Indian actor delivers a rousing motivational speech echoing Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan’s vision for the UAE
Indian actor and motivational speaker Boman Irani at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Dubai Chapter event at the Grand Hyatt on November 27, 2022. Photos by Rahul Gajjar
On a cool Sunday morning, Indian actor-turned-voice-over artist-turned-script mentor and ace photographer in his previous avatar, Boman Irani brought down the house and animated an August gathering at the 40th annual international conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Chapter (Dubai), the most active and award-winning among the 33 overseas wings of ICAI, at the Grand Hyatt Exhibition & Conference Centre.
Irani, who was the star guest speaker on the occasion, regaled the audience with his “amazing life story”.
He told the sordid tales from his birth—he was born a posthumous child and faced various obstacles in his tender years—but peppered them with crackling jokes and life lessons, the universal sense of “wishes,” “needs” and “approach” made an impact. a great deal with an appreciative audience.
His natural impediments, including speaking with a pronounced lisp, dyscalculia and dyslexia, would not have been overcome had it not been for his “encouraging mother” Jerbanoo, who died at the ripe old age of 94 last year.
She always let him follow his “own instincts that helped him blossom late in life, and never let others dictate his timelines (including becoming a screenwriter and director of a feature film the next year)”.
CA Ankit Sunil Talati, Vice President, ICAI Chapter (Dubai); CA Harikishan Rankawat Vice President, ICAI; CA Anurag Chaturvedi Chairman, ICAI; Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence of the United Arab Emirates; Sunjay Sudhir, Ambassador of India to the UAE; CA (Dr.) Debashis Mitra Chairman, ICAI
Irani, who made his film debut with
The organizers’ choice to ask Irani to deliver a motivational speech that brought out emotions from the recesses of his heart could not have been more apt.
Life lessons were central to the event’s theme, “Connect 2 Impact.”
Anurag Chaturvedi
Anurag Chaturvedi, CEO of Andersen UAE and Chairman of the ICAI (Dubai) Chapter, quoted former South African president and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela as saying, “There is no passion for find yourself playing small, settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living”.
Chaturvedi, whose book UAE VAT Law Basics made himself known on the occasion, he spoke about the journey of life that are permeated in the larger goals of his organization to invest in sustainability, technology, innovation and digitization and to become a chartered accountant ( CA) Indian a global professional, whether in Dubai, London or New York. .
Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence of the United Arab Emirates,
Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, who was the chief guest at the function, spoke of his young nation’s “market-oriented economy that has been fostering creativity, the innovation and enterprise to foster the growth and prosperity of the two emirates and the expatriate population”.
He also spoke about the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Emirates in an interdependent world and in a changing global landscape, where “the UAE has been moving away from its dependence on oil to promote science and technology”.
Baroness (Dr.) Sandip Verma
Baroness Dr. Sandip Verma, President of UN Women, United Kingdom; The chairman of Nexus Green Ltd, former UK Government Minister for Energy, Climate Change and International Development, reminded the audience of the ‘art of giving’, ‘gender and race equality’ and the importance of maintaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in accordance with UN policies and programs.
He cited the example of his own country, England, which was the first nation to introduce the Climate Change Act in 2008 and committed to Net Zero by 2050.
Aniket Talati, Vice President of ICAI (Dubai), highlighted India’s contribution in working with “policy makers to develop resilience and a sustainable model of ethical business practices”. He also briefed members on the global success of the World Congress of Accountants, which was held in Mumbai earlier this month.
Former Indian federal minister Suresh Prabhu, a CA himself; Sunjay Sudhir Ambassador of India to the United Arab Emirates; and Dr. Debashis Mitra, Chairman, ICAI were the other guests of honour.
Sarika Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Government of India; M Damodaran, former Chairman SEBI and Chairman Excellence Enablers; Mary Kom, boxing champion and former member of India’s Upper House of Parliament; and Bharat Goenka, Vice President Tally Solutions Pvt. Ltd, were the other guest speakers.
Later in the evening, Bollywood singer Neeti Mohan brought the curtains down on the day’s event with her heart-pounding performance.