Beauty lies in the hands of the camera holder!

By Martin D’Souza | Opening Doorz Editorial | December 22, 2016

Boman Irani loves photo shoots

His life revolves around the camera: in front and behind it. He loves photo shoots

In 1987, he began his life behind the lens as a fashion photographer. Since then, Boman Irani looks for beauty in whatever he beholds.

It could be a cart loaded with tomatoes on a rainy day, tired trolleys lined up at the airport, watchman Tanaji in his uniform or even the Gorgeous Gina with no clothes on!

Shooting pics takes the stress off him, shooting for the camera, gives him another high! So what is his preferred profession? This question I had posed to him in 2004, sitting in his vanity van, when he was shooting for the Hutch ad with the adorable Pug! This is what he had replied then: “It’s what one enjoys, not prefers; I’ve done a lot of fashion photography and theatre; this (acting) is an extension of another kind. I love shoots and shoot every month, which keeps me in touch with the craft and I can get back to theeatre whenever I want to. Everything is eventually a hobby.”

From photo shoots to theatre to movies

Photography progressed into theatre. And slowly movies came along: “It [movies] happened quite by chance. I never intended to do movies even though the offers kept coming. Let’s Talk, a small-budget film that did the rounds of the festival circuit, was received very well and played a key role. It was noticed by the people who mattered in Bollywood,” Boman had told me then.

Dr. J C Asthana came along in Munnabhai MBBS, followed by a horde of memorable characters, but the camera never left his hand.

Presenting some of Boman’s recent works, shot on the spur of the moment…

Pictures and captions are by Boman Irani. Boman’s portrait shot is by Ram Bherwani.