Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 29 (ANI): Actor Boman Irani recently looked back at the journey of Spiral Bound, the mentoring platform he started during the 2020 lockdown to guide aspiring writers and directors.
What began as a small online initiative has now grown into a large creative community.
According to a press release, Irani shared that the idea started when he was mentoring a few writer-directors over phone calls during the pandemic. He said one of them suggested moving the sessions to Zoom, which helped shape the beginning of Spiral Bound.
“During the lockdown, I started mentoring a handful of writer-directors over phone calls. One of them suggested we move to Zoom to save time, and that’s how Spiral Bound really began,” Irani said , as per the release.
According to a press release, the platform has now crossed 2,000 members and completed 865 sessions, both online and offline. Each session runs for more than 90 minutes. The sessions continue to remain free and open to anyone who wants to learn.
Speaking about the idea behind the platform, Irani said talent can come from anywhere and the only things needed are curiosity and commitment.
“I’ve always believed that talent can come from anywhere. Spiral Bound has no entry barriers. You don’t need credentials, just curiosity and commitment,” he added
Irani also said that his teaching is shaped by his own experience and by what he learned from Alexander Dinelaris Jr. He said the larger aim is to help writers build lasting careers and improve storytelling in the industry.
“The idea is to build writers who can sustain a career and, in doing so, raise the quality of storytelling across the industry.”
To mark the latest milestone, Spiral Bound will host several well-known names from Indian cinema. Javed Akhtar will attend as Chief Guest, while Aamir Khan, Rajkumar Hirani, Anupam Kher, Anil Kapoor, Karan Johar, Sooraj Barjatya and Ramesh Sippy are also expected to be present.
This year’s edition will also include participation from the Moscow Film Cluster, showing growing ties between Indian storytellers and international production spaces.
Irani said the initiative remains close to his heart and he hopes it continues helping writers find their voice. “For me, this is a lifelong commitment. If Spiral Bound can help even a few writers find their voice and build meaningful careers, it’s doing exactly what it was meant to do.”
On the work front, the veteran actor will be next seen in ‘Raja Shivaji’, which stars Riteish Deshmukh in the lead role. The film is slated to hit theatres on May 1. (ANI)
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