Boman Irani

Early life

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.

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, Jerbanoo. She died in June 2021 at 94.

Career

Photography career

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. 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.

Theatrical career (1981–1983)

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. Irani appeared in many theater plays such as Roshni, 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.

Film career (2000–present)

Irani moved to on-screen acting in 2000. He appeared in a number of commercials for Fanta, Ambuja Cements and CEAT Limited.

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.

In addition to acting, Irani has hosted the IIFA Awards on various occasions. 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.

He launched his production house Irani Movietone in January 2019. In the same year, Irani played the role of Dr. Balraj Kapoor in the web series Masoom.

Boman Irani is also a brand ambassador for Puri Oil, Exotica, Kent RO, Ahead NGO, and Saffola. He is also on the Board of Advisors of India's International Movement to Unite Nations (I.I.M.U.N.).

Other works

He provided the voice of J. R. D. Tata in the audiobook of his biography by Charkha Audiobooks, Beyond the Last Blue Mountain written by R. M. Lala, alongside Shernaz Patel as narrator.

Ventures

Irani Movietone

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 has been released on Amazon Prime Video.

Spiral Bound

In 2020, Irani began a masterclass named Spiral Bound with the aim of uniting amateur and professional screenwriters. Screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris conducted the first workshop of Spiral Bound. The masterclass continued in online sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Guest speakers included playwright Anosh Irani and directors Rajkumar Hirani, Ram Madhvani, and Shakun Batra. Spiral Bound has completed more than 500 sessions.

Filmography

As actor

As dubbing artist

• Teen Patti (2010) for Ben Kingsley

Web Series

• Hai Junoon! 2025 - Professor Iyer

Awards

References

References

1. Boman Irani. (24 January 2019). "And the moment that we've been waiting for!!! With the love from one and all, introducing "Irani Movietone". @iranimovietone #IraniMovietone https://t.co/gXdwKmGTmq".
2. "Josh talks – Boman Irani". Josh talks.
3. (19 December 2020). "Kaun Banega Crorepati 12: Amitabh Bachchan shares an incident from his school days when he lied of 'killing a snake' and got a beating from his school principal". Entertainment Times.
4. (7 December 2020). "INSPIRATIONAL LIFE AND QUOTES OF BOMAN IRANI: TRANSFORMATION FROM A DYSLEXIC, AND LISPIC CHILD TO AN ACCLAIMED BOLLYWOOD ACTOR!". Indian Speaker Bureau.
5. Maru, Vibha. (9 June 2021). "Boman Irani mourns mother Jerbanoo Irani's death, says she will always be a star".
6. "From waiter to a rising star: Boman Irani". The GenX Times.
7. "Boman Irani gets candid". Hindustan Times.
8. "The making of an actor". Bomanirani.com.
9. "Actor – Ad Films – India". Boman Irani.
10. "Riteish Deshmukh, Boman Irani are IIFA hosts again".
11. (17 February 2015). "Lowe Lintas highlights the 'sweet' side in the life of a diabetic for OneTouch – MullenLowe Lintas Group".
12. (16 February 2022). "Boman Irani reveals he will finally make his directorial debut this year: I hope to start by mid-2022".
13. "Boman Irani all set to make directorial debut this year".
14. (2022-06-20). "Boman Irani On 'Masoom': "The Love That Has Come By For My Debut Is Overwhelming"".
15. "FNB News – Boman Irani new brand ambassador of Puri Oil Mills' P Mark mustard oil {{!}} FNB News".
16. Ghosal, Sutanuka. (2014). "Boman Irani signs up as brand ambassador of 'P' mark mustard oil". The Economic Times.
17. (21 October 2015). "Exotica signs Boman Irani as its brand ambassador -".
18. (24 January 2011). "Kent RO Systems signs Boman Irani as the brand ambassador". Business Standard.
19. "Boman Irani brand ambassador of NGO 'Ahead'".
20. "Saffola appoints Boman Irani as brand ambassador; launches new TVC". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media.
21. "I.I.M.U.N. {{!}}{{!}} Board of Advisors".
22. Pioneer, The. "Boman turns mentor".
23. "Masterclass with Boman Irani".
24. "Boman Irani clocks in 150 online screenwriting sessions of 'Spiral Bound'".
25. (6 July 2020). "Boman Irani opens up on how he came up with Spiral Bound Online Scriptwriting Sessions".
26. (3 July 2020). "Boman Irani opens up on how he came up with Spiral Bound online scriptwriting sessions [Exclusive]".
27. (31 May 2020). "Boman Irani on the Art of Screenplay Writing".
28. "Workplaces are still in the closet".
29. "Boman Irani has a productive lockdown, completes over 50 online screenwriting sessions in quarantine". The Economic Times.
30. (12 February 2022). "Boman Irani decodes his characters, reveals how he prepared for 3 Idiots, Khosla Ka Ghosla: 'I find learning lines on set, odd'".
31. (28 March 2020). "'Maska' review: An interesting premise somehow manages to yield disastrous results".
32. "Boman Irani to enact the part of Farokh Engineer in #83TheFilm... Stars Ranveer Singh as #KapilDev... Directed by Kabir Khan... 10 April 2020 release. #Relive83". Taran Adarsh on Twitter.
33. (29 January 2021). "Boman Irani joins the cast of Ajay Devgn's Mayday".
34. (9 October 2021). "Parineeti Chopra plays the role of a tourist guide in Nepal in Sooraj Barjatya's Uunchai; film shot at world's most DANGEROUS airport".