'...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
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