Vivek Oberoi is in his best phase of his career. While his upcoming movie, Mastiii 4, is about to hit the cinemas this weekend, he has an exciting slate of releases in the coming days. In an exclusive podcast with Pinkvilla, the Krrish 3 actor shed light on various struggles of his life and how he finally turned the tables for himself.
When asked about how he got his first film with Ram Gopal Varma, the actor shared a heartfelt story. Vivek stated that he was struggling for two years. Every day, he used to meet someone, audition, and get rejected, but he kept on trying. When he met Ram Gopal Varma for a gangster role in Company, he was rejected at first glance. Vivek said, “Ramu ji ne milke mujhe bola tum bahut padhe likhe polished chocolate boy type lag rahe ho, and I need someone hardcore as it’s a gangster film.”
(Ramu ji met me and said, you look like a very educated, polished chocolate boy type, and I need someone hardcore as it’s a gangster film.)
Watch the full interview here:
Vivek quipped that he was thinking that the film would be about a corporate house. “Picture ka naam Company hai ye pata tha. Ab Company sunke logon ko yahi lagta hai, suit-tie polished, yahi lagta hai na. Hume kya pata tha konsi Company ban rahi hai. Wo jab samjha main, I said mujhe ek mauka de do. (I knew the picture was called Company. Now, this is what crazy people think of as a company, a polished suit-tie. How did we know what kind of company it was? When I understood that, I said, give me a chance.)”
Further, he added, “I went and stayed in the slum. 6 hafte 7 hafte, main ek slum me jaake raha. Slum me bhaade pe kholi li, kholi me jaake raha. Raat ko bade bade chuhe aate the. Drum ke andar se paani nikalna padta tha. Bathroom tha nhi, aapko sulabh sauchalaya use karna padta tha, line me khada rehna padta tha. Maine realize kiya ki Chandu Nagre (Company’s character) ki life kaisi hogi, beedi kaise phookta hai, chai kaise peeta hai, baatein kaise karta hai.”
(I went and stayed in the slum. For 6 weeks, 7 weeks, I went to a slum. I rented a room in the slum and stayed there. Big rats would come in at night. I had to take out water from inside a drum. There was no bathroom, you had to use the toilet, stand in line. I realised what Chandu Nagre’s (Company’s character) life would be like, how he smokes a beedi, how he drinks tea, how he talks.)
Soon to be seen in Ramayana, the actor stated, “Phir jab main Ramu ji ke paas gaya, main wo character hi ban ke gaya, kyunki mujhe pata nhi tha ki wo mujhe audition karne denge yaa nahi. So I dressed up as the character. I entered his space with a whole bunch of photographs. Unhone mann bana ke rakha tha ki isko aaj mana karna hai.”
(Then when I went to Ramu ji, I went as the character because I didn’t know whether he would let me audition or not. So I dressed up as the character. I entered his space with a whole bunch of photographs. He had made up his mind that this has to be done today.)
He went on to add, “Toh main beedi phukta hua enter kiya jaise koi gangster enter karta hai aur kursi pe baith ke table ke upar pair rakha, chappal dono table ke upar. At the end of the day, he said, zabardast audition. I have never seen an audition like this. Finally, unhone bola, tum meri film kar rahe ho.”
(So I entered smoking a cigarette, like a gangster, sitting on a chair with my feet on the table and my slippers on the table. At the end of the day, he said, “What a tremendous audition. I have never seen an audition like this.” Finally, he said, “You’re doing my film.”)
Vivek Oberoi then revealed to RGV that he is the son of Suresh Oberoi. Ramu was surprised and took him straight to his father’s bungalow and told him that he was signing this film. RGV asked Suresh ji for a 10 rupee note, and he gave it to Vivek as a token amount. Seeing this, his father was in happy tears, full of pride.
Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more updates.
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