Boman Irani says The Mehta Boys was ‘the greatest learning experience’ of his life

Acclaimed actor makes his directorial debut in the family drama that's winning awards on the festival circuit

Boman Irani, left, and Avinash Tiwary play father and son in The Mehta Boys. Photo: Prime Video

Good writers have the ability to make simple things sublime. In the hands of Boman Irani, for example, everyday items such as the handbrake of a car or a light switch become powerful tools for philosophical musings. Yes, that same Boman Irani who is mostly known for his prolific acting career in Hindi cinema, ranging from critically acclaimed arty fare to slapstick comedies.

Irani, 65, stars in The Mehta Boys, a heartfelt drama about an estranged father and son who are forced to spend 48 hours together, streaming from Friday on Prime Video. Based on an idea pitched to him a few years ago by acclaimed writer and director Sujoy Ghosh, Irani was so taken by the story's potential, he decided to write, direct and produce it.

“There was something about the idea that resonated with me,” he tells The National. “It's something so universal. It's such a beautiful process, trying to figure out people's wounds, people's fatal flaws, people's miscommunication, and all the confusion that happens between two people who love each other so dearly.”

But wanting to do something and actually making it happen are two different things, as Irani soon found out. He describes the painstaking process of making The Mehta Boys as “the greatest learning experience of my life”.

“After Sujoy sweetly said I could have his idea, I did a lot of research. I was doing a lot of movies then, so I'd write a scene one day, then another, and then scratch it and start all over again,” he explains. “Then I'd sleep on it, thinking I'd written a masterpiece and then wake up and throw it in the dustbin. I am, unfortunately, a boring man, so I didn't have a social life. So I just kept at it.”

Irani also reached out to an old friend, Oscar-winning screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris Jr, to help him fine-tune the script.

“Alexander kind of shepherded and shaped it. He would write independently and then I'd write independently, and every few months I'd go to New York where he is based and sit with him for hours, and then come back after two weeks, then go back again.”

Irani's dedication to the project is already paying off. The Mehta Boys won Best Feature Film at the 15th Chicago South Asian Film Festival in September and Best Actor for Irani at the International Film Festival of South Asia in Toronto in October. It was also screened at the International Film Festival of India in Goa in November and the Indian Film Festival in Berlin last month, where it received wide praise.

In the film, Irani plays retiree Shiv, who, after a tragedy, is pressured by his daughter Anu (Puja Sarup) to move with her to the US. But a ticketing mishap forces Anu to leave Shiv with her brother Amay (Avinash Tiwary), an architect based in Mumbai, for 48 hours.

Estranged for many years, the two men patiently endure each other at first. But a series of incidents soon bring out old wounds, forcing father and son to reconcile with past differences and face their current realities.

Irani displays a deft hand as a first-time director, largely benefiting from his and co-writer Dinelaris Jr's potent script, as the film explores the complexities of relationships, themes of masculinity and coping with grief. In the story, as it is often in life, there are no right or wrong sides.

“There are no villains in this film. The villain is within you, which is your ego and your fake sense of masculinity,” says Irani. “This film is about looking at yourself, saying: 'That's probably me and I'm looking like a real idiot doing what I'm doing over there.' ”

Irani, whose two sons also work in the film industry – Kayoze Irani is an actor and Danesh Irani is a producer – says he also drew from personal experiences to write and play his character, as well as many interviews of fathers and sons. He also borrowed themes from Sigmund Freud's essay, Family Romances, which explores different phases children experience in relation to their parents.

“We've got a great relationship,” he says of his sons. “We do have our run-ins every now and then, but thankfully they get sorted the same evening. That's the difference between mine and Shiv and Amay's relationship.”

Starting his career as a photographer before moving to theatre and then acting in his first movie, 2001's Everybody Says I'm Fine!, Irani has appeared in more than 100 films. His notable work include roles in horror anthology Darna Mana Hai and blockbuster comedy Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., both in 2003, as well as record-breaking comedy-drama 3 Idiots (2009).

He says he is relishing his latest phase as director. “I was not made for only one film. I've had many productive times,” he says. “I feel very proud of myself as a shopkeeper. I've been proud of myself as a waiter. I've been proud of myself as a photographer, as a theatre actor and I've had some wonderful times in the cinema as an actor.

“And I always give myself an opportunity to feel a certain joy in what I do. So yes, at this point, I'm enjoying the joy of what The Meta Boys has brought me.”