Story by PTI | Posted by Ashhar Alam | Date 10-09-2026
Actor Boman Irani
Actor Boman Irani says he prepares obsessively for his roles but working with veteran filmmaker Priyadarshan on “Haiwaan” taught him to let go of that process and trust the director’s instinct on set.
The crime-thriller film marks the second collaboration between the director and actor after their 2012 movie, “Tezz”.
Known for his performance in “Munnabhai M.B.B.S”, “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”, “Khosla Ka Ghosla”, “3 Idiots”, “Dunki”, and “The Mehta Boys”, Irani said he tends to rehearse extensively, but Priyadarshan reinforced his belief that an actor’s preparation should never become rigid.
“As an actor, I often over rehearse. I do the lines while wearing my socks, shaving, etc. When you get onto the floor, you have Mr. Priyadarshan telling you, ‘Just say this one time, look into the camera, and just walk off the camera’. Then all my preparation has come to zero. And it’s not bad that you can be melded and molded whichever way the craftsman wants it to,” the actor told PTI in an interview.
“If you are stuck to it (process) and you are married to a method, then you are not a good actor. You have to prepare enough for the director to tell you, ‘turn it down or up a little bit’,” he said.
Irani, who also directed “The Mehta Boys”, said he got to experience the craftsmanship of the veteran filmmaker, and who he is as a person on the set.
“In a movie like (‘Haiwaan’), you see the craftsmanship. There is a director at work that can actually scale with simple camera movements, simple compositions. I’m not saying simple but using the tools of the trade to tell the story and he has got some wonderful actors in it,” he said.
“I’ll never be able to replicate his style. I like to observe him as a human being… Like, Priyan insists on saying goodbye after the last shot because he knows his shot is worth it, like, he comes himself and doesn’t send an assistant. These are the things I pick up because I know I’ll not be able to replicate the camera and technical aspect,” he added.
Actors Saiyami Kher, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Rajpal Yadav, Sharib Hashmi, and the late veteran star Asrani among others round out the cast of “Haiwaan”.
The film, produced by Venkat K Narayana and Shailaja Desai Fenn, will arrive in theatres worldwide on September 11.
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