Many celebrities are now coming up with dark stories about Bollywood ever since Priyanka Chopra opened up about the Mafia in the industry. Vivek Oberoi has now lauded the actress for talking about it and recalled the time when he was going through a ‘trial by fire’ which left him ‘extremely exhausted’. He even spoke about a time when Salman Khan use to threaten him over phone calls.
Vivek Oberoi’s dark stories
Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi feels that he “survived”. The actor says the film industry has a “dark side” of bullying and lobbying, which he was at the receiving end. Vivek shared about his tough days after Priyanka Chopra spoke about how she faced opposition in the Hindi film industry as people stopped casting her in the movies, forcing her to ultimately go to the West.
During his recent interaction with the media, Vivek recalled an incident when he was threatened by Salman Khan. The actor was at that time allegedly in a relationship with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Salman’s former girlfriend.
Recalling the time, Vivek told Hindustan Times, “I’m glad that I emerged from that. I kind of came up through the trial by fire and survived it. But not everybody’s going be that lucky.” The actor said when he looks back, he went through a lot of “unnecessary stuff” which completely exhausted him, crushing his morale and pushing him to a corner of no work.
“In hindsight, I went through a lot of stuff that was unnecessary. A lot of lobbies, a lot of repressive stories – kind of what Priyanka has been alluding to also. That’s been a hallmark of our industry, unfortunately. It’s been one of the dark sides of our industry. And I’ve been on the receiving end of it. I know how frustrating it is, it can make one feel extremely, exhausted. You feel like, I’ve just delivered an award-winning, commercially successful performance in Shoot out Lokhandwala and after that, I’m sitting at home for 14 months, not getting any work.” Quoted Indian Express.
Priyanka’s statement
The actor said Priyanka’s statement was “inspirational” and praised the actress for venturing out and exploring something new, which led to something “magical” happening to her personally and professionally. Vivek feels, if one speaks up about the harassment they go through in the industry, people are likely to find far more vocal support, unlike his time, when people attempted to silence him.
“Back in the day when I voiced against it, every ‘well wisher’ would call me up and say, ‘Don’t talk about it. It is like a family secret’. But if you have abuse going on in the family and you don’t speak up about it because it’s a family secret? That’s stupid. How will the abuse get fixed? So, it’s a systemic issue in the industry which is getting better. People are being more vocal.”
In the same interview, Vivek spoke about Sushant Singh Rajput’s death and said, “There is more decentralization of power. Fewer and fewer people can play God and the fans are now aware. Sushant (Singh Rajput, late actor) should have never lost his life no matter what. It’s just so sad. What a talented young guy and he should have had a better network of friends. You call the industry, a family, then the family should be there for each other.”
