Shooting Star
Bollywood actor Viveik Oberoi gets candid on the success of Shootout At Lokhandwala, his career and Kolkata in a chat with Diganta Guha.
Viveik Oberoi gets candid on the success of Shootout At Lokhandwala, his career and Kolkata in a chat with HT City.
Excerpts of an interview:
Isn’t Viveik Oberoi on cloud nine after Shootout At Lokhandwala?
Yes, but I expected it to do well, though not to this extent. People outside Mumbai didn’t even know what Lokhandwala is all about. Now the film has put the place on the map.
It has worked all over…
I went to see the film in a theatre that was reminiscent of the old era. I saw people clapping, throwing money, whistling and even crying. It was quite an amazing experience.
Your rugged look (Company, Road, Omkara and now Shootout…) works magic…
Do I look like a goonda? (laughs). My clean-shaven looks have worked in Saathiya, Yuva and Masti.
I have been in this industry for five years and done everything — long hair, short hair, different looks. I like to get into the skin of the character and then try out looks for that.
For Shootout.., it took me three months to fix what I wanted to do and how to go about it. There were small things that I tried to incorporate into my character, like the masks that people were wearing while I was buying candles in Mumbai or the crepe bandage on the hand. I have seen goondas wearing crepe bandage and learnt that it is worn on the punching arm to protect the wrist.
Your fans keep complaining that Viveik Oberoi doesn’t do too many films…
I have done 18 films in five years. It is a conscious decision to focus on one film at a time.
So, Viveik Oberoi is not in the rat race…
Na na!! The rat race is meant for rats!
What next?
Nothing. I have no films in hand now. On the one hand, you get so much of love but on the other there are expectations and you want to live up to it.
After Shootout… there is a flow of scripts coming in and good filmmakers are meeting me. I am still taking my time and haven’t signed any film. I want to be sure about what I want to do.
When do we see Viveik Oberoi in Kolkata?
Kolkata is a place that I haven’t visited enough. People ask why the place should be special as I had an accident there. But I have only good memories of my stay in the city, right from the pretty nurses with whom I flirted at the hospital to the guys who sold me mishti.
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