In the 20 years of his career, Vivek Oberoi delivered hits like 'Company' and 'Saathiya'. However, Vivek Oberoi's award-winning performances were followed by phases when he had no work and now the actor opens up about his journey which he says was built purely on “meritocracy”, and how there was a time when he had no work even after “delivering as an actor, and at the box office”.
He shared his family has seen him struggle as he fought the lobby that acted against him in Bollywood.
“They’re extremely fond of me, proud of me, because they’ve seen me go through such a phase where there was a whole lobby, a whole powerful set of people who were trying to push me down. That was the time I went out and gave a Shootout at Lokhandwala, where I got a lot of praise and won awards. People were saying ‘oh my God, this is amazing!’ and then for one and a half years, I was sitting at home, nobody was coming to me with films, it defies all logic. As an actor I was delivering, box office was delivering, there were awards, critics were praising me but there was no work, kaam hi nahi tha,” Vivek shares.
Vivek also thinks that the lobby that tried crushing his talent is now breaking.
“It is breaking. Look at what Sushant Singh Rajput went through, or so many other kids go through, so much talent gets crushed because it was somebody’s decision, for reasons other than work, to just destroy someone. There is so much power in some people’s hands, there is a God complex, which needs to go. We can’t have too much power in their hand where they can think that they can make or break someone, and ensure that people don’t work in this industry again. People have said this to me and they actually believe it. It’s our fault as an industry that we’ve given that kind of power to them. That pedestal should be given only to talent — new, old, upcoming, established, that is the most important.”
Vivek was among the early movers to OTT when Bollywood still looked down upon the medium and he credits his open mindedness and lack of arrogance to take that plunge. "Sometimes we believe hum sab jaante hai, humara hi sahi hai. That comes from a sense of arrogance that you know all, but you should be willing to try something new, you should be willing to say ok, I’ll try and reinvent myself, let me try and experience what this is and that’s what leads you.”
