‘…and
wants
to
become
a
man,
things
change.’
‘The
child
no
longer
wants
to
listen
to
anyone,
and
the
father
doesn’t
stay
silent.’
Boman
Irani
has
been
promoting
his
directorial
debut
The
Mehta
Boys,
starring
Avinash
Tiwary
and
Shreya
Chaudhry.
The
film
tells
the
story
of
a
father
and
son,
who
are
at
odds
with
each
other
but
are
unexpectedly
compelled
to
spend
48
hours
together.
Puja
Sarup,
also
seen
above,
plays
the
reason
why
father
and
son
are
forced
to
stay
together.
“For
Boman
sir,
female
empowerment
is
not
just
showing
aggression
but
it
is
also
(shown)
in
silence,”
Shreya
says.
“Being
Avinash’s
girlfriend
(in
the
film),
she
wants
him
to
perform
well
in
life.
She
pushes
him
to
cross
the
boundary
as
she
is
aware
of
his
talent.
She
also
shares
a
beautiful
bond
with
Boman
sir’s
character.
“Through
this
film,
we
want
people
to
understand
how
important
it
is
to
develop
empathy
for
parents.
Similarly,
parents
should
have
the
same
feelings
for
their
children.
If
this
develops,
the
world
will
be
so
beautiful.
As
a
partner,
it
is
important
to
trust
and
support
each
other.
So,
the
film
is
all
about
understanding
the
intricacies
of
relationship.”
“Empathy
is
most
important
in
relationship
and
if
it
is
there,
it
can
solve
many
problems,”
Avinash
agrees.
Puja
Sarup
plays
Boman’s
wife
and
Avinash’s
mother
and
says
that
she
is
trying
to
‘bridge
the
gap
between
two
men.
She
is
trying
to
resolve
the
issues
between
father
and
son
and
bring
them
together.’
Reflecting
on
how
the
project
came
to
life,
Boman
Irani
said,
“Sujoy
Ghosh
came
to
my
house
a
few
years
ago
with
three-four
ideas,
asking
if
I
would
be
interested
in
working
on
these
films
with
him.
“Then,
he
gave
me
one
particular
idea
in
a
one-liner:
‘There
is
a
lot
of
conflict
between
a
father
and
son
who
have
to
spend
48
hours
together.
What
will
happen?’
I
really
liked
it,
and
told
him
that
I
wanted
to
direct
this
movie.
Sujoy
said,
‘Okay,
this
project
is
now
yours’,”
Boman
says,
explaining
how
he
got
to
direct
The
Mehta
Boys.
“The
relatability
of
the
topic
moved
me,
and
when
something
moves
you,
that’s
the
film
you
must
make,”
he
adds.
Boman
reveals
that
the
script
took
eight
years
to
complete.
“I
kept
learning
and
writing.
It
took
time
to
write,
and
I
wrote
it
bit
by
bit.
This
is
a
subject
where
you
can’t
hurry;
you
have
to
figure
out
how
to
keep
the
audience
engaged
for
two
hours.
So
you
have
to
stick
to
a
theme.
“Every
scene
must
be
meaningful.
You
sometimes
feel
like
cutting
lines
but
then
wonder
why
you
cut
them…
In
this
script,
no
line
is
wasted.
Every
word
serves
a
purpose,”
he
says.
Regarding
his
slow
yet
steady
career
trajectory
in
Indian
cinema,
he
shares,
“It
took
me
some
time.
I
take
my
time
with
everything.
I
became
an
actor
at
44,
a
scriptwriter
at
55,
and
now
at
65,
I’m
directing.
I
take
my
time
with
everything…
I’m
a
bit
slow.”
Reflecting
on
his
opinion
on
the
roots
of
father-son
conflict,
he
said,
“I
don’t
know
when
exactly
the
conflict
starts.
It
feels
like
there’s
no
problem
but
then
you
realise
there
is.
Because
you
want
to
say
something
but
the
other
person
understands
it
differently.
“It
happens
when
a
child
is
small,
and
the
father
controls
everything
—
where
to
go,
what
movie
to
watch,
what
to
eat.
But
when
the
child
grows
up,
gets
a
moustache,
and
wants
to
become
a
man,
things
change.
The
child
no
longer
wants
to
listen
to
anyone,
and
the
father
doesn’t
stay
silent.
That’s
when
the
father’s
ego
gets
affected.”
The
Mehta
Boys
will
start
streaming
on
Amazon
Prime
Video
from
February
7.
Photographs:
Panna
Bandekar.
Curated
by
Satish
Bodas/Rediff.com
