‘I Enjoyed Being An Actor, But I Love Being A Director’

Ayoze Irani has walked in the footsteps of his father Boman Irani in many ways. Boman turned director earlier this year with The Mehta Boys, after having acted in films for more than twenty years.

- Shreyas Pande

Ayoze Irani has walked in the footsteps of his father Boman Irani in many ways. Boman turned director earlier this year with The Mehta Boys, after having acted in films for more than twenty years. The film explored a complex father-son relationship with nuance. Now, Kayoze has made his directorial debut with Sarzameen, which also tells the story of a father and son set against the backdrop of insurgency in Kashmir. The debutant director finds it a strange coincidence as well. Both father and son are making their directorial debuts with father-son movies. “What is really happening in this house?” Kayoze says with a smile.

The coincidence doesn’t end here. Similar to his father, Kayoze also acted in films, starting with a role in Karan Johar’s Student of the Year (2012), followed by a small appearance in Youngistaan (2014) and a significant part in The Legend of Michael Mishra (2016). Kayoze started his journey into films by working as a set sweeper in Yash Raj Films. Later, he assisted director Shakun Batra in Ek Main Aur Ek Tu (2012), which was produced by Dharma Productions. It was here that Karan offered him a role in