Vivek Oberoi and Rani Mukerji’s Saathiya holds a special place in our hearts. The film, directed by Shaad Ali, was released in 2002. Now, in an interview with Humans of Bombay, Vivek has shared insights into the challenges he faced during the shoot due to budget constraints. The actor recalled, “I was shooting Saathiya. I used to be at the railway stations. I used to sleep on the benches because we had no budget. There was no makeup van. I had to go to restaurant toilets to change clothes. We had to shoot four-four scenes in a day. We were shooting 18-20 hours a day. There were times when I was carrying equipment. So I had gone back to my assistant days after starting a debut, without the release. I did not have a release. Nobody knew me.” FYI: Vivek made his debut with the film Company, which was released on April 12, 2002. Whereas, Saathiya opened to theatres a few months later in December.
“And, I was shooting, going around everywhere. The day Rani (Mukerji) used to come, there was security… Nobody knew me, nobody cared,” Vivek Oberoi added.
Vivek Oberoi then talked about how, after the release of his debut film Company, thousands of people flocked to the sets of Saathiya, addressing Vivek as “Chandu Bhai” (his character in Company). He also shared that the sudden surge in attention led the actor to leave the shoot in a police van.
Reflecting on the aftermath, Vivek Oberoi remarked, “Pretty much the same. I just had a few more security guards and my own makeup van. That was the change. Everything else was the same. It was still a struggle. Vahi costume hai. Budget kam hai. 18 ghante shoot karna hai. [The same costume. Budget was less. Had to shoot for 18 hours.]”
In the same interview, Vivek Oberoi shared insights about the “dark phase” of this life. The star said, “I’ve been there. I’ve been at the edge of darkness. It’s not that I haven’t thought of things that Sushant (Singh Rajput) did. It’s not that I haven’t cried, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ I sat on the floor with my head on my mom’s lap like a baby and cried. I said, ‘Why is it happening?’ She kept stroking my head, waiting for me, maybe 30-40 minutes, moping, crying, complaining. And she asked me one thing. She said, ‘Beta, when you are winning those awards, when you’re getting all the glory, all the fame, all the love, did you ask the Bhagwan, why me?’ And that clicked. There’s a very dark place that you can get to in life.”
On the work front, Vivek Oberoi was last seen in the Prime Video series Indian Police Force. The show, directed by Rohit Shetty, also featured Sidharth Malhotra and Shilpa Shetty in important roles.
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