Was restless as a creative person: Boman Irani on debut as writer, filmmaker

Boman Irani has ventured into writing and producing films and the actor says he took the decision because his creative side was getting restless.

The 59-year-old actor has launched his production banner Irani MovieTone' and has also turned to script writing.

"I always wanted to write, direct and I was restless as a person to create something. When I did not have the opportunity to act in films, I picked up the camera, when I did not have the opportunity to take a photograph, I would write a poem.

"There is a creative monkey sitting in everyone's stomach, trying to jump," Boman, known for films like "Munnabhai" series, "3 Idiots", told PTI.

Citing the example of noted screenwriters Salim-Javed, Boman said in the '70s, there was more focus on writing.

"They (Salim-Javed) were the stars of the film they only wrote the script. They wrote great dialogues, script and were good at story telling. They were legends.

"I realised it (story) may be good but it will not hold you (audience) for two hours. When my ego was hurt there, I was wondering what am I doing wrong here? I felt I did not learn the craft I had got the heart and emotion right. That challenged me and made me felt inadequate as a creative person."
"Our writers are hungry and want to learn and understand things. But sadly we do not have screen writing institutes. We do not have a university that concentrates on screenplay writing or creative writing."