“Survived Trial…”: Vivek Oberoi On Dark Side Of Bollywood, Recalls 2003 Press Conference About Salman Khan
Vivek Oberoi recently opened up about the dark side of Bollywood, 20 years after his press conference against Salman Khan.
Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi got candid about the issues of lobbying and bullying within the Hindi film industry, nearly two decades after his press conference against Salman Khan. This comes in the light of Priyanka Chopra's recent comments about facing opposition in the Hindi film industry and subsequently venturing to the West. According to Vivek Oberoi, the dark side of bullying and lobbying in Bollywood is prevalent even today. He also opened up about being at the receiving end of it in one of his most volatile phases.
For the unversed, Vivek Oberoi had called a press conference against Salman Khan on April 1, 2003. In the press conference, he claimed that the megastar threatened him over phone calls. Vivek Oberoi was at that allegedly in a relationship with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Salman’s former girlfriend.
Recalling the rough patch in his life, Vivek Oberoi told Hindustan Times, “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 be that lucky.”
The Bollywood actor further said that when he looks back, he went through a lot of “unnecessary stuff” which completely exhausted him, crushing his morale and pushing him to a corner with no projects.
He said, “In hindsight, I went through a lot of stuff that was unnecessary. A lot of lobbies, a lot of repressive stories – kind of what Priyanka has been alluding to also. That’s been a hallmark of our industry, unfortunately. It’s been one of the dark sides of our industry. And I’ve been on the receiving end of it.”
Vivek added, “I know how frustrating it is, it can make one feel extremely, exhausted and tired. You feel like, I’ve just delivered an award winning, commercially successful performance in Shoot out Lokhandwala and after that, I’m sitting at home for 14 months, not getting any work.”
Vivek Oberoi further hailed Priyanka Chopra Jonas, calling her statement “inspirational” and lauded the ‘Citadel’ actress for venturing out, exploring something new, which led to something “magical” happening to her personally and professionally.
The actor added that today, if one speaks up about the harassment they go through in the industry, people are likely to find more vocal support, unlike his time.
He said, “Back in the day when I voiced 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 get fixed? So, it’s a systemic issue in the industry which is getting better. People are being more vocal.”
“Sushant (Singh Rajput, late actor) 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. You call the industry, a family, then the family should be there for each other,” he added.
