Vivek Oberoi made his onscreen debut in 2002 with Ram Gopal Varma’s Hindi film, Company. Since then, he has worked on many projects, including ones in all four South Indian film industries, and with some of the biggest names. This includes essaying the role of the antagonist to Ajith in Vivegam (2017). In a chat with us, he shares about his desire to work with Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, being anti-exploitation, and more.

Every actor in my generation has a dream to work with Rajini sir and Kamal sir. My journey will not be complete till I do a film with them. Also, I love working in Tamil cinema because the talent here is brilliant. It was fantastic working in Vivegam. The film’s team felt like a family, and Ajith anna is amazing to work with. What a gentleman he is! He gave me so much love and treated me like a younger brother.

Chennai has a beautiful and big heart. My mom is from here, and I used to come visit my grandmother. I have spent a lot of hot summers in the city, and I remember all of us cousins used to get together, eat lots of crispy dosa, and then drive to Coonoor to enjoy the cool weather. I have beautiful memories here. When the tsunami happened, many people supported me when I was trying to do Project Hope in Devanampattinam, Cuddalore. I still meet with many volunteers and students from then.

I’ve done a film in every single South Indian language and it was my dream to do that. That gave me a kick. The people in the South Indian film industries are extremely committed. The same can be said about the fans, as they love so deeply. If you look at the fan following of Rahman sir and Anirudh, it’s huge and not normal.

I loved playing Vikrant Dhawan in Inside Edge. Its makers are like family to me. I started my OTT journey with them in 2016, when people didn’t know what OTT was. It was so new in India at the time. If they reach out to me for season 4, I’ll do it in a heartbeat. But that’s a creative decision that they have to take.

Any kind of exploitation, whether it is sexual, financial, or emotional, is absolutely wrong. I’m anti-exploitation. You have to be fair and honest in life and have integrity. When you have stardom, the least you can do is facilitate harmony and live without exploiting people who are poorer or weaker than you. Exploitation is cancer to society and any industry. Every one of us should work together to remove exploitation.