44th Birthday Interview Of Vivek Oberoi

VIVEK OBEROI

Jyothi Venkatesh

VIVEK OBEROI who celebrates his 44^th birthday on September 3, 2020 tells JYOTHI VENKATESH for bollyy.com and Mayapuri in this exclusive interview taken eight years ago when he was promoting his film KLPD that he agreed to be part of the film, because he liked the script and did not want to miss the bus once again.

How would you describe KLPD?

I would say that KLPD is an unpredictable film which will make you laugh too. It is a film which sets out to show what happens in one night. It is an edge of the seat hilarious comedy. It isn’t a love story though there are elements of love in the film.

Isn’t KLPD a very offensive and vulgar title?

It isn’t at all a vulgar or offensive title. The full form of the abbreviated title is Kismat Love Paisa Dilli (Chuckles)

Is it true that you said no to Sanjay Khanduri when you were offered the film Ek Chalis Ki Last Local?

Yes. The first thing is that I’d said no to Sanjay Khanduri when he had offered me his debut film Ek Chalis Ki Last Local. The role went to Abhay Deol. I said no not because I did not want to work with a director who was making his debut but because I felt that the film was out of my comfort zone.

Did you regret your decision when you saw Ek Chalis Ki Last Local?
I should really confess that I loved the film when I saw it and felt that I had made a bad decision. My loss was Abhay Deol’s gain. I was man enough to tell Sanjay that I regretted not doing his film Ek Chalis Ki Last Local.

How did you bag KLPD from Sanjay Khanduri then?

Three years after Ek Chalis Ki Last Local was released, Sanjay narrated to me the first ten minutes of the script of KLPD and asked me to read it.  I green lighted it instantly even without knowing what the rest of the film was going to be because it gripped me and told Sanjay I wanted to be a part of the film and even roped in my friend Amit on board to produce it. Rarely do I agree to act in a film after hearing just the first ten minutes of the script. Amit has always been a friend of mine in difficult times.

Isn’t KLPD also out of your comfort zone?

KLPD is in effect a sequel to Ek Chalis Ki Last Local and hence  it too is out of my comfort zone but I decided to do it, because I liked the script and I did not want to miss the bus once again.

As an actor, do you interfere with the script?

I do not like to disturb the creative process of filmmaking  because I have always maintained that every director has his own vision but I confess I do add elements as an actor to enhance my characterization in any film that I set out to do.

Okay. What is your role in KLPD?
I play a North Indian guy called Lokesh Duggal alias Lucky. I am a Punjabi Delhi based munda who is a very good boy at heart but vainly believes that he is the best looking boy amongst all his friends.

How did you prepare for your part?

I should say that it was a tough role. Ironically, to make it effortless, I had to put in a lot of efforts, as an actor. I stayed in Delhi for nearly 15 days and went to different hangouts and spent a lot of days in the campus to learn the body language of youth. All my life, I had worked very hard diligently to create proper Hindi but I had to rework and actually set out to corrupt my Hindi to give it a new lihaja for the sake of my role in KLPD.

What was the most difficult aspect of your role in KLPD?

I had to be a completely non typical hero in it. I’d to take care to make sure that I did not look tough. I had to look scared and vulnerable.

How was your experience of working with Mallika Sherawat?

Mallika is a very chilled out girl. We worked to create the right chemistry. I should confess that I had a lot of fun working with Mallika. I used to tease her and pull her legs a lot of times on the sets while the shooting was on. Though Mallika looks tough, she gets scared of ghosts. When we were shooting at Kamalistan, I used to scare her by telling her that the late Meena Kumari’s ghost was lurking around at night in the studios and scare her that if she does not tie her hair the ghost would go inside her body through her hair.

In what way has marriage changed you as a person and actor?

Marriage calms you down and gives you a lot of stability. It is only after marriage that you realize that there’s more to your life than just your work. I realized after my marriage that you get caught up with your job and forget that it is just a means to an end. I really look forward to packing up after a day’s work and rushing home to my wife Priyanka. Both Priyanka and I are very thrilled that we will become the proud parents in the month of February next year.

Which are the other films in your kitty now?

Besides KLPD, my films like Jayantabhai Ka Love Story, Zilla Ghaziabad, Sher and Krissh 3 are being readied for release this year itself, while the shooting of Indra Kumar’s sequel to Masti- Grand Masti is on.