‘He had his own set of people’: Boman Irani on reuniting with Priyadarshan after 12 years

Priyadarshan's upcoming film Haiwaan, set for release on September 11, stars Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Boman Irani, Shriya Pilgaonkar, and Saiyami Kher. Despite Priyadarshan's diverse filmography, Boman Irani mentioned that the "comedy stamp" consistently follows both the filmmaker and himself. The conversation about Priyadarshan's work led to their discussion on why it took 12 years for Boman and Priyadarshan to reunite after their collaboration in the 2012 film Tezz.

Boman highlighted that Priyadarshan had a "group of people" he was comfortable with, likening the situation to Raju Hirani not working with certain actors. Boman was confident that he was Priyadarshan's first choice for the role in Haiwaan. The film also reunites Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan after three decades, as they last appeared together in the 1994 movie Main Khiladi Tu Anari.

When asked if audiences would accept Akshay in a dark character in Haiwaan, Boman compared it to the acceptance of a character like Virus in 3 Idiots, stating that the movie's quality is what matters. Boman concluded that if the movie was well-made, audiences would accept Akshay and Saif's roles, irrespective of their age. Haiwaan is an official remake of the Mohanlal-starrer Oppam (2016), directed by Priyadarshan.