Vivek Oberoi Reveals He Slept On Benches And Changed In Restaurant Washrooms While Shooting For 'Saathiya'

When Vivek Oberoi made his debut in 2002, he quickly rose to fame. He became one of the most loved actors in Bollywood when he played the role of Aditya Sehgal in ‘Saathiya’ alongside Rani Mukerji. In a recent interview, the actor revealed that the initial days of his career were not rosy. He revealed that he had to change in restaurant washrooms during the shoot of ‘Saathiya.’

In a conversation with Humans Of Bombay, Vivek Oberoi revealed the hardships he faced while shooting for ‘Saathiya.’ The actor recalled the tough times as the film was his third Bollywood movie. Oberoi said, “When I was shooting for ‘Saathiya’, ‘Company’ hadn’t released. I was shooting on railway stations, I used to be sleeping on the benches because we had no budget. I used to change clothes in restaurant toilets because I didn’t have a makeup van. We had to shoot four scenes in a day. We were shooting for 18-20 hours a day. There was a time when I was carrying equipment, I had gone back to my assistant days after my debut.”

In the same interview, he revealed that people had advised him against doing ‘Saathiya.’ Even director Ram Gopal Varma had advised him against working on the film. However, he went ahead with it because he loved the story and the director was his friend. He added, “Everybody said don’t do ‘Saathiya’. ‘You are an action hero. How can you do a love story?’ But that wasn’t the film. My mentor, Ram Gopal Varma, was furious. He said ‘No, don’t do this film.’ I was like better than taking permission, I will ask for forgiveness. I loved the film. ‘Saathiya’s director Shaad Ali is my school friend. He was initially making the film with Abhishek Bachchan but that didn’t work out. I already had my debut film, ‘Company’.”

‘Saathiya’ happened to change the trajectory of Vivek Oberoi’s career. He shot to fame and established himself in the industry. Recently, the actor was seen in Rohit Shetty’s ‘Indian Police Force.’