Exclusive: Boman Irani Recalls Almost Drowning While Shooting for Shah Rukh Khan’s Happy New Year

Boman Irani and team Detective Sherdil recently sat with Filmfare for a quick tête-à-tête about the movie, on-set camaraderie and more. During the interview, when asked about a Sherdil moment from their careers, Boman Irani’s candid answer shocked everyone. He recalled a moment from the filming of Shah Rukh Khan’s Happy New Year, where he had to be trapped inside a tank for more than an hour.

Boman Irani on the poster of Happy New Year

Opening up about the experience, which the others termed ‘claustrophobic’, Boman said, “This was for Happy New Year. We were in the vault. For that, I got trapped in a tank. The set was being lowered in a swimming pool. The idea was that the water would go up to a certain point. I was wearing weights, otherwise you just keep floating. There was one little window and the camera got stuck in the window. I was there for a long time with pretty less breathing space.”

He shared that he had the required help, but it wasn’t an easy experience. Boman said, “There was one guy called Tack from England. He assured me that I have nothing to worry about. He started removing the biscuits (weights) in my pocket. He kept his knee up for me to sit. My hands started paining. Otherwise, I’d have to swim down, then come up again. So, I would sit on his knee. It felt horrible and you would want to go to the washroom. I wonder how I came through it without really panicking because I don’t know what got me through. This went on for an hour and a half.”

When Chunky Panday asked if Boman fears going for swimming after the incident, the actor noted, “See, once you overcome the fear, you overcome the fear.” The Mehta Boys actor also noted, “Those guys were fantastic. They were talking to me, everything was good. It was great fun. It was great experience.”

Boman will be seen in Detective Sherdil next. It is scheduled to release in Zee5 on June 20, 2025. The cast comprise Diljit Dosanjh, Ratna Pathak Shah, Diana Penty, Chunky Panday, Sumeet Vyas and Banita Sandhu.

See Also: Boman Irani shares some interesting facts about Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar