The Mehta Boys, which has released today on Amazon Prime Video, is directed, written and produced by Boman Irani. The actor also features as one of the leads. The film has a lot of moments which are straight out of life. The story takes a lot of unexpected turns and it keeps the viewers engaged. Technically, the film is top-class. On the flipside, the writing loses grip in the second half. An important character is forgotten and that's not fair, since a lot of attention was devoted to her in the first 30 minutes. The rude boss angle comes up suddenly as well. Boman Irani, as expected, rocks as the actor. Avinash Tiwary, too, puts his best foot forward. Both communicate a lot very well non-verbally as well. Shreya Chaudhry yet again gives a solid performance after Bandish Bandits. Puja Sarup is damn good and sadly, her character gets a raw deal. Siddhartha Basu (Sen) leaves a mark. Harssh A Singh (Sam Makhija) is great but suffers from weak characterization. All in all, The Mehta Boys is worth watching for its performances and relatable moments.

My rating - *** out of 5!

Boman Irani, who stepped into direction with the film The Mehta Boys recently, shares that directing a film was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a dream that he harboured since childhood. Clearly, life at 64, is turning out to be yet another adventure for the veteran actor, whose film premiered at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival. Staying relevant, Boman clarifies, are not the magic words that drove him to explore uncharted territories like directing a film.

“How do you even define ‘relevant’? Being in the news? Being active on Instagram? Or having continuous films coming out one after the other?” he asks, adding, “All I know is that I am passionate about my craft – whether it is acting, writing, directing or teaching screenwriting.”

Boman was certain that he would become a director one day, long before acting was on his radar. “I always knew I was going to be a director, even as a kid,” he reflects, adding, “However, I also knew it would take time because I was not trained for it. Sure, watching films, reading scripts, and devouring books helps, but at the end of the day, if you want to direct well, you first have to learn how to write. Directing is not just about taking a shot, swinging the camera from left to right or guiding actors. It is about understanding the anatomy of a script and the story it wants to tell. You have to know why you are telling the story and how it will resonate with people from the writing stage itself. The moment you grasp that, you can finally decide you can be a director.”

Like his acting career, Boman’s directorial debut came later in life. Ask him if there is such a thing as ‘too late’ to follow your passions and he replies, “Yes, I started acting later in life, but that’s the way I am. I don’t follow time frames for anything. I believe you have to feel ready. If your heart does not tell you are ready, there is no point diving in just because you are 45 or because the clock is ticking away. What matters is that your mind is active and there is passion inside of you.”

His initial apprehensions about not being able to juggle both acting and directing turned out to be his biggest asset, pushing him to give his all. He admits, “I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to handle both roles effectively. However, that fear worked in my favour. We spent three months meticulously prepping for every scene, shot and camera angle because I did not want to leave anything to chance.”