Boman Irani on what he's due: ‘When I do a good day of work, sit in my car and relax, I feel, ‘okay, I am satisfied'

Boman Irani just made his OTT debut with Masoom, in which he plays a not so lovable father. The actor feels the latest suspense thriller will make everyone find a character who they relate to. Boman however, sees all his roles, be it Virus from 3 Idiots, a Gujarati sarpanch in Jayeshbhai Jordaar or a father on the radar of his daughter in Masoom, in one light. Work satisfaction is all that matters and there’s only one mantra for any character he plays – be honest. Also read: Samara Tijori says being Deepak Tijori's daughter didn't help her find work: 'My first audition was with 180 girls'

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Boman opened up about his debut web series, Masoom on Hotstar and talked about his co-star Samara Tijori, who plays his daughter in the series and what all he taught her. The actor also spoke about the disappointing performance of his film, Jayeshbhai Jordaar and more. Excerpts:

Is Masoom a scene to scene remake of Irish show, Blood?

None of us have watched the original. We deliberately didn’t want to be influenced by the original. We wanted to do our own take on the story and develop our characters the way we saw fit. We looked through a script and pulled out as much as we could. The writing has been Indianised, there are couple of more interesting tracks. Every story has a plot, what you are tracking is a character’s journey.

You and Samara Tijori play a father-daughter duo in Masoom? How was it to work with each other?

I hated… (corrects himself), no, I am sorry. I did not know Samara, I only knew her father (actor Deepak Tijori). She came very warmly and hugged me. We had to do a scene 20 minutes later. She was throwing daggers at me. I said, ‘ye kaun hai bachi, bahut pareshan kar rahi hai (who is this girl, bothering me so much)’. Off-set bilkul pareshan nahi kia, but on set bahut pareshan kia (she didn’t bother me off set but gave trouble on set). What she was doing was just what a good actor should. She could turn off love and respect off set and turn on the anger and the madness for this man who is not such a nice guy. She gave me hell on my set, kept me on my toes.

You told Samara that being honest during a performance is the key.

Apart from being honest, you can do a lot of preparation and when you come in front of the camera, you are living in the immediate moment. You can only rely on truth and honesty.

You played a Gujarati character, an authoritative father in Jayeshbhai Jordaar and now you are playing a different father in Masoom. You always add a different flavour to your characters. Is there something you really enjoyed playing among your most famous characters like Virus, or the one in Jayeshbhai or any other?

First of all, you need to enjoy being on sets. You need to enjoy that you are creating something, that creation becomes yours -- the character you have given life to, from a page to a costume to a soul and heart. Once I create a character which is correct for that piece of work, I am happy. You make him think like nobody else does, not even think like you, he might look like you but not think like you. That creation is your responsibility, no body else’s.

What do you think went wrong with Jayeshbhai Jordaar? The trailer was so much fun but it didn’t click with the audience in theatres.

If we knew the formula, every film would be a superhit. I am very happy with the way Jayeshbhai Jordaar worked out. People are calling me, saying that they loved the movie. I don’t know why it didn’t work out the way it was supposed to. I think it did not get its due, which is fine, I can’t argue with that.

Have you got your due in the industry?

What is due to me – more autographs, selfies, more money, praise? When I do a good day of work, sit in my car and relax back, I feel, ‘okay, I am satisfied, I will get good sleep tonight.’ That’s all that I look forward to. I only deserve my satisfaction I get being an artist. If I am unsatisfied, I have not done my due.

You are a father in real life. What kind of relationship do you share with your own children? Do they comment on your work?

I take very good criticism in that sense. My boys are good critics. They are forgetful when they say things. They are complementary when it needs to be. I am a regular dad with regular wants from myself towards my children, regular wants from my children towards me. Those wants are very simple, that we learn to love each other, respect each other but still be individualistic. Second, they grey up to be strong, upright, honourable guys. I don’t want anything except for a little bit of love, I think I am due for that.