How Paresh Rawal Inspired Boman Irani to Work in Films

New Delhi: Actor Boman Irani finds the portrait of Indian cinema ever-changing and says that senior actors might not be seen in abundance but they are a permanent fixture in Bollywood.

"See, there are phases. There are ups and downs. There will be a year where there will be female-oriented films, and then there will be a year when there will be more action films. These things happen. But yes, you cannot do away with the senior actors," Boman told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

"Just the way you cannot do away with important character actors or the supporting actors. At the moment, there are some wonderful roles, but not as many and there are some waiting to be made," he added.

After exploring the world of theatre -- with over 40 plays to his credit, Boman forayed into Bollywood in 2001 with Everybody Says I'm Fine!.

But he got onto the spiral of fame as J.C. Asthana in Rajkumar Hirani's 2003 hit comedy Munnabhai M.B.B.S. He followed it up with Being Cyrus, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Don - The Chase Begins Again, 3 Idiots and Happy New Year.

The 56-year-old said he gravitated towards the film world due to powerful stories like Saaransh and Hera Pheri.

"There have been a few characters that stood out. When I was very young and saw Anupam Kher in Saaransh, it hit me. And 1990s was not a great time for cinema. And then years later, a wonderfully played comic character by Paresh Rawal in Hera Pheri made everyone sit up and notice - that these are not top characters but form the backbone of the film," Boman said.

"I saw Hera Pheri when I was doing theatre and knew that it is a time to start working in cinema because that really kind of pumped me," added the actor, who is the brand ambassador for Ambi Pur India.

Boman thinks he was lucky to get Munnabhai M.B.B.S -- which was a huge success and was followed by its sequel Lage Raho Munna Bhai. The third part in the installment is already in the works.

He feels that senior actors may not necessarily be an antagonist or protagonist, but some movies allow them to be a catalyst to the story.