Vivek Oberoi survived a 'trial by fire'

Vivek Oberoi finds strength in having ‘survived’. He said the film industry has a ‘dark side’ of bullying and lobbying, which he was on the receiving end of in one of his most volatile phases. He had called a press conference where he claimed that superstar Salman Khan had threatened him over phone calls. Vivek was at that time allegedly in a relationship with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, the superstar’s former girlfriend.

“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,” he told a leading media house.

Oberoi said when he looks back, he went through a lot of ‘unnecessary stuff’ which completely exhausted him, crushing his morale and pushing him into a corner of no work.

“In hindsight, I went through a lot of stuff that was unnecessary. A lot of lobbying, a lot of repressive stories - kind of what Priyanka has been alluding to also. Unfortunately, that’s been a hallmark of our industry. 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. You feel like, ‘I’ve just delivered an award-winning, commercially successful performance in ‘Shoot Out at Lokhandwala’ and after that, I’m sitting at home for 14 months, not getting any work.”

Vivek said Priyanka’s statement was ‘inspirational’ and lauded the ‘Citadel’ star for venturing out and exploring something new, which led to something ‘magical’ happening to her personally and professionally.

“Back in the day, when I spoke out 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 be fixed? So, it’s a systemic issue in the industry that is getting better. People are being more vocal,” he shared.

Oberoi added, “There is more decentralisation of power. Fewer and fewer people can play God and the fans are now aware. Sushant Singh Rajput 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. If you call the industry a family, then the family should be there for each other.”