Boman
Irani
tells
this
correspondent
over
a
cup
of
green
sugar
free
tea
that
though
he
was
skeptical
when
Shyam
Benegal
told
him
that
Minissha
Lamba
was
to
play
his
daughter
in
his
film;
she
surprised
him
by
essaying
the
character
with
aplomb.
You
have
acted
for
the
first
time
with
a
filmmaker
like
Shyam
Benegal!
When
out
of
the
blue,
I
received
a
call
from
Shyam
Benegal
himself
and
he
narrated
to
me
the
story,
I
asked
him
which
role
he
wanted
to
cast
me
in
his
film.
I
was
charged
when
he
told
me
that
he
was
interested
in
casting
me
in
the
role
of
Abba.
I
play
the
office
driver
of
the
executive
Rahul
Singh
in
the
film.
I
was
pleasantly
surprised
and
to
tell
you
the
truth,
I
was
charged
and
literally
on
cloud
nine.
You
seem
to
be
in
every
camp
in
the
film
industry,
whether
it"s
that
of
Shahrukh
Khan,
Karan
Johar
or
for
that
matter
Vipul
Shah
or
Rajkumar
Hirani!
I
do
not
believe
in
being
in
any
one
particular
camp.
I
like
to
work
with
Shahrukh
Khan
as
well
as
Karan
Johar.
I
like
to
work
with
Vipul
Shah
as
well
as
Yash
Chopra,
because
the
moment
I
owe
allegiance
to
any
one
particular
camp,
I
automatically
narrow
down
my
own
work.
How
would
you
describe
the
character
that
you
have
played
in
Well
Done
Abba?
To
me,
the
character
of
Armaan
Ali
that
I
am
playing
in
Shyam
Benegal"s
Well
Done
Abba
is
a
very
special
one.
He
is
not
so
bright
but
at
the
same
time
he
is
so
respectful.
The
biggest
challenge
for
me
as
an
actor
was
to
make
the
character
that
I
set
out
to
play
interesting
and
exciting,
because
he
sets
out
to
tackle
all
events
with
the
same
honesty
and
demeanor.
Though
he
is
an
optimist,
he
is
also
ready
to
accept
defeat
sometimes.
How
tough
was
it
to
play
the
role
of
Armaan
Ali
in
Well
Done
Abba?
It
was
easy
as
well
as
tough
to
essay
the
character
of
Armaan
Ali,
who
is
Minissha
Lamba"s
father.
A
boy-girl
relationship
has
a
lot
of
importance
in
films
but
rarely
does
a
director
set
out
to
tackle
the
relationship
between
a
father
and
a
daughter
with
justice.
I
feel
that
sometimes
even
the
relationship
between
a
mother
and
her
daughter
does
not
come
so
true
like
that
between
a
father
and
his
daughter.
It
is
not
very
easy
to
rehearse
a
relationship,
for
the
simple
reason
that
respect
and
interest
in
the
other
person
is
very
important
in
any
relationship.
How
would
you
describe
Shyam
as
a
director?
The
best
thing
about
Shyam
Benegal
is
that
he
actually
sets
out
to
direct
you
without
even
letting
you
know
that
you
are
actually
being
directed.
I
adapt
very
fast
as
an
actor.
Pardon
my
arrogance,
but
the
fact
is
that
I
feel
that
I
can
adapt
to
any
situation.
To
what
extent,
could
you
relate
to
the
character
of
Armaan
Ali?
Though
I
may
not
be
able
to
do
in
Munnabhai
what
I
did
in
Little
Zizou,
I
always
make
it
a
point
to
get
into
the
palette
of
the
character
once
I
get
to
know
the
tonality.
In
many
ways,
I
could
easily
relate
to
the
character
of
Abba
that
I
have
played
in
Well
Done
Abba.
I
feel
happy
when
I
get
to
do
a
character
in
which
I
am
not
at
all
at
home.
It
was
a
big
challenge
for
me
as
an
actor
to
play
a
khaatha
peetha
Gandhi
in
a
play.
In
fact,
I
remember
even
today
that
a
lot
of
people
wondered
why
Dibakar
Bannerjee
cast
me
in
Khosla
Ka
Ghosla
as
Mr.
Khurana.
How
did
you
prepare
for
your
character
in
Well
Done
Abba?
As
far
as
my
character
in
Well
Done
Abba
is
concerned,
all
that
I
can
say
is
that
it
was
long
after
I
tried
to
understand
the
script
and
what
the
director
wanted
to
say,
that
I
decided
on
the
externals
of
the
character.
As
a
parent,
as
a
person
who
is
tossed
around
by
the
system,
I
could
identify
with
the
character
that
I
have
played
in
Well
Done
Abba,
because
I
have
been
through
all
that.
You
seem
to
fit
the
bill
whether
you
play
a
father
to
Priyanka,
Gracy,
Dia
or
for
that
matter
Minissha
in
Well
Done
Abba!
If
you
feel
that
I
fit
the
bill
as
the
father
of
the
heroine
in
every
film
that
I
set
out
to
act,
whether
it
was
as
father
of
Priyanka
Chopra
in
Waqt
or
the
father
of
Dia
Mirza
in
Lage
Raho
Munnabhai
or
for
that
matter
the
father
of
Gracy
Singh
in
Munnabhai
M.B.B.S,
the
main
reason
is
that
I
do
not
have
any
vested
interest
in
all
the
heroines
with
whom
I
act!
Can
you
elucidate?
To
tell
you
the
truth,
Dia
Mirza
or
for
that
matter
Minsisha
Lamba
do
not
look
like
my
daughter
at
all
from
any
angle
whatsoever.
Though
I
was
skeptical
when
Shyam
told
me
that
Minissha
was
slated
to
play
my
daughter
in
his
film,
Minissha
surprised
me
by
essaying
the
character
with
aplomb.
What
is
your
mantra
as
an
actor?
As
an
actor,
I
have
always
believed
in
the
fact
that
acting
is
nothing
but
listening.
I
do
not
believe
in
overshadowing
any
actor
with
whom
I
set
out
to
act
because
I
believe
that
there
should
be
no
competition
among
actors.
Lalit
Tiwari
envelops
you
as
an
actor
when
he
emotes.
It
is
my
belief
that
you
perform
better
only
when
you
overcome
your
own
insecurity
as
an
actor.
How
do
you
approach
your
role
as
an
actor?
I
feel
that
performance
comes
across
automatically
by
the
way
you
set
out
to
play
a
character.
What
is
important
is
that
you
should
have
the
right
body
language
and
the
rhythm
of
speech.
Language
does
just
add
to
it.
Lisp
was
an
addition
to
add
to
the
flavor
of
the
character
of
Virus
that
I
played
in
3
Idiots.
It
is
the
sharpness
with
which
Virus
says
his
lines
that
actually
defines
his
character
literally
with
aplomb.
How
was
your
experience
working
with
a
taskmaster
like
Shyam?
The
best
thing
about
Shyam
as
a
director
is
that
he
lets
you
improvise,
within
the
frame
work
of
the
character.
Would
you
believe
it,
I
used
to
look
at
his
face
for
approval
after
every
shot,
instead
of
rushing
to
the
monitor.
I
would
say
that
it
is
indeed
very
difficult
to
please
a
man
at
his
level.
You
should
know
the
mindset
of
the
director
and
what
he
expects
out
of
you,
even
when
he
just
looks
at
you.
Sometimes
you
need
retakes,
as
an
actor
in
certain
scenes
just
to
warm
you
up.
Which
are
the
films
which
you
have
up
your
sleeves
as
of
now?
Among
the
films
which
I
am
having
up
my
sleeves
are
Arshad
Warsi"s
Hum
Tum
Aur
Ghost
which
is
being
directed
by
Kabeer
Kaushuik,
Sajid
Nadiadwala"s
Housefull
which
is
being
directed
by
Sajid
Khan,
Ravi
Chopra"s
Banda
Yeh
Bindaas
Hai,
Tarun
Mansukhani"s
sequel
to
Dostana,
sequel
of
Don
called
Don,
Crooked,
Vinay
Shukla"s
Mirch
in
which
I
am
playing
a
Sindhi
character
and
last
but
not
the
least
an
animation
film
called
Ab
Dilli
Door
Nahin.
How
do
you
manage
to
defy
type
casting
as
an
actor?
You
learn
sometimes
from
a
non
special
experience
too.
3
Idiots
was
a
special
experience
for
me.
I
learnt
from
it
too.
I
am
basically
non
confrontational.
I
am
a
big
fighter.
I
feel
that
the
comfort
zone
is
the
most
uncomfortable
zone
because
fire
in
your
belly
tends
to
get
extinguished
in
that
case.
It
can
ruin
you.
I
do
not
want
to
do
a
tailor-
made
role
because
I
feel
that
in
that
case
there
is
no
challenge
for
me
as
an
actor.
It
will
be
a
big
challenge
for
a
Punjabi
to
play
a
Bawaji
and
vice
versa.
Do
you
nurse
any
ambition
to
be
a
director?
I
know
for
a
fact
that
I
will
direct
a
film
one
day,
though
as
of
now
I
do
not
nurse
any
such
ambition
to
direct
any
film.
When
the
time
is
right,
it
will
definitely
happen.