From Parsi bakery owner to the man who made even “life is a race” strangely unforgettable - Boman Irani’s journey is best measured in iconic roles, not box office numbers.

There’s no textbook for late bloomers in Bollywood - ask Boman Irani, who landed his first film at 42 yet sprinted past the young guns with quirks, gravitas, and a voice built for mischief and monologues. His resume? A best-of playlist of villains who aren’t all bad, dads who lie for love, gatekeepers you begrudgingly respect, with enough oddballs to fill an Irani café. Here are seven roles that stamped him a modern legend (but, which seven? Pick your poison. These are mine).

Dr. Asthana (Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., 2003)

Boman Irani as Dr. Asthana in Munna Bhai M.B.B.S

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The laugh. That hair. Boman’s break as the stern, compulsive-chuckler dean set the tone for a generation of authority figures both feared and weirdly admired. Even Sanjay Dutt’s Munna met his match (literally, slap for slap), and so did the idea that comic villains couldn’t be tragic, too.

Lucky Singh (Lage Raho Munna Bhai, 2006)

Boman Irani as Lucky Singh in Lage Raho Munna Bhai

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A “fixer” Sikh with more heart than he’d show, Lucky Singh mutters, connives, and - under all the Gandhigiri gags - reveals a battered parent’s panic. Boman stepped out from Asthana’s academic glasses to give us sly, layered warmth and some of the franchise’s sneakiest laughs.

Virus (3 Idiots, 2009)

Boman Irani as Virus in 3 Idiots

Life isn’t fair, Viru Sahastrabuddhe bemoans with a lisp and a seven-minute nap. The role won him awards, but Virus’s rigid philosophy is so relatable that “All is well” looks like willful rebellion. Did engineering colleges across India shift after this? Ask any student - he’s who they’re still parodying (or fearing).

DCP D’Silva/Vardhaan (Don, Don 2)

Playing both an uptight cop and a criminal mastermind, Irani’s switcheroos fueled Farhan Akhtar’s Don reboot. That two-faced menace, delivered with a twinkle of madness and just enough sincerity, is classic Boman: he’s almost too smart for the script, which makes you root for him - even if you shouldn’t.

Khurrana (Khosla Ka Ghosla, 2006)

Boman Irani as Khurana in Khosla Ka Ghosla

Comedy gold comes in the form of Delhi’s sly plot-grabber: Khurrana. Greasy, manipulative, and yet bizarrely charming, Boman made middle-class real estate woes a national funnybone (and inspired a thousand “jugaad” memes).

Advocate Rajpal (Jolly LLB, 2013)

Boman Irani in Jolly LLB (2013)

Lawyer, liar, or lovable rogue? Dishing out street-smart legalese, Irani’s brash Rajpal lit up Subhash Kapoor’s courtroom satire, part villain, part scene-stealer.

Murli “M” (Dostana, 2008)

Boman Irani as Comedic Genius Murli “M” in Dostana

As Priyanka Chopra’s flamboyant boss, Boman upended stereotypes, delivering deadpan lines and dark humor that made “M” the unlikeliest scene-stealer in a film loaded with stars and awkward innuendo.

Before all this, he worked at a farsan shop for 12 years, shot sports photography, and honed timing on stage when few cared. Peer inside his process, and you’ll find obsessive note-taking, jogs in the rain to crack a gag, and childhood memories of selling potato chips from a Mumbai pavement.

Boman at 65 still turns up as the Mr. Reliable for directors who need their sidekicks complicated and their antagonists slyly lovable. This one's for you, Boman - wishing you a Very Happy Birthday!