Oorvazi Irani is an independent filmmaker based in Mumbai, India. Apart from being a filmmaker, she is a film educationalist, an acting coach, and a film critic and the Director of her home production company SBI Impresario Pvt. Ltd incorporated by her father Sorab Irani in 1975. Currently, she has directed The Path of Zarathustra a movie on Parsis. She has also directed two short films “The K File” and “Mamaiji” (Grandmother). As a film educationalist she heads the subject of film at the SVKM J.V. Parekh International school in Mumbai, India besides teaching as a freelance educationalist at various prestigious film institutions on special invitation. She has also recently introduced the Michael Chekhov Acting technique to India with her DVD which she has researched, presented, directed and co-produced.
Early life
She did her graduation in Arts from the Jai Hind College, Mumbai. After that she pursued the FTII & NFAI Film Appreciation Course designed for teacher's training as well as the Online Teacher's IB Film Course. During her term in college she started assisting her father on a travelogue series “Ramayana a Journey” that he was producing for Channel Four Television, London. The concept behind this film was following the route that Lord Rama had taken during his journey from Ayodhya to Lanka. Oorvazi became the head of research for this project and also assisted in direction. It took 3 years in making and was completed in 1997.
Career
Oorvazi started her career as the Director of her home media production company SBI Impresario Pvt. Ltd. incorporated by her father in 1975. She has been involved with international critically acclaimed film projects with her company in the area of research, production and direction.
Apart from running the home production company, Oorvazi also took up the role of a film educationalist. She currently heads the subject of film at the ‘SVKM J.V.Parekh International School’. Besides this, she also has conducted Film Appreciation modules at various prestigious institutions including The Mumbai University Post Graduate One Year Diploma Course for Film and Television, The Digital Academy Film School Mumbai, Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Institute, The Institute of Creative Excellence – ICE, the Education division of Balaji Telefilm and ‘Understanding Cinema’ module of the BMM syllabus at The Ghanshyamdas Saraf Girls College, Mumbai (Affiliated to the University of Mumbai).
Michael Chekhov Acting Technique
Oorvazi's association with acting and actors as an artist made her curious to understand the process of acting. She started researching on this topic extensively and came across the revolutionary Michael Chekhov Acting Technique. The Michael Chekhov technique was developed by Mikhail Aleksandrovich Chekhov aka Michael Chekhov, who as a student of Stanislavski furthered his technique of method acting and molded it into an exercise to get to the core of a character. Chekhov trained Hollywood actors like Marilyn Monroe, Anthony Quinn, Clint Eastwood, Mala Powers, Yul Brynner. Apart from his direct students, other actors have also benefited from his technique described in his book, ‘On the Technique of Acting’. Significant among them are actors like Johnny Depp and Anthony Hopkins, who have cited this book as a major influence on their acting. Oorvazi was the pioneer in bringing this Michael Chekhov acting technique to India. As an acting coach, she taught this technique to her students. She has recently come out with a DVD titled ‘The Michael Chekhov Acting Technique’. The DVD is a step by step Guide to understanding the Basic Tools and Fundamental Concepts of the Michael Chekhov Acting technique. The President of the Chekhov Association, USA, Joanna Merlin, endorsed the DVD by stating:
"In Oorvazi Irani's sensitive presentation of the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique, she guides the actor through Chekhov's psycho-physical process with, grace, elegance, intelligence and joyfulness. Oorvazi is an articulate actor and teacher, profoundly moved and motivated by Chekhov's lifelong study of the art of acting. In this formidable and artistic presentation, Oorvazi provides a progressive journey for actors, inspiring them to explore their untapped imaginative resources, deepening and enriching their creative individuality."
Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowarikar, after watching this DVD, gave the following feedback to Oorvazi: "It is superbly done. There is a lot of intrigue in this method, the way you have described it. :) I feel you might need some fierce marketing for its awareness to spread. Very well packaged tutorial on the Chekhov technique ! Wish you all the success with it !"