The Chicago South Asian Film Festival (CSAFF) was abuzz this weekend as Boman Irani and the team of The Mehta Boys graced the red carpet for the opening night. The crowd flocked to see the beloved actor, who warmly engaged with them, showcasing his charm. The entire team was met with a standing ovation from the enthusiastic audience. 'The Mehta Boys' marks Boman Irani’s debut directorial and from what we hear from ground zero the project has all it takes to become a hit.
Before the screening, when Boman Irani interacted with the audience he said, “This film started many years ago, actually, with a friend, producer, and director named Sujoy Ghosh, who wanted to cast me in a film. He came over to my house while I was running a fever and pitched me a few ideas. Among them was this one-liner: ‘The Mehta Boys.’ I said I wanted to do that one because I wanted to direct it. He said, ‘You've got the story,’ and I’ll always be grateful to him for being so generous. I began writing the film in my own silly way, just to wake my wife, Zenobia, who’s here, in the middle of the night. I’d read the scenes to her, and she would groggily say, ‘It’s very nice,’ before going back to sleep. In the morning, I would tear off the page and realize that a lot of work needed to be done."
The actor also added, "I just want to say that everyone says it’s a labour of love. I’ll tell you how long this film really took: it took almost 55 days to make because I never really wanted to be an actor or a filmmaker. I always thank my mother for introducing me to cinema the way she did. She would encourage me to go to the cinema every single day, pushing me into the theatre because she knew it was for me. And thank you to my team and family for being here. Enjoy the film everyone; it’s about family, and family is love.”
The cast, including Avinash Tiwary and Shreya Chaudhary, were present at the festival, along with co-writer Alex Dinelaris and producers Danesh Irani of Irani Movietone and Anikta Batra of Chakboald Ltd. The movie is slated to release on Amazon Prime Video.