Actor Vivek Anand Oberoi is glad that the importance of a surname has started to diminish in the Hindi film industry, giving more prominence to talent. He hopes that more artistes get work on the basis of their abilities. “I would love to see the industry grow more in meritocracy. Now, it is not about what your last name is, but what your talents are. If that grows further, it’d be amazing. I think OTT has been very influential in that movement, making it all about talent. For instance, (filmmaker) Hansal Mehta’s (web) show (Scam 1992) turned out to be so big, with (actor) Pratik Gandhi shining bright,” he says.

The Inside Edge actor adds, “Now, seeing more meritocracy is my dream. I remember so many people wrote me off at one point in my career, saying, ‘You have gone against very powerful lobbies and there’s no way you can come out of this’.”

But he agrees that there are some people out there who value talent more than anything else: “At the low point of my career, some good people decided to recognise my talent and said, ‘We want to work with you’.”

Opening up about standing against powerful lobbies, the 45-year-old adds, “It went from ridicule to respect. When a bully pushes a kid to a corner, all the other kids clap or laugh. But, in the end, what matters is to fall and stand up again.”

He is proud that he learnt so much from that phase: “It was a tough one, but it made me who I am today. It drew me to work, helped me make an impact like going out there and rebuilding villages and helping cancer survivors, instead of driving me towards whatever we normally do in the glamour industry,” Oberoi ends.