The Mehta Boys movie review: Boman Irani’s auspicious directorial debut deftly observes emotions through a quartet of solid performances

The Mehta Boys movie review

Families can go along for years but sometimes a tragedy can bring everything out in the open. ‘The Mehta Boys’ directed by Boman Irani who makes his directorial debut and is also the producer, actor and the co-writer. Boman teams up with Academy award winning writer Alexander Dinelaris Jr. (Birdman) to tell the story of a father and a son who have issues with each other but still there is love hidden inside. The father’s love for the son is sincere yet also inarticulate, he doesn’t allow him to carry his luggage but happily fries pakodas and shares whiskey with him.

The son believes that the father has not understood him and the old man is quite rigid but he has a feeling for him and almost gets into a brawl with the restaurant staff where his father’s bag gets stolen.

In our life, we often take the love of our family for granted and at time don’t realize their feelings, the other person’s point of view also matters. ‘The Mehta Boys’ brings these nuances and complexities in family/father son relationships subtlety.  The emotions register organically.

Circling around complexities of love, relationships, family, human nature and its traits with well-developed characters and their arcs. The movie takes the audience along into the journey of self-discovery of Amay, his father and Amay’s girlfriend played by Shreya Chaudhry.

The unique camaraderie between father and son – Avinash Tiwary and Boman Irani and the special bond between Boman Irani and Shreya Chaudhry are the highlights. It’s the story of these people and their situation, and it shows them doing what’s not easy to show in fiction, it shows them changing, learning, and growing.

In my opinion Boman Irani may be having a liking towards Irani and Italian cinema and it shows. The unexpected April monsoon (sorry for this spoiler) and Boman pleasantly walking on the street which is drenched with water up to knee height. He says he wants to cook something good today (spoiler ends). The fact that his love of life Amay’s mother has expired not more than a week ago is a rare testament of challenges of life and its dearies.

Performances

Boman Irani is brilliant.  

Avinash Tiwary in my opinion has given his most controlled performance till date.

Shreya Chaudhry is charming and does very well.  

Puja Sarup as Avinash Tiwary’s sister has her moments.

Good to see the veteran Indian quizmaster and tv producer Siddhartha Basu as Avinash Tiwar’s Boss.

The Mehta Boys movie - final words

The Mehta Boys – is a dignified, a sort of soul opera with a coming-of-age ting that can moist your eyes as well.

Going with rightly deserved four stars.

Produced by Boman Irani, Danesh Irani, Shujaat Saudagar, and Vipin Agnihotri under the banner of Irani Movietone LLP and Chalkboard Entertainment, ‘The Mehta Boys’ is streaming on Amazon Prime from February 07, 2025.