Needless to say, actor Vivek Oberoi sweeps everyone off their feet with his wit, charm and great answers. He talks about reviving his career and Tubelight with Unnati Joshi
How did Bank Chor happenIJ
One fine day I got a call from Adi Chopra (Aditya Chopra) and he said, “We want you to work with Yash Raj again.” And it has been a while since Saathiya so I said, “I would love to.”
We used to meet socially so many times after Saathiya but hadn’t collaborated all this while. Then he told me about the film and my role. He said, “It’s with Riteish, and do you know what the film is calledIJ It’s called Bank Chor.” I loved the title and the genre. Then I met Bumpy, the director, who’s a totally crazy guy. Then I read the script and loved it.
The film has three bumbling idiots inside a bank that they are trying to rob. Just when things look like they can’t get any worse, that’s when you have the country’s most hot-headed super cop, the no-nonsense guy called Amjad Khan, show up. The fun part is that you have this crazy caper on one end while on the other my character Amjad Khan keeps it edgy. People begin to wonder why my character, a CBI Officer, is here for a bank robbery. Is this really a bank robbery or is something else happeningIJ Is he secretly working with the robbersIJ Is he corrupt or cleanIJ And you can’t figure that out till the end. That’s what I loved about the character. So I was in.
Not many people are aware that you took inspiration from your father for this character. Tell us about it.
Not much preparation was required for this character. There were just nuances to add. It wasn’t like I was doing a biopic where you have to study the person or stuff like that. We wanted to create something that looked different. As Riteish aptly puts it, “This is the first time I am seeing somebody play a cop like a gangster.” Rules exist but not for Amjad Khan.
Dad has always played iconic, no-nonsense, strong, barrel-toned cops with commanding moonchas. I thought that it’s the time to take advantage of my genes (laughs). I grew my moustache. True, I built the character by watching my dad and the things that he had done. I was also inspired by the original Amjad Khan who played a very cool cop in Qurbani. He delivers threats with a smile on his face. So, I took that trait from there and mashed up the two and tried creating a fun character. When my character walks in, he walks as if he is walking the red carpet.
You have seen a lot of ups and downs in your career. How did you sail through itIJ
I have loved every bit of it! (smiles) I always tell people (not that I am ancient but I have been around for 15 years and I hang out with the young brigade either at the IIFA awards backstage or we catch up when we are shooting in the same studio) to remember that good judgement comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgement. Don’t be scared to make mistakes. It’s human to do so. I understand people get worried because so much attention is paid to every minute little thing and then the internet never lets you forget it. You need to move beyond that and realise that it was just a bad day and now I have grown and I am beyond that. The mantra that I tell people is to say to yourself that every day and in every way I will get better. And it’s such an easy mantra to follow. You pick a day and say, “Today I am going to define the quality of my life” and it just changes you. I think being successful in any field, not just films, has a lot to do with your mind, how you feel about life, how you deal with difficulties. If you look at it in a positive way, the challenges are fun. You just solve the puzzle and move on. Sometimes life will give you lemons and that’s when you have your family and friends for support. You should know that tomorrow is a different day. Just move on.
How did acting happenIJ Was it a natural choiceIJ Or an urge to take your father’s legacy forwardIJ
If I tell you, you will start laughing. I have the weirdest story. I was a four-year-old in a school called Besant Montessori School. We had an annual day and all the kids were coming up on stage to perform.
I remember coming on the stage with this very good friend of mine. Both of us were dressed as soldiers. My major preoccupation at that point of time was that he had got a shiny new gun and I had got an old rundown variant as a prop. I was trying to convince him to give it to me but he was reluctant to share it. In the midst of all this, the teacher came in and prodded us on stage. Once both of us were on stage, my friend saw the strobe lights, freaked out and ran back. All I could do was look at his fallen gun. I dumped mine and picked up his. I remember it like yesterday, that’s the funny part. Then I looked at the audience and then something happened. I said all my lines flawlessly. And I looked at my friend after that. He was still crying. Once I had realised that he was not coming back, I said all of his lines too.
I remember this elderly lady, who was our drama teacher, a perfectly English-speaking Parsi lady named Mrs Wadia. Post the function she told my parents that your son is going to be an actor. And you have to put him into some formal training. She actually took the trouble and got me enrolled in Trinity College of london for a correspondence course at the age of five.
It was this silly moment. While growing up, I wanted to be a doctor or scientist and eliminate all diseases. I had this crazy fantasy at that age. Then I grew a little older. My nanaji was a decorated officer in the Indian Army. He had a Mahavir Chakra and fought all the wars for India against China and Pakistan. I was inspired by his war stories and wanted to join the Army, to the point that I was a part of NCC and was almost going to NDA. It was my love for theatre that pulled me away and I decided to remain an actor.
Your son Vivaan is four years old now. What is his reaction when he sees you on screenIJ
(laughs) He is still kind of getting familiar with the idea that his father is a little different from everybody else. Whenever we travel, he sees people coming up and taking pictures. He has registered that it’s something different. His mom does a great job insulating the kid from being a “filmy kid”. We both believe that we need to have a balanced environment. We never want our kids to grow up thinking that they have some strange privilege. In our house also, the kids refer to the domestic help as bhaiya or didi and we encourage that. When he saw my promo he just laughed and said, “That’s dada with uncle Riteish.”
Who is your biggest critic in the familyIJ
My biggest critic in my family right now is my wife. I feel that such a thing comes naturally with the package when you get married. Wives automatically become your critics. But it’s great as it keeps you grounded. They never let you fly high. There are a lot of people telling you how well you did, they shower all those praises on you and soon afterwards you have your wives coming in, bursting the bubble and bringing you down to the earth. But I know inside, she is really proud of me. She has made me a calmer and more relaxed person.
Actors venturing into film production is normal but what prompted you to foray into other businessesIJ
What people don’t know about me is that at the age of 19, I built my first business and sold it profitably. It was based on technology. When I was 23, I got the chance to go to New York University and do my masters in filmcraft. When I came back, I began working in the movies. But I had that business keeda in me. So I started doing things and became successful. Today, all of my businesses have a little bit of a social bent, carry out some sort of social welfare or CSR activities. This is the way I can help people and this inspires me. I am happy with it.
You have gifted a house to an acid attack survivor at an affordable housing project. When did you meet herIJ
I had been invited by our Chief Minister’s wife, Mrs Amruta Fadnavis. She was hosting a function and said that she wanted me to come, give support and create awareness about acid attacks. I thought it was a wonderful thing. When I was backstage with the survivor, I had asked about her story. She got attacked over an argument by her own cousin. It was sheer male ego that ruined her entire life. She has had 17 surgeries already. She can’t afford a home in Mumbai. She wants to work but nobody is giving her any job. At the event, she called me bhaiya and I got very emotional, decided to gift her an apartment. When I came to know that she was getting married, I decided to surprise her. She was thrilled. I met her in-laws and her husband. What an incredible family they have.
This year has been great for the Indian film industry what with Baahubali breaking all records and Dangal getting tidal support in China. Can a mainstream Hindi film surpass these benchmarksIJ
I want Tubelight to break records of Baahubali and become a superhit film. I feel Tubelight has all the capacity to make Hindi cinema proud all around the world and I would like to wish all the luck for the entire team.
What’s nextIJ
I am excited about the release of Bank Chor on June 16. After that I have got my international show for Amazon Prime which we have shot in English. It is produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani. It will air in July and is based on the cricket league, including all the scandals and the match fixing. That was a fun experience. Then I have shot my first mega budget Tamil film, which we have filmed all over Eastern Europe, called Vivegam; this is my name in Tamil. It was a big challenge in terms of language but was really exciting. This is it for now.