Couldn't understand maths but it does not define me: Boman Irani on his struggles with dyslexia

India Gazette

5 hours ago

New Delhi [India], June 20 (ANI): Bollywood actor Boman Irani, known for his standout roles in 'Munna Bhai MBBS', '3 Idiots', and 'Khosla Ka Ghosla', has been vocal about his childhood struggles with dyslexia. Reflecting on his journey, Irani shared how he overcame the challenges, highlighting that the learning disorder doesn't 'define' who he is today.
In a candid conversation with ANI, Boman Irani spoke about the uniqueness of every individual, pointing out that no two people share the same DNA, which makes each person naturally different. He urged people to use their 'ability or disability' to their advantage and to focus on areas in which they truly excel.
'No human being's DNA is identical. Right? Their structure, or maybe their dyslexia, or some aptitude, or the left brain, or the right brain, or there are different forms of autism, light spectrum, heavy spectrum. And everybody should use their ability or their disability to their advantage. I always think that when I was in school, I could not understand mathematics. And that does not define me. What does define me then? My ability to communicate. My ability to tell stories. My ability to use my body. My ability to use my voice. Use that,' said Boman Irani.
The 'Khosla Ka Ghosla' actor shared that while he struggles with numbers and has no memory for arithmetic, he has excelled in other areas, like remembering film scenes since childhood. He concluded by urging people never to feel inferior because of their differences.
'I have a great memory for certain things. I have no memory for numbers. Zero. So, you can teach me arithmetic for hours, I will never understand it. So, that is society's way of judging you. I don't get judged like that. I get judged by my own personal competence. So, when I was 11 years old, I saw this scene in a movie. I still have that clear memory because maybe because of some disability or ability. So, I just feel, one must never feel inferior to anybody,' said Boman Irani.
With the diverse filmography under his belt, the actor opened up about some of the memorable roles of his career. One of them was his iconic role of 'Kishen Khurana' in Dibakar Banerjee's 'Khosla Ka Ghosla' in 2006.
Being a Parsi from South Bombay, the makers were sceptical about Boman's casting for the role of a Punjabi businessman in the film.
'Khosla Ka Ghosla was a big, big thing for me as an actor. As a performer. Everybody was very sceptical of me doing the role, because I'm a Parsi from South Bombay, and I'm playing a Punjabi from Delhi. And, yeh nahi kar paayega (he won't be able to do it). So, I said, no, no, no, the moment you say nahi kar paayega na, toh maine challenge le liya (I took it as a challenge). Katam ho gya ( It was over then). And, then you work harder and harder and harder to do the insurmountable. So, in that sense, it was, for me, very special. And, then, people couldn't believe that I'm, you know, Parsi from South Bombay, behaving, you know, the way this character was behaving,' said Boman Irani.
Boman Irani will be next seen in the film 'Detective Sherdil', which is exclusively streaming on Zee5 from today. He will be joined by Diljit Dosanjh, Diana Penty, Ratna Pathak, Sumit Vyas, and others in the film. (ANI)