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Boman Irani (born 1 October 1962 in Mumbai, Maharashtra) is an Indian film and theatre actor and photographer. Irani began his acting career in theatre and moved to film in 2001 with a minor role in Everybody Says I’m Fine!. Irani gained attention for his role in the 2003 comedy Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.

boman irani

He later appeared in Lage Raho Munna Bhai for which he received several IIFA award nominations and in 3 Idiots opposite Aamir Khan which earned him a Star Screen Award.

Life

Early life

Irani was born into a Parsi family on 1 October 1962 in Mumbai. Sources dispute his date of birth as 2 October, but Irani in an interview said he was born at 8:45 pm on 1 October.

He is a graduate of Mithibai College in Mumbai. After his graduation he pursued a career-initially with the Life Insurance Corporation of India from 1982 to 1985. At the same time he also established an Uncle Chips franchise in Dadar which ran until 1986 before shutting down owing to a loss.

Irani turned to photography in 1987 and continued until 1989. He is a professional photographer.

Career

Theatrical career

Irani’s love of acting was always present even during school and college. He trained under acting coach Hansraj Siddhia from 1981 to 1983 and adopted professional acting methods. Unlike national theatre, Irani’s preferred British theatre and he soon developed different accents.

Irani’s mentor was Alyque Padamsee – the veteran theatre actor best known for his role as Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Gandhi. Irani’s earliest theatrical appearance was in Roshni where he played a cameo – at the Regional Theatre in Versova. He followed this up with serials like Family Ties and Mahatma vs Gandhi (Playing Gandhi after the role was turned down by Darshan Jariwala.

His busy film career has stagnated his theatre career but despite this Irani continues to perform in theatre whenever possible. He has over 40 plays to his credit—around 15 of them as the lead character.

Movie career

Irani started out in a number of advertisements like Fanta, Ceat and Krackjack biscuits (‘As Mr. Jack of the Krack and Jack duo’).

It was with Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. that Irani became really popular. His role as J. Asthana earned him a Filmfare Award nomination for Best Comedian. Since then Irani has essayed many comedic,(Main Hoon Na, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Dostana, Waqt: The Race Against Time, No Entry, 3 Idiots), suporting,(Veer-Zaara, Maine Gandhi ko Nahin Mara, Lakshya, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., Sorry Bhai!, Page 3, My Wife’s Murder), and negative roles. (Don – The Chase Begins Again, Eklavya).

Irani also hosted the IIFA Awards together with actor Riteish Deshmukh in 2008 and 2009. He has also been on Kaun Banega Crorepati with Sanjay Dutt.

Personal life

Irani is a Parsi and follows the religion of Zoroastrianism. He speaks a number of languages very fluently, which includes English, Hindi, Gujarati, and Bengali.

Irani is a member of the Parsee Television Actors Community and is also its Secretary. This community includes others such as Smriti Zubin Irani and Cyrus Broacha.

Awards

• 2004 – Screen Weekly Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role; Munnabhai M.B.B.S.
• 2010 – Star Screen Award for Best Villain; 3 Idiots

Filmography

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