Boman Irani: I find one teacher every day, I learnt a lot from my customers when I was a wafer shopkeeper

Actor Boman Irani’s journey so far has a lot to teach us — for instance, where you are today doesn’t mean you have to be stuck there tomorrow, too. It was at the age of 44, when he made his acting debut with Darna Mana Hai, and went on to deliver memorable performances in hits such as Khosla Ka Ghosla!, Lage Raho Munnabhai (both 2006) and Bluffmaster! (2005).

He’s also been the man behind giving us two of Bollywood’s most memorable teachers — Viru Sahastrabudhhe in 3 Idiots (2009), and Dean Asthana in Munnabhai MBBS (2003).

On the occasion of Teacher’s Day today, we ask him who’s been the biggest teacher of his life, and he says, “Well, I find one every day. It could be a kid you could get a lot of wisdom from. Especially when I go abroad and sit in taxis, I get wisdom from taxi drivers. They are dying to talk, they meet so many people every day, listening to radio all the time so know politics as well, about human behaviour, as they are psychologically strong.”

In fact, for the 60-year-old, his life experiences also involved meeting a lot of people — being a wafer shop owner himself.

He recounts, “I started going there since I was a kid, and started sitting from 1979 till 1994. I learnt a lot from my customers, I would see a character here and there. Teachers in real life can come from any quarters. It could be the guy you meet in the lift, who would give you a perspective on world you never imagined! My mother has been a wonderful teacher. It doesn’t have to be a famous guy.”

Irani’s character in the Aamir Khan-starrer 3 Idiots is perhaps among the most strict teachers in the history of Hindi films. Mention this to him and he agrees that it was everything that a teacher should not be like!

“I think it was very clean on the theme of the film. What does the protagonist (Aamir Khan) stand for, then you work on the antagonist. I had to be everything Rancho (Aamir’s character) was not. The theme of the film was ‘Chase excellence success will follow’, I had to play the opposite, and chase marks and numbers, and look at the other guy as competition. He did not go for excellence. Had he gone for that, he would have been another Rancho,” ends the actor.

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