"It's a pretty unique film, which is wonderfully complicated, deliciously wicked, twisted, scary and equally funny."

Courtesy: IndiaFM
Friday, March 17, 2006

'You can't be horrible in real life. So play horrible roles in films' says comedy actor Boman Iran, who enjoyed playing Farukh Sethna, a crazy parsi character in his forthcoming movie Being Cyrus. Internationally acclaimed, this movie has assembled an interesting star cast. IndiaFM spoke to Boman about Being Cyrus and his forthcoming films.

Farukh Sethna is a horrible fellow...
I play a parsi character called Farukh Sethna. I am the younger brother of Naseeruddin Shah. Naseer is a sculptor who stays in Panchgani with his wife Dimple Kapadia. My character is living in Bombay, taking care of the old man. He is very mean to the old man and to every one around him. He is a horrible fellow. I like playing the horrible guy. You can't be horrible in real life so play horrible roles in films. It's interesting because you get to understand a little bit about life. Some people are so horrible and through this you will get to study such people and understand why they are horrible, mean and as ugly as human beings. It was great pleasure to play Farukh Sethna because he is crazy and always angry about something. He has got his own habits and affairs. He is bizarre and crude. It's fun to watch!

It has a lot of touches that people will notice
I would like to believe that all my characters are different from each and every other character. This is different because he is Parsi. Someone said that you are a Parsi so you are playing yourself, which is an unfair statement. I think that it's your duty as an actor to perform different roles and keep discovering all the aspects of your acting ability. It's so difficult to talk about characters. It has lot of touches that people will notice. It's not a straight story but a quirky where you have all these different characters involved in one story. This is something which you can't write on paper you have to describe it sometimes. It's a vision that can't be developed on paper. You have to listen to him carefully. You have to get excite by his excitement.

The preparations
I think you must prepare for every role. I enjoyed the process because that is making life easier for you on the set.

On working with Homi, a young Parsi director
A young parsi boy came to me with an interesting script. It's his first film with the unique script, vision and a desire to make film. He is the one who sells you that desire gets the producer to back him up and makes the film. This is what I like about Homi and I decided to go for it. The film is ready to release. It got excellent reviews from inter national film festivals. All this is not easy especially when there is no one to back you up. These reviews explain that it's a pretty unique film, which is wonderfully complicated, deliciously wicked, twisted, scary and equally funny. The star casts is very interesting. There is Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia, Simone Singh, a very hot and happening Saif Ali Khan and me! It's not bad at all for a first time filmmaker.

None of them were Parsi except me
Except me and Homi there was no Parsi on the set. Everyone from Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Simone Singh to Manoj Bawa are not parsi but portrayed their characters so well. It was sad that I didn't get many scenes with Naseeruddin Shah. We had one photo together. This is the sad part of the film but in a way it worked well because both the characters are so different in their approach to life. One is a dreamer and the other is so mad, he can be almost criminal.

Offbeat movie
It's an opportunity to show another aspect of your abilities. That does not mean if you do offbeat films it has to be good. You may call it offbeat, art or parallel give whatever name but the fact of the matter is, it's a form of cinema. It is meant for this framework of language because it suits to the script. You cannot shoot a film like Being Cyrus in Switzerland. It was meant to be shot in the dark. It's an intrigue, deliciously wicked and funny film. Its funniness turns out as wickedness and I think Being Cyrus is a wonderful combination of all.

Saif and I get along so well
Saif and I get along so well. It was proved on screen in Darna Mana Hai. I think it is good for actors to get along. I know his tempo, rhythm and his reaction. I think it's a beautiful chemistry and he is developing into such a wonderful actor. More than me, I think it's more difficult for Saif to work on this project. Especially when his career is riding high. Home Delivery was a small film for me. But this is not a small film. It's a brave attempt to do an English language film when you are ruling Hindi cinema. Hats off to Saif!

There is no song but music plays an important song
It's an English movie which has no songs but music plays an important role. It offers an intriguing mood to the film. Salim- Suleman are very dear friends of mine. They have done the music. They are talented music directors. The music has such a rhythm and pattern that you feel the guys mind from inside.

Funny moment
I had a big fall on the set. I always had accidents on the sets. Once in one shot I was supposed to kick something and I landed on my backside. Everyone wondered what happened to me. But when I turned and gave them a smile then they all laughed. There was a guy who had recorded the incident and showed it to everyone on the set. It was nice working with everyone. It was a young atmosphere. Everyone had a good time together.

Director's art
I believe that the directors' enthusiasm has a great role to play because there are many stories, but there can be only one interesting story. If your director is not smart enough to tell that story then there is no point. But if you have an interesting story with a young man with such a great energy and excitement then you want to be part of it. Homi kept working on the draft. He used to come with the fresh draft and ask me what I thought. I would have done it in any case. But I'm really fond of him. He has a lot enthusiasm and worked on his script several times.

Expectations
Saif and I enjoyed working in the film which has certain amount of mystery and suspense. It is beautifully textured by Homi and the audience would like to see textured films rather than a stereo type. Now the film is ready to prove itself in India after having proved itself in other countries with excellent reviews.

Films in the pipe line
Apart from Being Cyrus, which is releasing this month, there is Khosla Ka Ghosla in which I play a Punjabi guy called Khuran, a Delhi land-broker. Again, he's not a very nice guy. He cheats people. Its fun and I love such characters. Then in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Eklavya, I am playing Rana, the king. Again it's not a comedy film at all. I am playing D'Silva in Farhan Akhtar's Don. Then in Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd. I am playing Shabana Azmi's husband. Also, there are Pyare Mohan and Munna Bhai- 2 which will release this year.