Vivek Oberoi On Bollywood’s ‘Dark Side’: I Survived A Trial By Fire, Not Everybody’s Going To Be That Lucky

A couple of days back, Priyanka Chopra Jonas revealed that she was forced to go to Hollywood after she faced opposition in the Hindi film industry as people stopped casting her in films. Now actor Vivek Oberoi has mentioned how the film industry has a “dark side” of bullying and lobbying, and he too, was at the receiving end of it during his most volatile phases

For the unversed, on April 1 in the year 2003, Vivek had called a press conference where he claimed that Salman Khan threatened him over phone calls, because he was allegedly in a relationship with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Salman’s former girlfriend.

Speaking of the time, Vivek told Hindustan Times, “I’m glad that I emerged from that. I kind of came up through the trial by fire and survived it. But not everybody’s going to be that lucky.” 

Looking back, he said that he went through a lot of “unnecessary stuff” which completely exhausted him, and pushed him to a corner of no work. “In hindsight, I went through a lot of stuff that was unnecessary. A lot of lobbies, a lot of repressive stories – kind of what Priyanka has been alluding to also. That’s been a hallmark of our industry, unfortunately. It’s been one of the dark sides of our industry. And I’ve been on the receiving end of it. I know how frustrating it is, it can make one feel extremely exhausted and tired. You feel like, I’ve just delivered an award winning, commercially successful performance in ‘Shootout at Lokhandwala’ and after that, I’m sitting at home for 14 months, not getting any work,” he said.

Vivek also termed Priyanka’s statement as “inspirational” and praised her for exploring something new, both personally and professionally. 

He also mentioned that if today, anyone opens up about the harassment they go through in the industry, they are likely to find far more vocal support, unlike his time. “Back in the day when I voiced against it, every ‘well wisher’ would call me up and say, ‘Don’t talk about it. It is like a family secret’. But if you have abuse going on in the family and you don’t speak up about it because it’s a family secret? That’s stupid. How will the abuse get fixed? So, it’s a systemic issue in the industry which is getting better. People are being more vocal,” he said.

Vivek signed off by saying, “There is more decentralisation of power. Less and less people can play God and the fans are now aware. Sushant (Singh Rajput, late actor) should have never lost his life no matter what. It’s just so sad. What a talented young guy and he should have had a better network of friends. You call the industry a family, then the family should be there for each other.”