The actor who was once forsaken by the industry on reinventing himself, finding comfort in philanthropy and how family time is non-negotiable

Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 17, 2017)

Once an industry pariah, 41-year-old Vivek Oberoi is “not defined by how people perceive” him any more. The actor, who clocks 15 years in the industry, of which the last few have been less active, recently surfaced playing the negative lead in the web series Inside Edge and the Tamil movie Vivegam, which crossed the Rs 200 croremark at the box office. When Mirror caught up with him at his Juhu home, he’s readying for a TV appearance. We are offered a corner couch in the L-shaped hall on the ground floor of his bungalow. Soon, the actor emerges from a metallic elevator and suggests we conduct the interaction, while he gets his hair and makeup done. Before we settle down, we can’t miss his book collection. Two titles stand out — How to read a film and a coffee table volume, Bollywood. Some would argue that his career would’ve taken a different turn had he read the second before the first.

Oberoi’s latest avatar in Inside Edge, that of a ruthless owner of a sports management company, has resonated with many and marked his second innings of sorts. He claims to be “the first mainstream actor to jump into the medium”. “I realised this is the beginning of the future,” he says of video-on-demand players. Since his character on the show channels a more nuanced evil, it required him to be “measured and deliberate with his body language” and introduce “pauses at odd points in dialogue”. “The idea was to be so confusing that one feels uncomfortable around him. When Karan Anshuman (the creator of the show) narrated the character to me, he was worried it was too dark. But I told him my only reservation was that it wasn’t dark enough.” Another recent success for him is Tamil superhit Vivegam — a project he calls “gratifying” and “challenging”. “I had to speak in a language I didn’t understand and yet be convincing,” he says of the thriller, which stars Ajith Kumar and Kajal Aggarwal.

That we don’t see much of him now is for his “selective approach to work”. His priorities, in order of importance, are family, charity, films and business. “It so happened that between 2012-13, when Vivaan was born, I only saw him growing up in the cradle. I’d return late at night and missed all the landmark moments that I will never get back. I was making so much money, but felt empty,” he says, as the hairdresser sprays his hair to hold it in place. “Give me more height,” he says, requesting the stylist to puff up his hair, raising his palm over his slick hairdo.

Oberoi, who debuted with the noir hit Company, which won the Filmfare award for Best Debut and Best Supporting Actor, straddled genres from the beginning. With Saathiya, he established his ability to sink into romance; with Masti, he played to front bencher seetis. But his dream run came to a halt, following a public bout with superstar Salman Khan and he became “the guy nobody was supposed to work with”. “It was like a fatwa was issued against me from the powers that be,” he says. But not everyone agrees with this. “To what extent Salman blacklisted him from the industry is a matter of conjecture. It’s easy to assume that he used his clout to ask people to exclude Vivek from projects. But then, Salman didn’t get along with Ranbir Kapoor and John Abraham either and they’ve both got work through the years,” says an acquaintance of Vivek’s.

The various setbacks that marred his career seems to be a topic Oberoi is prepared for and he leans in to reflect on them. “When my personal life got messed up, I couldn’t keep my eye on the ball,” he says of his “difficult phase”. “Even if I gave a hit, work wouldn’t follow. Shootout At Lokhandwala became a huge hit, but I sat at home for a year after that.” Apart from projects Oberoi was denied, there were also those he refused which could’ve catapulted him from his slump. “Vivek only chose the worst films. He let go of Hum Tum, Bunty Aur Babli and Om Shanti Om. If your films are successful, people work with you, regardless. Vivek had 9 to 10 flops in a row,” an industry insider tells us. Oberoi is quick to refute that he was ever offered Bunty Aur Babli and says he had valid reasons for refusing the others. “Hum Tum was offered to me on the exact same day that I was supposed to begin shooting for Kisna, which was delayed since I had an accident during Yuva. Some things were just not meant to be.” He refused Om Shanti Om because he was also working on Shootout at Lokhandwala and “didn’t want to play a negative character again”. Director Indra Kumar, who gave Oberoi his first 100-crore hit, Grand Masti, the second in the Masti franchise, feels the actor “hasn’t got his due as luck didn’t favour him”. “If you select wrong subjects, films or directors, your luck will run out. Aamir [Khan] gave seven flops before doing Dil, after which, he never looked back,” says Kumar.

That Oberoi’s public perception has been coloured by media reports brings us to his relationship with the press. Senior journalists who’ve followed his career allege that he’s had ‘attitude problems’. Even before his debut, a reporter remembers Oberoi demanding a frontpage coverage for an interview. “I am sure that if people found me difficult at that time, I probably was,” he says with a smile. But he adds that he’s maintained a symbiotic relationship with the media. “My PR agency may have requested for a prominent display, but I never have. Also, even if an actor does, I don’t think that’s wrong because media houses ask actors to visit Ganesh pandals or other events. It works both ways.”

As the makeup artist covers up his crow’s feet, Oberoi shares his grouse with industry folk. “Everything is personal, be it success or failure,” he says, sounding almost exasperated. “People can be supportive but at the end of the day, the fight is yours. If you break down, the game is over.” Luckily, before Oberoi could crack, he found solace in charity. He remembers the defining moment when he was “wallowing in self pity”, following a string of flops, and his mother took him to the pediatric wing of Tata Memorial Hospital to meet five-year-olds, who were fighting cancer. “Seeing the smiles on their faces, I realised that my problems were nothing, and I had no right to crib about my life.” The actor instantly swore to use his celebrity status to make an impact. His Project DEVI (Development and Empowerment of Vrindavan Girls’ Initiative) has cared for 2000 minors in the last nine years, even earning him a place in Forbes’ Top 40 philanthropists under 40.

Another life-turning event was his marriage to Priyanka Alwa. He remembers the first time they met. It was his parents who set them up. “We chatted for seven hours and there was a 40-minute silence, which didn’t feel uncomfortable,” says the actor, who was sure he had found his partner the very same day. “Marriage can be a window to your ownself. You think ‘I am not like this’ and then your wife says ‘No, you are’ and it helps in course correction or just appreciating who you are.” Before Oberoi leaves for his meeting, he has a question for us. “Tell me, who was the biggest star in 1956?” he asks, almost certain he wouldn’t get an answer. “Forget knowing, would you even care? No matter how big a star you become, how many awards you win, I know now that it doesn’t last.”