Vivek Oberoi opened up on how he refused to succumb to lobbyism in Bollywood and chose to turn a businessman by profession and actor by passion.
Known for films like Company and Saathiya, Vivek Oberoi recently opened up on how despite a promising start in the Hindi industry, there was a phase where he sat at home without work for several months. That’s when he decided to be an entrepreneur, and now successfully juggles it with his acting career.
The ‘Kaal’ actor told SCREEN in an interview, “I have done about 67 projects in 22 years, but the industry is a very insecure place. You could be performing well, winning awards, and doing your job as an actor, but at the same time, you can get no work for other reasons. After 2007 when I did Shootout At Lokhandwala, the Ganpat song went viral, I won awards, so I expected a lot of offers, but I didn’t get any.”
Vivek said that he didn’t wanted to be in a situation where he could be easily manipulated by anyone.
Speaking about how he had to switch to business to counter the effects of lobbyism in the industry, he shared, “I sat at home for 14 to 15 months after the success of the film. It was only around the 2009 mark when I decided I didn’t want to be completely dependent on this but build my economic independence. I didn’t want to be in a situation where a lobby could decide your future. Somebody could bully you into doing something because they controlled things,” the actor told the publication.
He continued, “Business was always a Plan B, and I decided cinema will be my passion. My livelihood should be my business, which helped me earn my independence and get out of that whole trap of lobbies, or having to sell your soul or suck up to somebody that is no great way to live at least for me. Some people make a living out of it but for me, that’s not the case.”
On being asked to share one lesson he learnt through his 22-year journey in films, Vivek admitted that there was time when he was stressed about many things and took a lot of tension. However, he soon realized that it wasn’t just worth it as he believes that life finds its way to sort it out through karmic score.
Vivek also spoke about his upcoming film projects and revealed that he has signed three movies which include Masti 4 in which he is excited to reunite with Aftab Shivdasania and Riteish Deshmukh.
