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Actor Akshay Oberoi, who can currently be seen in the romantic drama Param Sundari, spoke about his family lineage. He’s the cousin of actor and entrepreneur Vivek Oberoi, and the nephew of veteran Suresh Oberoi. But, Akshay said in a new interview, their families never got along. Because of these differences, he said that he has no relationship with his cousin, who debuted in the film industry around two decades ago. He also answered if Vivek’s downfall and perceived blacklisting had an impact on his career too. Akshay has appeared in films such as Gurgaon, Kaalakaandi, and Fighter in the past.
In an interview with the Free Press Journal, he was asked if he has lost work because of his cousin’s downfall following his infamous press conference two decades ago. Akshay said, “I don’t think so. Again, you never know what’s actually happening in those Bollywood rooms when people are discussing casting. But it has never happened to me that someone has said something like that. I think I’m saying this with a certain level of confidence because nobody knew we were related. Not even the casting people. Nobody knew. And I never used that to my benefit. I never said it because what would I get? It’s not like I could call and approach him either, you know. Unfortunately, I don’t say it with pride, I say it with sadness – that there was no real relationship. So, what would I call and ask from him? I just went about my own way.”
Hinting at a feud between their two families, Akshay continued, “I was very sure that no one was going to help me. I didn’t have a mentor, godfather, or guidance in this line. Now that I’m starting to reach somewhere, people are connecting the dots. Journalists ask me, directors I’ve worked with in the past say, ‘You never told me.’ And I’m like – what could I have told you? To share something, something has to exist, right? Our families never got along, and here I was. Maybe we were just unlucky as a family in that way. Him and his father are both very good actors, and I’m honoured to be from that lineage. But it would have been fun if we could have done it together.”
Asked if he ever contemplated playing the nepotism card to further his career, he said, “Not once did it cross my mind that I should do that. I think it’s just the kind of people I grew up around and the kind of person I am. People also know that Imran Khan is one of my closest buddies. We met in 2001 at Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Institute and became best friends within minutes. I had no idea for months that he was Aamir Khan’s nephew, and when I found out, I told him I had something like that too. Of course, he was much closer to Aamir and eventually launched by him, but that’s just how I grew up. I surrounded myself with people who never tom-tommed about where they came from. So, I never thought about it twice either.”
This isn’t the first time that Akshay has spoken about being related to Vivek. In 2021, he told PeepingMoon, “Sure it would’ve been easier, maybe it would’ve been faster, the climb would’ve been bigger, had I had access. I didn’t have access; it’s not like I said ‘no’. I didn’t have access to whatever had been achieved by my family. It was pretty much said ‘ke tu kar apna (you do your own thing)’. I’m grateful for it, I’m deeply respecting of both their talents. I think they’re wonderful actors. And I’m so glad that they had the courage to be actors because somewhere it might’ve inspired me to try.” That same year, he told The Times of India that he isn’t bothered by the lack of support, and that he doesn’t want to get into the circumstances behind the feud.
More recently, he spoke about ‘Punjabi ego clashes’ in their family during an interview with Cyrus Broacha on YouTube. “Unfortunately, for whatever reason, there wasn’t really a line of communication. Like I couldn’t pick up the phone and talk to him about it. Just the way it was. I never did it. He never offered it,” he said.
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