Vivek Oberoi :I just want to be better and better every single day – that’s a little prayer I say to myself

Life teaches us lessons. Hard lessons. And no one in Bollywood knows that more than Vivek Oberoi today. In his relatively short career of six years, Vivek has managed to see the highs of highs and the lowest lows. Has it changed the man? Definitely yes. Will it help the actor? It sure looks like it. But now with his career seeing a massive upswing, we ask the actor about his life in the present, past and future…Let’s start with the IIFAs…your performance on the awards night on Mission Istaanbul received a huge response especially from the women….
(laughs) I am myself confused about it… I’m still trying to figure that one out! But all I can say is that I was very happy. When you hear those screams and claps and all that appreciation… then all the effort you have put into that performance seems all worth it at the end of the day when you hear that kind of response from your fans and the audience.Speaking about Mission Istaanbul you’ve worked very hard physically for this role. Was it difficult?

I have worked very hard for it and I am hopeful that it shows on the screen. Physically I had to look bigger because the character I am playing Rizwan Khan… the thing about him is that he can easily knock of 4-5 people without any problem. There is this one scene that I have with Zayed Khan where he is running down the streets of Istanbul being chased by many people ready to shoot him… and then all of a sudden a hand comes and pulls him into a corner and then they show that the person is Rizwan Khan. And then when those 6 people chasing Zayed reach him he steps out and in 30 odd seconds he disarms them and breaks their bones… I remember when Apoorva had narrated the story to me he had told me that I want you to fight in a special way where you lock peoples’ limbs and break them and you don’t use weapons… woh khud he eek weapon hai Rizwan Khan.. so yea it was fun to do something that I have never done before.
I think the best way to describe him is that when we as kids saw films we saw those heroes on screen who were larger than life and we would get very excited.
So do you like playing characters that are larger than life or would you rather play roles that closely resemble everyday life?
I feel you want to have both ends of the spectrum. I don’t know about other actors… I am very greedy. I want everything. When I read a script I try and identify with each and every character in that film. Sometimes I turn around and say ‘I wish I was a girl so I could play that character.’ Sometimes its fun to play a realist … something that I did in Saathiya which was a very real love story. And now after a long time I have got yet another role which is also a very nice love story. And then there is also a film I am doing for Tips which will be shot in South Africa is larger than life character caught in larger than life problem in a very real looking world. So I think it’s a balance between the two… because you have a lot of fun in doing both kind of roles.

While you have done different genres wasn’t it difficult turning away scripts to avoid being typecast? How do you convince yourself to wait for the right role and not get carried away in numbers?
I think a couple of years when I was insecure and I thought it was a numbers game… you have to have a strategy… you need an agenda, a game plan… my thinking was very coloured and I would use different approaches to my career. But right now I am just thankful for all that is coming my way. Ab joh muhe sachche dil se achcha lagta hai… it’s not about the money, the fame, the script, the banner… just genuinely if I feel like I want to be that character then I say yes. You know your inner voice… your inner talent speaks to you… communicates with you. Because at the end of the day its not your talent… you know jisse hum saraswati kehte hai…yeh vidya hai. And I really believe that it’s something God has given me that resides in me. And as long as you keep it honest and clean like a temple it will communicate with you. And it will leave you if you don’t…so I believe you have to be honest to that talent, to your soul. Woh agar kehti hai ki picture karnee chahiye toh karnee chahiye…and then in the end whether it works or not it shouldn’t matter. You definitely seem to be in a much calmer and peaceful place today than you were a couple of years back. What’s brought that change?
(laughs) I think I’ve grown a lot…I think failure has been a very good friend. It has taught me all that I needed to learn and it’s strange you know… that when people fail or when someone goes through a rough period… it hurts a lot and they often get weak. But I think what’s also great about it is that in this weakness when you keep pushing this person time and time again… you feel like you have reached absolute rock bottom and you think that this is it and that your spirit can’t take any more. It will break … but what’s beautiful about it is that the human spirit is just so resilient. The more you get pushed, the more you realize that ‘I’m strong man.. I can deal with this.. I can bounce back from here also that I means I have more strength in me’ so it’s a great confidence building measure if you look at it the other way round. It’s fantastic because you realize you are a lot deeper than you thought. There’s a lot more to me below the surface…

Apoorva once told me that ‘Vivek is one of the most misunderstood people in this industry’. Do you agree with that?
I think it’s true partly… and partly its not. I think its partly true is because yes there are quite a few things that I have done for which I am given credit like I said this or I did that or I told someone this or I took a panga with this one which is not true. Maine aisa kuch nahee kiya par agar mujh par bill phatne hai toh phatne hai…and people believe it. But I would like to say is that people also believe it is also because there are lots of things that I have done. Maine he eek neev rakhi hai…I have only laid the foundation for that and people have started using that foundation and begun crediting me with a lot more rubbish than I have, you know, ever done. But its ok because in the past two years… from the time I began shooting for Shootout and Omkara…I found a lot of change in myself. So you could go to the highest roof top and scream that you have changed but unless people experience or witness that change in you themselves it doesn’t work. And that’s why I am so calm…like you mentioned…I know I have changed and now whoever works with me today they say the same thing to me. Like Apu (Apoorva Lakhia) says you have been a dream to work with… and we keep joking that now after two years of working with him I say let me go else we will be addicted to each other! And it’s a good feeling to see people appreciate that change because the other day Karan Johar turned around and said I really like your new approach and I like the way you are looking and I want to cast you in this role. And after reading the script my first question was Karan, why me?! I mean this role is really too good and you know it’s that turn around that comes along…
So when Apu said that I was misunderstood honestly speaking I had done some amount of stuff that deserved that kind of behaviour towards me. And now that I have changed my habits aur apni galteeon ko bhi sudhar liya hai…then the people’s behaviour towards me is also changing. So I think it’s got a lot to do with you…

Talking about Karan Johar… working with Dharma Productions is a big deal in the film industry. It’s almost like a stamp of having arrived. What’s your take on it?
I think it’s fantastic! And apart from being prestigious I’m also really excited because of the role as an actor. It offers me so much in terms of performance…it’s got lovely actors with me like Saif and Kareena in the script. So its great feeling. And apart from that Karan is just a great guy. It’s just wonderful to have someone like him backing you and believing in you. And it’s really nice to have some like that supporting you. He has been lending support to me every step of the way in small small things and that really feels great. He is already talking to me about other scripts and other things that I already feel like a part of Dharma.. and aside from that another great producer who is backing me right now is Tips. They’ve just had some whopping success with Race and today they are investing me. I am doing this really larger than life action movie in South Africa starting July and I am really excited working with them.
So I think its just a matter of time… you know those people who were considered opposition camps or considered who would never work with are now working with me. So I think it’s largely about how you deal with people and the situation… if you come across as a professional… like for the past 3 years and 3 months I have never been late for a single shoot or appearance. I just don’t believe it in anymore. It’s like a game I play with myself - can I be on time today? And its amazing… it feels really good.

Ok now I want to know about home… you are known to be extremely close to your parents. But what’s the atmosphere at home. Do you go home and discuss work because dad comes from the industry too or do you completely switch off?
At home we barely have any work discussion…because once I’m home I’m home…it’s my de-stress factor. I come home and catch up with my family.. like the day I know I’m going to get done early and I will be able to have a meal at home with my family I will immediately call them. So they will all wait for me and we will all have dinner together… even my dogs join us around the dinner table. Everybody will have a full conversation… like even if I am sitting there and my family is there and my dogs are not there, the two of them will bring the house down barking because they feel they are a part of the family and they should be a part of our discussion. In fact it’s so funny that even when we have puja at home my two babies - my boxers Duke and Ivy - will be a part of it whether the puja is for 2 or 4 hours. No matter how long the chanting goes on for they will sit there very quietly… they’ll watch the entire proceedings. We have this joke that pichle janam mein pandit honge…Finally now that your career seems to be back on track, what are Vivek’s expectations for his professional and personal life? What are your aims now?
You know there was a point in time when I thought fans were just a number… just a static. I always thought that fans were only important to an extent that the number of fans you have is only important from a perspective that how popular you are, how much you charge for a film… that this is the direct co-relation. But today … in my second coming after Shootout… I have realised how important and how amazing this relationship between a movie star and his fan is. How that little word of encouragement and appreciation inspires you to do so much more. So today when I work I think about them. I thank them and my whole agenda is to do so much work.. so much better work with every film that I live up to their expectations or deliver a little more than their expectations. Whether I manage to do that or not is in God’s hands… but that is definitely the effort and the intention professionally now.
And as far as personally is concerned I just want to live every day. I just want to be better and better every single day - that’s a little prayer I say to myself. And I want to be a better son. I think last few years have been very tumultuous and painful and I think I put parents through a lot of pain and misery. You know when a child suffers his or her parents suffer 10 times more indirectly…so I want them to be happy. I want my father to be happy and enjoying life like he is right now. I want my mum to be happy like she is right now… God bless them…and I want to be a better human being. I want to give back a lot. I consider myself really lucky and blessed and I feel I need to share that… that experience!