Art Can Calm You: Boman Irani Brings Warmth to ‘To Be Continued…’ Art Show Opening

There was a gentle, unhurried energy at the opening of Tela Art Gallery’s exhibition ‘To Be Continued…’ at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai… the kind that only art, and people who truly care for it, can bring into a room. The evening was inaugurated by actor Boman Irani, alongside theatre personality Raell Padamsee, aviation consultant Parvez Damania, and Rajendra Patil, President of the Bombay Art Society. Besides curators Ritu Chopra and Vikas Singh, the gathering also saw artists and friends of the arts including Gautam Patole, Prakash Bal Joshi, Safdar Shamee, Sangeeta Babani and lensman Pradeep Chandra, gallerist Bhadresh Sheth among others.

The exhibition brings together artists across generations, placing emerging voices alongside seasoned practitioners at the iconic Jehangir Art Gallery, a space that has, for decades, been a quiet dream for many! And perhaps that is what made the evening feel special… there was pride, a little nervous excitement, and a palpable sense of arrival. Visitors spent time with the works, many expressing how beautifully they connected with the pieces on display, lingering longer than usual and engaging in conversations around the art.

What stood out just as much as the art on the walls was the way Boman Irani moved through the gallery. He took his time, stopping at each artwork, listening to the artists, asking questions, and really engaging with what they had created. He posed for photographs with them, but more importantly, he encouraged them warmly, making each one feel seen and valued. It was not a hurried walkthrough, but a genuine interaction… something the artists are unlikely to forget!

“Art can calm you, it can excite you, it can make you do better things. It may want you to be a better human being also,” Boman Irani said, summing up the spirit of the evening. He also appreciated the effort by the curators to bring emerging artists together with veterans on a shared platform at a space like Jehangir, which often takes years to access. Reflecting on his own relationship with art, he added, “Whenever I go any place in the world, and even in Mumbai, I take a picture of me at an art gallery and post it on Instagram.” “Parents,” he urged, “when you take your kids abroad, just don’t take them to Disneyland and some fun fair… Take them to an art gallery also, even if they don’t understand art. They will be influenced. They will find inspiration… not just to be painters, but to understand that there’s a different world out there that you can explore, love, be inspired by, and maybe even become artists.”

‘To Be Continued…’ is about dialogue between experience and experimentation, legacy and newness. For emerging artists, exhibiting alongside established names not only offers visibility but also a sense of validation, opening doors to conversations, mentorship, and wider audiences that might otherwise take years to build. The show features nearly 70 works, including paintings and sculptures in oils, acrylics, 3D canvas, scrap metal, bronze and fibre, moving across moods and mediums with ease.

The participating artists include Kiran Chopra, Neeraj Sharma, Antra Srivastava, Amita Goswami, Kailash Kale, Chandan Roy, Asurved, Shreyas Khanvilkar, Susanta Sarkar, Isha Patel, Deepika Shah, Cheena Madan and Dr. Mayera Suman, each bringing their own distinct rhythm to the exhibition.

Presented by Tela Art Gallery, ‘To Be Continued…’ is, in many ways, exactly what its title suggests… an ongoing journey. One that honours where art has come from, while gently opening doors to where it can go next. The exhibition will be on view at Jehangir Art Gallery auditorium until April 20, 2026, daily from 11 am to 7 pm.