Boman Irani (born 2 December 1959) is an Indian actor, producer, filmmaker, photographer and voice artist who works in Hindi-language films in addition to Telugu, Tamil and Marathi films. One of the most popular character actors in Hindi cinema, he has featured in over 100 films. Irani has won a Filmfare Award and an IIFA Award. Boman Irani has recently ventured into film production and advertising under his home banner, Irani Movietone.
Some of his notable works include Munna Bhai MBBS (2003), Veer-Zaara, Main Hoon Na, Lakshya (2004), No Entry, Waqt: The Race Against Time (both 2005), Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Don (both 2006), Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006), Heyy Babyy (2007), Kismat Konnection, Dostana (both 2008), 3 Idiots (2009), Housefull (2010), Don 2 (2011), Housefull 2, Cocktail (both 2012), Jolly LLB (2013), PK, Happy New Year (both 2014), Dilwale (2015), Housefull 3 (2016), Sanju (2018), Total Dhamaal (2019), 83 (2021), Uunchai (2022) and Dunki (2023).
Irani was born on 2 December 1959, in Mumbai to an Irani Zoroastrian family. His father died 6 months before Irani was born. He has 3 elder sisters: Shirin, Shenaz and Roshan. Irani grew up with dyslexia in his childhood, which he eventually overcame.[2][3]
He finished his secondary schooling at St. Mary's School, after which he undertook a 2-year waiter course at Mithibai College in Mumbai. Irani also managed a bakery and namkeen shop in Mumbai that was run by his mother.[4]His mother, Jerbanoo Irani, passed away in June 2021 at 94.[5]
While working at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, he took photos of school cricket and football matches and sold them for 20 to 30 rupees, which he continued to do up until his marriage. [6] Irani continued to work as a photographer, and asked the then President of the Indian Boxing Association, Aspy Adajania if he could become the photographer for the World Boxing Championships in Mumbai. When Adajania initially rejected him, Irani agreed to work at his office in-return to cover the event. He continued to cover other state boxing matches, until he was finally appointed by Adajania as the official photographer for the Indian Boxing Association.
Irani would also go on to become the photographer for the Norwegian Boxing Team and photograph specific photos that were needed of Norwegian boxer, Ole Klemetsen. Irani took the photos with his Pentax K1000 camera.
During his school days, Irani had a passion for acting, where he trained under acting coach Hansraj Siddhia from 1981 to 1983.
Irani was mentored by actor Alyque Padamsee.[7][8] Irani's appeared in many theater plays such as Roshni, which was played at the Regional Theater in Versova. He also acted in many TV serials such as Family Ties and Mahatma vs Gandhi, playing Gandhi after the role was turned down by actor Darshan Jariwala.[7]
Irani moved to on-screen acting in 2000. He appeared in a number of commercials for Fanta, Ambuja Cements and CEAT Limited.[9]
His small but significant role in Darna Mana Hai earned him critical acclaim. The film was declared a hit, and he was seen in a segment featuring Saif Ali Khan. Irani gained attention for his role in the 2003 comedy Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.. His role as J. Asthana earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role. He would go on to star in its sequel Lage Raho Munna Bhai for which he received several IIFA award nominations. He also starred in the comedy-drama 3 Idiots opposite Aamir Khan which earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Screen Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role.[citation needed]
In addition to acting, Irani has hosted the IIFA Awards on various occasions.[10] He also hosted the quiz show Bollywood Ka Boss. He has also appeared in Kaun Banega Crorepati with Sanjay Dutt, and has featured in various commercials.[11]
He launched his production house Irani Movietone in January 2019.[1] [12][13] In the same year, Irani played the role of Dr. Balraj Kapoor in the web series Masoom.[14]
Boman Irani is also a brand ambassador for Puri Oil,[15][16] Exotica,[17] Kent RO,[18] Ahead NGO,[19] and Saffola.[20] He is also on the Board of Advisors of India's International Movement to Unite Nations (I.I.M.U.N.).[21]
Founded by Boman Irani in 2019, Irani Movietone is a film production cum creative house that specialises in providing advertising and branding solutions in all media formats. Sugar Cosmetics, JSW One, PMark Mustard Oil and Quench Botanics are some of the notable clients who advertising with Irani Movietone.
‘The Mehta Boys’ is its first feature film production directed by Boman Irani and written by Alexander Dinelaris and Boman Irani. The film will be released soon on Amazon Prime Video.
In 2020, Irani began a masterclass named Spiral Bound with the aim of uniting amateur and professional screenwriters.[22] Screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris conducted the first workshop of Spiral Bound.[23] The masterclass continued in online sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic.[22][24][25][26][27] Guest speakers included playwright Anosh Irani and directors Rajkumar Hirani, Ram Madhvani, and Shakun Batra.[28][23][29] Spiral Bound has completed more than 500 sessions.[30]
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