Published By: Sayan Paul

Happy Birthday, Boman Irani: Did You Know The '3 Idiots' Actor Was A Waiter In His Early Life?

The veteran actor, in one of his interviews, said, "To reach the top, you have to start from the bottom."

Look at Boman Irani's filmography, and you will realize that the actor has played supporting characters in nearly all his films. But being an actor par excellence, he knows how to leave a mark (even with a brief appearance in a film) and win over hearts. And what's also special about him is that you can never put him in a box. He can play a doting father, a Sardar, a weird professor, a media personnel, a lawyer, or even a quintessential Bollywood gangster - all with equal ease and conviction. And man, we can never get tired of watching him on the screen!

Boman Irani played the role of strict college dean Viru Sahastrabuddhe in ‘3 Idiots’

Born on December 2, 1959, Irani has featured in over 100 films, the notable ones being 'Munna Bhai MBBS' (his debut), 'Main Hoon Na', 'Lakshya', 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai', 'Don', 'Jolly LLB', 'Happy New Year', 'Dunki', and of course, '3 Idiots' among others. However, not many know that he was in a completely different profession in his early life.

Credit: Boman Irani

The veteran actor celebrates his 65th birthday today. On this occasion, let's learn about what he did before stepping into showbiz.

Boman Irani Worked As A Waiter In His Early Life

Well, Irani grew up in a humble family, as his father had died just before he was born, and also, he has 3 elder sisters. Moreover, he grew up with dyslexia in his childhood, which he eventually overcame through singing and speech therapy.

After completing his secondary schooling, Irani obtained a 2-year waiter course at Mithibai College in Mumbai. And then he worked as a waiter at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel for quite some time. As the '3 Idiots' actor later shared, "If nothing else, I thought I’d make a fantastic waiter! I spent a few weeks on a short hospitality course before returning to my grandmother. I was terrified to tell her about everything, but I summoned the strength to say, “Grandmother, I want to become a waiter!"

"I went to The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, where my boss asked me about my qualifications, to which I responded, “Food and Beverage.” ‘Ignoramus, the entire restaurant is all about food and beverage!’ he exclaimed. ‘What department are you in?’ ‘Rendezvous Restaurant, I said.

'So, you want to start at the top?’ the boss remarked, sarcastically. 'Excellent, you fool, begin at the bottom!’"

Credit: boman_irani

Notably, Rendezvous was one of the finest high-end French restaurants In India at that time. He worked as a waiter there for 6-8 months and then worked in the room service department for nearly a year. He received ₹105 as his monthly remuneration.

The Various Other Jobs That He Did

Not many know that Irani is also a professional photographer (a natural choice for him, as his late father was a photographer). In his words, "I never met my father, so it (a few cameras and some negatives) was the only thing that was a physical memory of him. His was not the first camera I used, though, because they used to be bulky. I got myself a basic camera so that I could do sports photography."

After reading lots of books on photography, he started doing it professionally. While working at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, he used to sell photos of school cricket and football matches for 20 to 30 rupees. Later, he worked at Aspy Adajania's (the President of the Indian Boxing Association) office and became the official photographer for the Indian Boxing Association and gradually for the Norwegian Boxing Team, where he captured photos of legendary Norwegian boxer Ole Klemetsen with his Pentax K1000 camera.

Credit: boman_irani

Speaking about the significance of photography in his life, the actor once shared, "Photography taught me patience. It taught me that art has an expression. I found a lot of solace, patience, and discipline. It was a stepping stone to what I eventually wanted to do. Everything I want to express started from photography."

Besides, he also managed a bakery and snacks shop in Mumbai (that was initially run by his mother).

Finally, Foray Into Acting

Actually, Irani first recognized his passion for acting during his school days, when he used to take part in his school plays. From 1981 to 1983, he trained under acting coach Hansraj Siddhia. He acted in several theater plays, including 'Roshni' which was performed at the Regional Theater in Versova.

Credit: Doordarshan National

He started his professional acting career with television commercials and serials. In 2003, he made a small appearance in the film, 'Darna Mana Hai', which earned him recognition. Finally, he got his breakthrough with 'Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.' which catapulted him to stardom. The rest, as they say, is history!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Irani. Your Journey Is An Inspiration For Us!