Actor Boman and son Kayoze Irani pulled off a rare feat this year — both made their directorial debuts only months apart. Boman helmed The Mehta Boys, which fetched a lot of acclaim earlier this year, while Kayoze directed Sarzameen, featuring Ibrahim Ali Khan in the lead.

Interestingly, both their projects were direct-to-OTT releases. Mention this to Kayoze, and he beams, “It was completely unplanned. My father has always wanted to make a film, and has been writing for years. It just so happened that we also shot our respective films around the same time.”

The 37-year-old, who is prepping for his second directorial shares, “I was shooting in Manali, while dad was filming in Mumbai. It’s such a strange thing that our debuts happened this year.” Ask if he’s afraid of comparisons with his dad and the actor-director replies, “I’m very happy about it. It’s a distinction I don’t know of any other father-son duo achieving this.”

As for his next project, Kayoze tells us, “I’m going into it, thinking it’s my launch. My next is a comedy film; it’s in the process of being written and will go on floors next year, if all goes well.”