You Can’t Make a Good Film Out of a Bad Script: Boman Irani

Watch Boman Irani talk about his role in ‘3 Idiots’ and more. 

(Photo: The Quint)

Rajukummar Rao and Mouni Roy starer ‘Made in China’ is all set to release on 25 October. Directed by Mikhil Musale, the story revolves around a Gujarati entrepreneur who tries o make it big with the help of a doctor (Boman Irani) and an advisor (Paresh Rawal).

The Quint caught up with Boman Irani, Sumeet Vyas, and the director Mikhil Musale to talk about what it was like shooting for the film.

How many rounds of scripting did it take to get it right?

Mikhil Musale: A lot of rounds with Boman sir itself.  The first draft was there, but what took time was to thematically get it correct and what you are trying to say. Essentially we are not the kind of writers who have written a lot so that took a little more time to get it correct.

What sort of scenario is digital in right now? Like, when you come back to a movie set, do you feel any difference between the two?

Sumeet Vyas: No, not really. As an art form, what is happening is that people are more open to experimenting because there is lack of risk. Subject-wise. Even the audience is willing to experiment. In that sense, it has sort of helped films.

When you started, even though there weren’t a lot of character-driven roles, you still managed to get Dr. Asthana in ‘Munnabhai MBBS’, and then Viru Sahasrabuddhe in ‘3 Idiots’. Are you able to see it in the script? How do you know that this is going to make for a good film?

Boman Irani: See, first of all, you know whether the film has some weight on it, some substance in it, even if it’s an out-and-out comedy, something about the narrative that will keep people involved. To find a character within that, I think is a lovely process which I enjoy very much. It’s a daily thing - you’re searching for something, and then finally you do find it, through the script, through your life experiences, and through discussions. Eventually, there are some questions you ask yourself. This shouldn’t sound like some acting workshop, because I hate sounding pedantic, but there are some questions you ask - if a character does not want anything in the film - then he’s not worth talking about. So what is it that I want in this film? And how is my life disrupted by the coming in of a character or a hero? Once he disrupts my life, what is it that I want from that disruption? Now that I’m in with the game. Once you find that, slowly you start figuring out the character.

To find out more, watch the video.

Cameraperson: Gautam Sharma
Video Editor: Veeru Krishan Mohan