Vivek Oberoi on being sidelined in the film industry: Nothing worse than feeling completely helpless

Vivek Oberoi, who made a promising acting debut in Ram Gopal Varma's Company in 2002, has spoken candidly about the factors that contributed to his failure in the Bollywood industry. The actor, who has been in critically acclaimed films such as Saathiya, Yuva, Masti, Omkara, and others, alleged that some influential people in the industry had tried to manipulate him out of work and denied him opportunities.

Oberoi stated in an interview with Mashable Middle East1 that he felt irritated and helpless when he realised he would be ignored and not given the opportunity to show himself. He said: “If something bad, like your film’s failure, has happened, that’s one thing. But the feeling of being so helpless when you know it is going to happen again and again, and that you are going to get manoeuvred or manipulated out of work, or crushed and not even get the opportunity to prove yourself, that is very frustrating. I personally think there’s nothing worse than feeling completely helpless. You know something’s happening, but you can’t do anything about it.”

He was asked if he knew who had brought him down, and he said, "Of course I do. It’s a small industry, and it’s an open secret." Although Oberoi did not particularly name anyone, it is widely believed that his controversial press conference in 2003, in which he claimed Salman Khan had threatened him because of his relationship with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, had a detrimental effect on his career. 

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The actor added, “But you have to deal with it. Those things taught me to be a good person and a good human being, to be humble, nice, and helpful. And not to abuse the position of power I am in. Some people have an arrogance about being nice. They develop that also, there’s a righteousness around it. It’s a disease, you have to stay away.”

Oberoi last appeared alongside Suniel Shetty in the web series Dharavi Bank. He will soon appear alongside Sidharth Malhotra and Shilpa Shetty in Rohit Shetty's cop action drama web series.