Munna Bhai 3: I don't like compartmentalising my roles, says Boman Irani

Boman Irani says he does not like to put his characters in a particular box as he feels a role cannot simply be comedic or serious. He says he likes to explore the entire spectrum of emotions in a character, no matter what genre it belongs to.

“I don’t care whether the role is of a serious guy or a negative guy or a comedic one. I look at it all the way. If I have a comedic role, I will not concentrate only on the laughs. I would like to make the character more believable within the plot so that the story gets told. If the writing is bad, none of the roles would save the film from tanking. I do not like compartmentalising my roles,” says Boman.

The actor, 57, says he tries to get familiar with the nuances of his character, as he feels a role cannot be one- dimensional. “I don’t know if my role in 3 Idiots can be termed as a comedic one. I don’t even know how to identify it. It was a very dark character. There will be a dramatic scene in the film for which my character will have to prepare itself. Take the Munna Bhai series, where the character had to go through a lot of dramatic scenes. In Khosla ka Ghosla, he was a villainous character, I don’t see him as a comedic one. Today, we are concentrating on punchlines and that’s very dangerous. For me any role is difficult, if I’m not prepared or if the writing is bad. It has nothing to do with the genre,” he says.

Boman says an actor needs to know the whole story so that one can build the character over the course of a film or a play and sticking to just knowing what one’s role is not enough. “What happens in theatre is that even if a character is supposed to appear in the fourth or fifth scene, you must experience the whole dynamics of the play, so that you understand where you fit in the story. Whenever someone starts reading my scenes in the script to me, I tell them to not just tell me about my character but concentrate on the whole narrative. Reading the full script helps me understand the graph of my character. I have learnt this from my theatre days that a situation may arise that an actor is unable to perform and I may have to step in his shoes... For that I need to know the entire story. I will never be able to understand my character if I don’t know the whole plot,” Boman says.

Discussing his stint as a judge on children’s reality TV show, Sabse Bada Kalakar on Sony channel, the actor says he is having a wonderful time sitting back and witnessing the acting talent of children. “It is a charming little show. I feel like I’m on a holiday while judging Sabse Bada Kalakar. I simply go and sit there, and watch these beautiful children show their talent with gay abandon and fearlessness. It is so joyous to watch them. This show is just like an extension of extra-curricular activities in school that is airing on television for everyone to enjoy,” he says.

Boman judges the show along with his Munna Bhai co-star Arshad Warsi and says it is a welcome experience to work with a friend. “This show is a more informal opportunity for Arshad and I to spend time with each other and have fun. He’s an old friend and as a co-judge on the show he also seems to enjoy watching the children perform. We share a lovely relationship. Hopefully, we will be in Munna Bhai 3 together. We don’t know the script yet, but I hope to share screen with him soon,” Boman says.

Through this show, Boman also got a chance to know Raveena Tandon personally.