Boman Irani on the Magic of Movies.

COVER STORY

Talking about the Magic of Movies

BOMANIRANI

Exclusive Interview By Armin S.

16

COVER STORY

When I sat down to have a conversation with Boman Irani, and after I had the conversation, and then when I wrote this article, the common thread was the smile I had on my face. Easily my favourite interaction of recent times, Boman Irani describes the magic of cinema in terms that are magical. He has a story infused with each perspective he gives me, and he really does bring it down the basics again. That we must watch cinema again with the innocence we had before. That and so much more. I canʼt say more because there is nothing better than him saying it himself.

17

COVER STORY

As a little fellow, I would take my teachers with me to the movies

18

COVER STORY

I ALWAYS REMEMBER BEING ENAMOURED BY CINEMA WHEN I WAS GROWING UP. I WATCHED THE FAMILY-FRIENDLY KIND OF FILMS, AND WE ALWAYS WATCHED THESE TOGETHER, AS A FAMILY. THAT’S MY FIRST MEMORY. WHAT’S YOUR FIRST MEMORY OF CINEMA?

You are not going to believe me though. I remember watching a movie from my mom’s womb.

TELL ME ABOUT THAT.

I genuinely feel that when I saw my first movie, I felt I had been watching movies. It was not a new thing to me – it felt like I had been watching films for the past many years. I genuinely feel that. You might think it sounds strange but it is true. My mom was a single parent, so they had to take me along everywhere. The thing was, I had some great memories as a child, watching movies. I saw all kinds of movies. Opposite my home, there was an old, old cinema called The Alexander. I used to come home from school, go there, and check out the posters. The posters would change every day if the films in main Mumbai wouldn’t work. I would come home from school, do my homework, play, and then do my actual homework at the theatre – and you know, those English movies didn’t last that long. That was my TV time. We didn’t have a time. The turnover of the films was great. My memories are vivid. However, when I was a kid, because I needed to explore the cinema, we used to travel a lot on our own as children. Grab the 65 or 69 and travel on our own in the bus. We used to catch the “Red” show at the Regal on Sunday morning – Reduced rates at 9 am. My mom used to tell me to find a kindly lady to help us cross the road. And on Fridays, we all went. If I loved the movie, I would go on Saturday and Sunday. I remember seeing a movie called Funny Girl with Barbara Streisand. I would take a new “bakra” with me every day. If I didn’t find someone, I would go on my own. And sometimes, I would take my teachers with me. As a little fellow, I would take my teachers with me to the movies. I remember an usher at one of the cinemas, his name was Dara. He asked me, “come here, you were here yesterday.” And Dara, he used to live very close to the shop. He asked me why I was there again and I told him I loved that movie. He asked me if I understand it, it wasn’t really kid-friendly. I told him I don’t understand the entire story, but there is so much in the story that grabs me, and maybe I’ll understand it ten years down the road. I watched that movie about 37 times. This movie, Funny Girl, it was a heartbreaking story of a comedian who was miserable in real life. That was my identity of showbiz and it made me feel like I should be in showbiz one day.

IT SEEMS MAGICAL, WHAT MOVIES MEANT TO YOU AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR PEOPLE, WHETHER THEY UNDERSTAND THE MAGIC OF BEING TRANSCENDED INTO ANOTHER WORLD. WITH THE LENS THAT YOU SEE THE WORLD WITH, DO YOU ALWAYS SEE IT CINEMATICALLY, DO YOU CONSTANTLY LOOK FOR SOMETHING THAT YOU THINK NEEDS TO BE CAPTURED, BECAUSE OF YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY, OR THIS NEEDS TO BE SAID, AS SOMEONE IN FILMS?

I don’t really turn off but when I was a photographer, it was more heightened in that sense. Now, as a filmmaker, I am observing people rather than frames. As an actor, I was also observing people. As a photographer though, it must be a good shot but it must also tell a story. Everyone is seeing the same shot every day, but you frame it in such a way that they see your perspective, and they see something they saw, but didn’t notice. The same thing happens when it comes to human behaviour. Everyone has a story. It might be mundane for someone else. But if you put the right theme and make people empathize with the character, then every story is a great story. You have to make people care. I think you do look at life with a different lens – as a photographer, as an actor, slowly as I am learning every day, as a writer, and hopefully, as a director. They make it art. Art really is about showing people a mirror and saying this could be you.

I REMEMBER HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH MY DAD ABOUT SOME OF THE FILMS YOU HAD DONE – HE SAID, I LOVE THAT WE CAN ALWAYS CONNECT WITH HIM – YOU

19

COVER STORY

if he’s a really good guy, that’s the worst kind of character.

20

COVER STORY

MAY NOT ALWAYS UNDERSTAND HIS MOTIVES OR THE WAY HE CAME TO BE, EITHER ‘MUNNABHAI’ OR ‘3 IDIOTS’, YOU DO ALWAYS SECRETLY ROOT FOR HIM AND WANT HIM TO BE OKAY TOO.

That’s a wonderful conversation (laughs). That’s the thing – the moment I don’t empathize with the character, he is just another irritating fellow. When I dislike him, but I empathize with him, and there’s a possibility I could be that guy, then there’s a strong possibility it will work. I had gone to a workshop recently, and I’m not ashamed that I go to workshops despite being an actor with work. The guy conducting the workshop said, if it is a funny guy, I look for sadness in him. If he is a sad guy, I look for a window of a smile. I’m paraphrasing. If he’s a bad guy, I look for hope in him. And if he’s a really good guy, that’s the worst kind of character. No one is perfect. That is what your dad probably identified. I understand Lucky Singh. His methods are a little suspect, but he loves his daughter, and your dad nailed it actually. But he feels for his daughter. It culminates with the moment of crash and burn – when she says, “my father is a cheat”. He’s finished. He doesn’t want to hear that. He curls like a little baby. I told Raju (Rajkumar Hirani) that maybe he curls like a little baby, and gets back into a fetus like position, and sits like that. That’s when you do feel sorry for him. Because he did not deserve that, even though he did deserve it. But that’s the moment he finds his innocence again. In 3 Idiots, the moment he gives his pen away, the pen was like a dagger in my heart – and the character was freed. The moustache was shaved. And that day, I didn’t put on any makeup to give him lines, like I used to. Nobody realizes the jump. Convocation day, his face looks brighter, and the darkness in his face has gone away. He is not wearing makeup. These are small, simple things. We realize that we are full of hate, egos, angst – and we are holding ourselves down – and then you free yourself in the third act of the film. Then, he was a happier guy, even though he was the most despicable guy in the world. It is important that you can say you are wrong – that change now, that is what hope is all about.

WE’VE COME A LONG WAY IN A DECADE, WITH THE WAY WE UNDERSTAND THE WORLD. WE EVOLVE AS HUMANS. WHAT IS THE ONE CHARACTER OR ONE EXPERI- ENCE, THROUGH WHICH YOU HAVE LEARNT THE MOST?

This might sound like a standard answer. I learn something from anyone. However, I had played Gandhi many years ago. It was a theatrical piece. I was trying to become small but still stand tall. Whatever there was, written about men, I learnt a lot. I learnt a lot about parenting, restraint, dignity in the face of all kinds of horrible occurrences. I’ve worked with Shyam Benegal and that gentleman taught me a lot. He gave me knowledge, world views, hard work, and finding humour in the most mundane things – I think that is learning. My Guru in screenwriting is a gentleman called Alex Dinelaris and I learn every day from him. I teach his teachings every day as well. Passing it on is important. It is also a form of learning itself. You learn from the most simple to the most profound things. I learn a lot from simple folk. Grandparents. My Granny always said things and I always say now, my Golly, she was right. You cannot just learn, but you got to apply it now. If you apply the teachings of life and then you infuse the techniques of acting, you reach acting Nirvana.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO PASS ON TO ME, TO SOMEONE WHO IS AN AVID CINEMA LOVER?

To you, specifically, I’ll say, let me bookend it from your first question. Enjoy your cinema like you did when you were a kid. Don’t lose that because otherwise, we just have a bunch of opinions and we stand by our opinions, and we lose that innocence with which we watched that cinema when we were kids. Don’t let intellectualism and cynicism get the better of us. I think we have lost the innocence of cinema because we have so many opinions – we have opinions on trailers, on a movie based on the first half of the film…- Give the person a chance. Seek the joy of how you used to watch cinema before. We’ve lost that.

21