The Brilliant, the Extraordinary, The One and Only “Aapro” Boman Irani’s visit to the Chicago Dar-E-Mehr with family and friends
Khursheed Icchaporia, an active member of the Zoroastrian Association of Metropolitan Chicago (ZAMC) writes about Boman Irani’s visit to the Chicago Dar-E-Mehr.
In September, Chicago experienced a fantastic weekend during which Boman Irani and Irani movietone premiered their directorial debut The Mehta Boys at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival (CSAFF) in Chicago on Friday, Sept 20th, 2024. The movie opening night was a red-carpet event and played to a full house. The demand for tickets was so high that they held two screenings back-to-back on the same night. The film received a standing ovation and high praise. The next day Boman Irani and Alex Dinelaris Jr. conducted an engaging masterclass during which they discussed some technical details and showed some clips. On Sunday, the film won two awards, including the South Asian Film Association (SAFA) award.
On Tuesday, Sept 24th,2024, Boman graciously visited the Zoroastrian Center of Chicago. When Boman, his wife Zenobia, son Danesh, and friends, including the food writer and broadcaster Kunal Vijaykar, arrived at the Dar-e-Mehr, they were greeted at the door with a traditional achoo-michoo ceremony. As they entered the hall, the Chicago community burst into rapturous applause and sang a welcome “khushali nu geet”. This was followed by a tandarosti in the prayer hall by mobeds of the Chicago community for Boman, his family, and his friends.
After a “meet and greet” with hearty appetizers and some “chanto paani”, the crowd settled into their seats. This was followed by a warm welcome address by ZAMC Board Member Tushad Driver and Boman was presented with a shawl and a gorgeous plaque commemorating his awards and his contributions to the performing arts. His wife Zenobia and son Danesh were presented with Chicago souvenirs.