Vivek Oberoi made his debut in the 2002 crime thriller Company, directed by Ram Gopal Varma.
Vivek Oberoi has often spoken about his strugglesbefore he landed his first film Company, and in a new interview, the actor shared that he actually lived in the slums, where giant rats kept him company, and he would use public restrooms just to get an idea as to how his character from the film would react to his surroundings. In a new interview, Vivek looked backat this phase of his life and shared that his father was in tears after Ram Gopal Varma cast him.
Vivek, in a chat with Pinkvilla, shared that he was rejected by RGV at first because he found him to be too “polished” for a hardcore gansgter film. Vivek then took it upon himself to impress RGV and went to live in a slum for a couple of months. “I went and stayed in the slum. 6-7 hafte, main ek slum me jaake raha. Slum me bhaade pe kholi li, kholi me jaake raha. Raat ko bade bade chuhe aate the. Drum ke andar se paani nikalna padta tha. Bathroom tha nhi, aapko sulabh sauchalaya use karna padta tha, line me khada rehna padta tha. Maine realise kiya ki Chandu Nagre (Company’s character) ki life kaisi hogi, beedi kaise phookta hai, chai kaise peeta hai, baatein kaise karta hai. (I went and stayed in the slum. For 6-7 weeks, I went to a slum. I rented a room in the slum and stayed there. Giant rats would come in at night. I had to fetch water from inside a drum. There was no bathroom, so you had to use the public washroom. I realised what Chandu Nagre’s (Company’s character) life would be like, how he smokes a beedi, how he drinks tea, how he talks.)”
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Vivek wasn’t certain if he would be allowed to audition with RGV again so after living in the slums for a while, he dressed up as the character and landed up at his office. RGV was thoroughly impressed and cast Vivek immediately. “Zabardast audition… I have never seen an audition like this,” Vivek recalled RGV’s words.
After this, RGV drove with Vivek to Suresh Oberoi’s house, where Suresh was gardening. As the director announced that he had cast Vivek, there was a tear in Suresh’s eye, as he was naturally proud of his son. Since RGV wanted to give some signing amount to Vivek, and didn’t have any cash on him, he borrowed Rs 10 from Suresh and gave it to Vovek on the spot.
The 2002 film was a hit and was one of the most unconventional debuts for a mainstream hero.
