Suresh Oberoi recalls going door to door for son Vivek Oberoi's Bollywood debut: ‘Had to struggle again’

Suresh Oberoi revealed his struggles to promote son Vivek in the film industry, revisiting his own early challenges.

Veteran actor Suresh Oberoi recently spoke about how he had to struggle all over again while carrying portfolios of his son and actor Vivek Oberoi when he wanted to help him get a break in the film industry. The veteran actor said that working towards Vivek's dream debut made him recall his own days of struggle.

'Had to struggle for Vivek again'

Suresh Oberoi spoke about son Vivek Oberoi's days of struggle.

Speaking on Nidhi Vasandani’s YouTube channel, Suresh said that during Vivek’s entry into films, he found himself struggling all over again. “I had to struggle for him again, went door to door. Like I used to take my pictures, now I was taking Vivek’s pictures," he recalled.

Suresh Oberoi shared that at the time, he was working with filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who was also casting for his film Company. Luckily, the filmmaker asked Suresh to show him a tape of Vivek's acting. Suresh remembered that Vivek had one from his acting institute. RGV then came to their house to watch the tape and was impressed by Vivek's acting abilities. This eventually led to him casting Vivek in his debut role as gangster Chandrakant “Chandu" Nagre in the film.

In a 2022 interaction with India Today, Vivek had spoken about how he struggled for two years before getting his dream debut. He also claimed that he dropped his surname when he auditioned so as not to be associated with his father and his stardom, allowing him to make it on his own.

He had said, "I went everywhere as Vivek Anand. I went to [production] offices, waited for 6 to 10 hours in audition queues. After I said no to shooting my dad's production, it took me almost two years, struggling every single day and facing so many rejections, before I got Company. And I was just proud that I made it on my own merit and talent."

Vivek Oberoi's work front

Vivek was last seen in the 2025 film Mastiii 4. The film received largely negative reviews and was a box-office bomb, grossing ₹15 crore worldwide and becoming the lowest-grossing film in the Masti film series.

He now has two high-profile projects in the pipeline — Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana and Prabhas' Spirit. Vivek Oberoi plays the primary antagonist, a crime boss and villain, in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's upcoming action drama Spirit. He will also play Vidyujjihva, Shurpanakha's husband, in Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana.