“Catfight with Jennifer? You must be joking” – Niharika Singh

By Subhash K. Jha -

May 5, 2008 - 12:00 AM IST

No other actor in the recent times has seen a star status being taken away from him no sooner than it was bestowed upon him. After films like Company and Saathiya, sky was there for an asking for Vivek Oberoi who could have fit in comfortably into action as well as lover boy role. However, that was not to be! What went wrong? In a heartfelt conversation with Sajid Khan in 'Sajid Superstars' show, Vivek Oberoi bares it all! At Bollywood Hungama, we bring some exclusive tidbits on what to expect from the show:

- This is one conversation where Vivek Oberoi is said to have bared his soul out when it comes to professional as well as personal matters. He talks about what went wrong in his career, the kind of mistakes he made over last few years and how he is looking forward to making amends in years to come.

- In the current times, no talk with Vivek gets completed without mentioning the name Salman Khan. He apologizes once again for the bad blood shared between the two a few moons back and promises that he would continue to ask for forgiveness till he is actually forgiven!

- There is an emotional moment in the show where Vivek talks about what prompted him to meet Salman Khan's mother when she was sick and hospitalized. As per him, he could understand the pain she may have gone through when Salman Khan was attacked from all ends because he has seen his own mother suffering with all sorts of things being written about him over last so many years.

- On a lighter note, Vivek also reveals how he was Sajid's junior in college and entered his gang for the single most reason of 'pataofying' girls!

- Getting candid, Vivek (like no other actor in the recent times) admits that he lost his bearings the moment his initial films turned into a success. He reveals that the moment he became a star, he started calling the shots on the film's sets and didn't even allow some of his directors to look at the monitor and check the scenes. However, now in the hindsight, he says that he values success because he has seen failure. Talking about how it feels like sitting at home and waiting for that elusive phone call for work, Vivek appreciates the importance of this second innings which he has kick started!

- It is known to quite a few film followers that there was a time when he was offered films like Hum Tum, Bunty Aur Babli and quite recently even Om Shanti Om, which for reasons known to him, he refused! No wonder, Aditya Chopra had remarked - 'Vivek, you have in you to become Shah Rukh Khan. However, you can't be because today itself you think that you are Shah Rukh Khan!"

- Things turned a little lighter though in the Q&A session with other celebrities. Anil Kapoor asked Vivek about the better actor between him and his dad Suresh Oberoi while Malaika Arora asked him to talk about how he could stay away from controversies for so long! However, the cake was taken by Sajid Khan who gifted him the book - "How to influence people and win friends?" Also, in a special segment of this episode, Vivek also did a stand up comedy with the spotlight entirely on him.

- Last but not the least, a pointed question popped to him was - 'In last 7 years of his professional career, which are the three incidents that he would want to change?'

What did Vivek reply? To know about this, tune in to Sajid's Superstars at 8:00 PM, Saturday on the newly launched channel COLORS!