to come up with a great story,” added the actor, who is geared up for his next release Happy New Year.
Directed by Farah Khan and produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, the film is centred on six losers who set out to change their destiny. Other actors who will be seen in the film include Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood and Vivaan Shah along with Shah Rukh Khan.
Happy New Year is set for a Diwali release.
