In an interview with Subhash K Jha, Boman Irani speaks on working with Shyam Benegal and completing 15 years of Well Done Abba

Q. Your only film with Shyam Benegal is now 15 years old?

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Well Done Abba, and I don’t say this loosely, I don’t say this lightly, that Well Done Abba was one of the greatest working experiences in my life. The moment I was first called, I mean, I literally stood at attention.

Q. What was it like working with Benegal?

It was my first lead role, and it made matters more exciting for me. And when you’re talking to Mr Benegal, you know, you’re talking to greatness. I mean, there’s no secret about it. But he never let you feel that he was the man with all that genius and all that experience and with that legacy that he has behind him. He spoke to you as an equal, as he did with every single person on the set. Apart from his knowledge of cinema, and for that matter, everything from a pin to an elephant, he could tell you where it came from and which year it was made and why it was designed so. I mean, you know, it’s funny, the man’s knowledge was scary in general.

Q. What was Shayam Babu like as a director?

What I saw on the set was a person dealing with humanity with every single person. That’s my greatest takeaway from working with Mr Benegal. If we broke for lunch at one, he said, “Can you hold this emotion till after lunch?” And I would say, “Sure.” I said, “Why can’t we not work for another 10 minutes and complete the shot?” He said “No, if you can hold it well and good, because I don’t like to stretch the lunch break time because everybody on the set is, you know, not as invested as you and I. An army, I mean, a crew like the army marches on its stomach. Not only must you feed them on time, but you must also feed them well.’

Q. Yes, I believe he made sure the food on the set was impeccable?

Considering it was a very, very tight budget film, the food selected by him and the caterer selected by him as the producer was top class because it meant that people should be happy when they come back to work in the afternoon instead of others being grumpy and sleepy.

Q. He was super-democratic on the set?

No actor was too big on the set. No crew member was too big or too small on the set. And I will always cherish this one experience in my life. And that’s the very reason why I’m speaking at length. Otherwise, sometimes you run out of steam. So, what do you say about somebody when people ask you for a quote? You say a couple of lines and say, thank you. And I had fun. I can go on and on about Mr Benegal, but I think this should do for what you asked me for. Thank you so much.

The writer is a veteran film journalist and columnist. Views expressed are personal.