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"Maya Dolas hasn't been introduced to fear" - Vivek Oberoi 
By Faridoon Shahryar, May 23, 2007 - 11:24 IST
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First up we ask, why the tag line Shootout At Lokhandwala - 'Based on True Rumours'? "It's important...
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"No personal questions. No boring questions. I am only talking about the film. That's it," said Vivek Oberoi with a determined glint in his eyes. Alright. So, all you guys who are keen on getting the latest dope on this
unconventional hero's much-discussed 'personal' life you'd be disappointed. But don't worry, this dude (looking
smoking-hot in the publicity cutouts of Apoorva Lakhia's Shootout at Lokhandwala) has a lot of interesting things to say about the character of dreaded criminal Maya Dolas and the film that he is hoping shall usher in a revival of what was once a budding-career with films like Company, Saathiya and Masti doing well at the Box Office.
First up we ask, why the tag line Shootout At Lokhandwala - 'Based on True Rumours'? "It's important. There's
Meaning to it. It's just not a line that is trying to stir or cause effect. When I was researching this character for Maya,
I had the facts, the police files, all the details which are documented evidences. I met people from the underworld, people who had worked with Maya, people who were in the opposing gangs, so I got a lot of information from them. It's been sixteen years since that incident and there was a five year long career when Maya really shot to fame and power. There are several conspiracy theories. We believe there's no smoke without fire. There must be some truth in those rumours," Vivek said.
Your scruffy hard look is being compared to Company. "It's a big compliment. I shot Companyfive years ago. And 18 films later if people still remember Company and still speak highly of it, it feels damn nice. Though there's a conscious decision that I made that both the films are totally different. Chandu in Company was a really brave, vulnerable, humble but a soft emotional kind of guy. What I like about Maya is that he has no boss. He is the master of his own destiny. He doesn't believe in anything beyond himself. He plays hide and seek with death. He is not scared of anything. And that's what I love about him. He is fearless. He has not been introduced to fear. And that's what excited me about him. If someone threatens him, it excites him. If someone points a finger at him, he'll smile as it gives him an adrenaline rush. He wants to take people on."
Omkara was a big film. But everyone felt, Vivek Oberoi was wasted or sidelined. But when you see big hoardings of Oberoi heading his gang opposite to Sanjay Dutt, there's an element of dominance. "Feels really good. It's a pivotal role. What's really special is that in a film like this I have this amazing takkar with the man himself…Sanjay Dutt…who for me is the ultimate man's man," Vivek said. Hope all those rumours about Vivek hitting on Manyata and Sanjay getting furious were all rumours. Anyway…did someone just say there's no smoke without fire…oops…let's move on…
Dhanda hai par ganda hai yeh… a cult gangsta song. It's time for Ganpat-giri…Mumbai ishtyle….Ae Ganpat…chal daroo la. "I love this song (Ganpat). It's my favourite song. In fact my caller tune is that song. Mika has sung it and he is fantastically talented. I love all the songs of the film. I love Unke Nashe Mein and Mere Yaar. Ganpat has become so cool. We have this habit of saying what's up dude. Now in my group we say what's up Ganpat. It's become a colloquial term," Vivek said. It's obvious he enjoys this song as much as all of us do.
Well, a lot of male bonding seems to be happening in the film. "There was a fantastic camaraderie between everyone. We still meet regularly." And what about the director Apoorva Lakhia? "He was the man at the helm. Our skipper. He has done an outstanding job in the film as a director. He also kept this very cool vibes on the sets. It felt like a really long boy's night out." Amrita Singh is playing your Aai in the film. Foul mouthed Aai if we may say so. "I loved the character of Aai in the film. And Amrita Singh is brilliant. What an actress. The scenes I have with her, the chemistry she brings to those scenes is amazing. And it is such an amazing relationship. Such an amazingly strong woman. You wouldn't have watched such a strong woman in Hindi cinema in a long time."
Chota Rajan has recently said that police had killed Maya Dolas even though he had agreed to surrender. "There are many versions to the story. Like when I was researching, the cops had a certain version, there were other people who had another version, the bystanders had another version. I went through a lot of versions. We had to choose one version. You can't shoot with seven versions. You can't have seven endings in the film. At the end of the day it's a film and not a documentary. You can't make a 20 crore documentary. You have to be true to facts I agree but sometimes you have to be true to the legend. If the climax and the end are not larger than life then it won't be fun. It won't be a fulfilling experience," Vivek said thinking hard and trying to be precisely correct as per his thought process.
There are reports that Dawood Ibrahim gang had tipped off the police as Maya was close to Chota Rajan. Would you call Maya Dolas a victim of circumstances in a way? "You should see the film. A lot of your questions will be answered. It's a very gutsy film. On a human level I understand Maya, his family, his circumstances, his reasons, his background. I don't endorse what he did. I don't say what he did was right. But I understand him. I understand the human in him. I feel our film will pose an important question to the society. Are there criminals because there is crime or there is crime because there are criminals. If you kill 10, then 10 more are born. Why? Something is wrong with our society," Vivek said animatedly. Obviously the guy works hard on his characters. And one has never doubted his gifted acting talent.
Hmmm….quite absorbing so far. What are you doing next? "Nothing. I'm doing nothing. It's an important conscious decision for my career and my own respect for my passion for cinema. Once this film is done, I will go for a well deserved holiday, come back and do one film at a time." Will we see the same Vivek Oberoi who showed a lot of promise in the beginning of his career and somewhere lost the way for whatever reasons? "Your question should be answered in the next 24 hours," Oberoi junior said with a smile. He said he liked the interview. And we must say we liked him (in spite of the cautions at the beginning of the interview). For in spite of his quirks, he seems to be a much more focused actor, determined to live up to the promises he made. We hope he does. For having suffered so many brickbats, the fall guy deserves a good chance. Wouldn't you agree!
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Viveik Oberoi and Vikram Bhatt come together
