Vivek Oberoi recalls getting mobbed during Saathiya shoot: ‘The cops put me in the police van…’

Speaking to SCREEN, Vivek revealed that he had initially said no to doing Saathiya. He shared, “Shaad Ali was like a childhood friend. He called me one day and said he wanted to show me something. He showed me the tape of a Tamil film called Alaipayuthey. He told me he was making that film and wanted me to play Maddy’s role. I was doing Company, so I said no. But by the end of the movie, I was crying and I wanted to do it. I spoke to Mr. Verma, we figured it out, and then finally I signed Saathiya.”

Watch Vivek Oberoi’s full interview here:

Recalling how he shot for 23 hours for Saathiya and even slept on benches, Vivek Oberoi shared, “Saathiya was a small budget film and only Rani used to get the makeup van. I had to go and change in restaurant bathrooms and hotel washrooms. I did the touch-ups on the streets. Nobody knew who I was. I used to carry the tripod on my shoulder and walk with the rest of the crew. I have shot for 22-23 hours non-stop for Saathiya. I used to put newspapers on the bench and take a nap so that I looked fresh.”

Vivek further recalled how one day during the shoot of Saathiya, he got mobbed by fans, and the cops had to be called. He said, “April 12 2002, Company released, and that Sunday, we were shooting near Gaiety Galaxy’s railway channel. It is that scene where I am chasing Rani. We started shooting; it was a normal day. By then, Rani was a star, so she had a security guard. Around 11 am-12 pm, suddenly people started shouting Chandu Bhai, and I was very fascinated. From those 4-5 people, almost 2000 people gathered there, and the entire security arrangement went kaput. I was panicking because one day was getting wasted. Shaad wanted to get me out of there, so he pushed me into Rani’s makeup van and I was looking outside the window. They were shouting the dialogues. Finally, they had to call the cops, and they said I should get out of there. Shaad opened the door, and he was like stop and see this as it is for you. He told me I was a star. Then the cops picked me and put me in the police van and took me like I was some common criminal. Then we shot the same scene next Sunday with proper police protection.”

When asked if that first brush with stardom changed him, Vivek said, “You don’t change overnight. You begin to realise slowly when the fraternity starts showing you respect. It starts to give you more confidence. At the time when I joined the industry, it was still about craft and passion, and less about box office numbers. I still don’t know what business Saathiya did. This 1000 crore club culture has come now.”

On the work front, Vivek Oberoi, who was last seen in the Indian Police Force, has started shooting for Masti 4.