Straightforward and jovial are the best two words to describe Viveik Oberoi. One of the very few people who make a person at ease in the first 10 seconds of meeting him, one never realizes how time flies once you are in his company. Every bit a cool''''n''''trendy guy, Viveik gets into an exclusive conversation with Joginder Tuteja in the recently opened SPICE PVR, NOIDA where he arrived on Wednesday night with the rest of the starcast for the promotion of his ''''Home Delivery''''.
Your performance in Deewane Hue Pagal has been very much liked by the children.
Oh, you are mentioning about the 'sutradhar' character. Yes, I have heard the same as children have loved the character. Good, as I love children and it’s nice to hear that they loved the character. I also sung a song in the movie par lagta hai galti ho gayi! (..but seems I made a mistake) [Smiles] It was fun to be a part of DHP. Firoz is like a brother to me and anything for him. Akshay is a big brother too. You know he is such a sweet man in fact. The other day I had to perform some stunts and I just called him to advice me for that. It was so nice of him to help me take all the precautions and the works!
What's this 'gyaan guru' all about that you play in 'Home Delivery'?
I play someone from your 'biradiri'. I play a script writer who runs a column called 'gyaan guru'. He has a solution for everything that comes to him. It’s a different matter though that you may want to know what happened eventually to the person who worked as per my solution! He is a person who lives in his own world and is flying all over until his perspective of life changes in 24-48 hours time frame. Second half of the film shows the shift in his direction.
And how has been the movie making experience?
It was great to work with a bunch of wonderful actors as all of them have performed really well. Sujoy has a wonderful style of direction and today I am proud of being a part of this film. I am dying to work with Sujoy again.
You were too modest in a recent interview when you gave yourself 2.2 in the scale of 1-10 when it came to acting.
But this is what I feel I am as an actor [Mischievously points at director Sujoy Ghosh who is sitting nearby]. What do you say, Sujoy?
Sujoy [smiles]: I would give him 12 out of 10 for Home Delivery. He is so good in the movie!
There is a talk in the industry that in 'Home Delivery' you very much play someone who is close to what you are in real life.
Arrey nahi yaar aisa kuch nahi hai [buddy, it's nothing like that]. I am an actor and it's a role I have played. Nothing like the character being a replica of what I am in real life!
Though a romantic movie like 'Saathiya' was a success too, your action roles have been largely appreciated. Company, Road, Dum, Kaal.......
Well Kaal mainly belonged to the thriller genre. And Yuva too was a fine film. Masti has been a top grosser too. So I won't really be slotted in a particular genre.
So what does Viveik Oberoi look for in a role?
See, good roles attract me. I don't act for awards or for money. For me cinema is a passion and there is a big difference between the two - passion and money. I don't plan for roles!
Any regrets so far?
I have no regrets in life. The way it is going, it is wonderful! Its a matter of how one wishes to enjoy and it's a simple equation around how do we approach success versus failure. At maximum, how many movie can an actor do in an year? 3, 4 or at maximum 5, right. So what is more important and valuable? Living for 5 Fridays or for 365 days. For me, its the latter!
Anything apart from cinema that excites you?
For me, cinema is a hobby. Apart from that I love my dogs, books and places of worship. I love watching all kinds of cinema. Hollywood, European, regional i.e. Tamil, Telegu, Bengali....
So did you watch Rituparna Sengupta's Antarmahal?
No, not yet but I intend to. I also want to work with Ritu, he is a great director. I am also looking forward to watching Kalpurush as I hear it's a good movie. Meanwhile I like directors from South like Shankar, Soorya, Bali.
Why should one watch Home Delivery?
Because it is a cool, hip and progressive movie. It is quite clean with no vulgarity and everyone from children to grandparents would love it. Its a new movie that takes departure from the norm without being a DVD copy of any other flick. Home Delivery comes with absolutely no hype. We have never claimed that 'hamne tope film banayi hai' [we have made a great film]! Its not rib tickling or overtly emotional. It has some of Hrishida's [Hrishikesh Mukherjee] style with nothing slapstick. It is just a sweet, simple and a cute film.
