Boman Irani On His Days Working As A Middle Class Shopkeeper: 'Used To Smell Of Ghee And Potatoes'

Boman Irani is one of the most successful and talented actors in Bollywood. Despite coming from an absolutely non-filmy background, he established himself in the competitive industry of films as irreplaceable and iconic. He has been a part of some pathbreaking films such as 3 Idiots, Munnabhai MBBS, Veer Zara, Waqt: The Race Against Time, Don, Heyy Babyy among so many others. While the actor leads a humble personality off-screen, did you know that he initially started off his career by working as a shopkeeper making namkeen, potato chips and tea at his family’s hereditary Irani bakery? Well, the actor divulges unheard anecdotes about the same.

Boman Irani recalls living in a house with no roof, reveals having no house of his own till 47

In a podcast with Jist, Boman Irani recollected memories from his past when he was all but a struggling lad in a fast-moving city like Bombay. The actor mentioned that for the longest time, he lived in a home without roof and that the sky was visible right above his bed. Retrospecting his life to be cruel, the actor revealed:

“I didn’t have a house in my name till I was 47. There was a time when my building had to be repaired because I could see the sky from my bed. Life can be cruel, childhood can be cruel. Some people get it easy. But it is tastier when it comes hard.” 

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Boman reveals whether he loves fantasising about his hardships and struggles

Well, not all people are blessed with a life like a bed of roses and Boman was no different. However, what has always set him apart from the rest is the fact that he never lost hope. In the same interaction, the actor was asked if he ever fantasised about the hardships that he has faced in the past, now that he has emerged successful. In his response, the actor revealed that on the contrary, he is still struggling and till now faces door-to-door rejection. In his words:

“I am still struggling for my art, my craft. I went from door to door facing rejections because I wanted to do something unique. So, I have a sense of rejection also. Just because I have got a certain stature today, it doesn’t mean that people will tell me, ‘You write anything, we will make it.’ There is rejection even today.”

Further in the interview, Boman was asked whether earning money and witnessing massive success right in front of his eyes has changed him as a person. In his defence, the actor claimed that he has never associated money with happiness in life. Moreover, he blatantly shared that even when he didn’t have money, he was happy and in fact, he used to make jokes about his tough situations.

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Boman Irani recalls his life as a shopkeeper smelling of ghee and potatoes all the time

In the concluding segment of the interview, Boman Irani talked about the most crucial phase of his life, when he used to work as a shopkeeper in his family’s hereditary Irani bakery shop, where he made tea and potato chips for almost 14 years. The actor mentioned how he used to smell of ghee all the time and it wouldn’t go even after showering multiple times. Revealing how his wife gave him a golden advise to wear the smell like his badge of honour, Boman said:

“I was a shopkeeper for 14 years and I used to smell of ‘ghee’ and potatoes. I felt odd about it. But, my wife used to tell me to wear it like a badge of honour, ‘It is ok if your body smells of ghee’. We used to fry wafers at our shop, even if you take a shower five times, that smell won’t go away. But I was successful being a middle-class shopkeeper, though I wanted something else from life. I wanted to be an actor and director.”

Boman even worked as a waiter at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai

Another crucial yet often-overlooked facet of Boman Irani’s life was the time when he used to work as a waiter at the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai. Well, after having experience of running his family’s wafer and Irani bakery for years, Boman had requested the manager of the prestigious hotel to give him work at the rooftop restaurant in the hotel. However, initially he was thronged into works of room service at the hotel, where he carried out odd jobs. It was only after one and a half years that he was finally made the waiter at the restaurant.

What do you think about Boman Irani’s revelations?

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