Vivek Oberoi celebrates his birthday today (September 3). The versatile star who was last seen in Malayalam film, Kaduva, is passionate about acting and there’s no doubt about it. Right from Company, Saathiya to PM Narendra Modi, he has done movies from various genres proving his mettle. However, it was not easy-peasy for him to enter business, as he had his share of struggles while making his B-town debut with Ram Gopal Varma’s Company.  FYI, it was RGV who felt Vivek looked ‘too good’ to play a gangster in his film, but later got convinced. Dharavi Bank First Look: Suniel Shetty, Vivek Oberoi, Sonali Kulkarni’s Crime Thriller Series To Premiere On MX Player (View Pics).

Taking about the same, in an old interview with HT, Vivek had revealed that his father, veteran actor Suresh Oberoi, was keen on launching him in an Abbas-Mustan film but he wanted to taste struggle.

“I always wanted to become an actor on my own, so I told him that I would like to go through my struggle. So I went to RGV sir’s office, and told him to give me an audition for the role of Chandu. He did not know (then) that I was Suresh Oberoi’s son. I told him my name was Vivek Anand. He told me I look too good for the role, and he wanted to cast someone who looked like a gangster from the slums,” he said. Indian Police Force: Vivek Oberoi Joins Rohit Shetty’s Amazon Prime Cop Series (View Pic).

However, with his sheer dedication, Oberoi convinced RGV for the role. “I stayed in the slums. I slept on the floor like others did, with big mice around. I used the public toilets. I had started looking like the part. On the day I was supposed to meet him, I took out some mud from a plant at his office and applied it on my face. I walked into his room, with a beedi in my mouth — I sat on the chair and kept my legs on his desk, and said, ‘ Ey yeh thobda kya dekh raha hai’. That convinced him,” he added.

Indeed, that’s what we call love for the art. FYI, Company won Vivek praises and two Filmfare Awards, after which there was no looking back. Happy birthday, Vivek Oberoi!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 03, 2022 08:15 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).