Tanaaz and hubby Bakhtyaar Irani love to have fun.
In fact, “we are both mad” is how they describe themselves. Now the two are set to do something even more crazy. Tanaaz will play Bakhtyaar’s mother in her next play Daddy Kool, which incidentally also marks her debut as director.
Of course, this was not a well-planned move. It’s just that Anand Suryavanshi, the actor who was supposed to play her son, opted out due to date issues and Bakhtyaar had to step in last minute. “Bakhtyaar wasn’t willing initially, but I talked him into it. And he now regrets his decision saying arre main kahan fas gaya,” laughs Tanaaz.
The play, a comedy produced by Tanaaz and her partner D S Pahwa, focuses on the generation gap. Says Tanaaz, “There’s a hot-headed old fashioned Sindhi father (played by Sandeep Sikcand) whose name, by the way is Lachumal Kishenchand Advani L K Advani. I play his Parsi wife Pilloo and Bakhtyaar is one of our sons, who’s a casanova. The other son is Karan Mehra.”
Tanaaz in her typical Parsi accent keeps saying dikro dikro to Bakhtyaar in the play. She also says this son of hers has gone on her. “That’s because Bakhtyaar and I are both fair, so I say this son is more like me, while the other son has gone on his father,” she explains.
In real life, Tanaaz is older than Bakhtyaar, but that’s never been an issue between the husband and wife. “It’s never even come to our minds,” she says. Bakhtyaar, meanwhile, is still wondering how he landed in the show! “I was actually handling rehearsals and production and these people have chipkaoed this role on me,” he laughs. Ask him about playing son to Tanaaz and he replies, with his typical humour, “It feels just like home. At home too, like a mother, she keeps nagging all the time!” He further adds, “In the play, as a mother, she pampers me a lot and keeps feeding me, unlike what happens at home!”
On a serious note, Bakhtyaar appreciates Tanaaz’s work. “She is a good director. This subject is very close to Tanaaz’s heart because she has written it herself,” he says.
There’s something else close to her heart ‘Alert India’, a foundation for eradication of leprosy, that she’s associated with past for 10 years. “The proceeds of our premiere show will go to the foundation,” she says.
Original article here