Vivek Oberoi Recalls Navigating Career Struggles: 'Bouquets Stopped Coming, Dal-Roti Chalani Hai'
Vivek Oberoi candidly reflects on the financial challenges of his Bollywood journey, sharing how declining birthday bouquets signaled tough times.
Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi recently opened up about the financial challenges he has faced throughout his career, reflecting on the unpredictable nature of the film industry. Speaking at a Franchise India event, Oberoi candidly shared his experiences of navigating the highs and lows of stardom.
He remarked, “The film industry has been that kind of industry where one night you feel like you’ve made it, you’ve got everybody lining up behind you spending crores for your time. And, then you have a patch which could be for whatever reasons. But you have a lean patch."
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Oberoi shared a personal anecdote about how he used to measure his career success by the number of birthday bouquets he received. “You can tell your lean patch by your birthday. Because on your birthday, when you are doing well, there’s no place in the house for the bouquets that come in from producers, directors, co-stars, it’s just filled up. And when your films are not doing well, the number of bouquets start to reduce and you realise, ‘Oh! I am not doing too well, am I?’" he said.
Despite these struggles, Oberoi noted the pressure on actors to maintain a certain lifestyle, which can add to their financial burdens. “This is what has empowered me today, where I don’t need to do a movie that I don’t believe in or I don’t like the script because dal-roti chalani hai, EMI bharna hai (I have to run my household, pay my EMI). Lots of people think, ‘Actor hai, isko kya problem hai humare jaise… (He’s an actor, what problems can he possibly have, like us ordinary people…).’ But actors also have their problems, they are used to a certain lifestyle. They are required to create a certain perception, woh perception ka bhi kharcha hai (it costs to maintain that perception). You have to live up to it," he said.
Oberoi’s Bollywood journey has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. After making a stellar debut with Company in 2002 and earning critical acclaim for films like Saathiya and Yuva, his career took a hit following a very public feud with Salman Khan and a series of box office failures. This downturn led to a phase where he found himself sidelined by the industry.
However, Oberoi has managed to revive his career in recent years with noteworthy performances in projects like Inside Edge and Indian Police Force. With a renewed focus on taking on diverse and meaningful roles, Oberoi is steadily rebuilding his place in the industry. Fans are now eagerly watching as he continues to embrace challenging projects and prove his mettle as an actor.
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