‘People told me I was insane to do Saathiya’

In 2002, Vivek Oberoi stormed his way into Bollywood with a thumping debut in Company. In the same year, his second release, Saathiya was a stark contrast from his rugged image in Company. And today, when it’s been 15 years since the Rani Mukerji and Vivek Oberoi starrer Saathiya released, Vivek says that he was asked by his wellwishers to rethink before choosing a love story as his second project.

“I remember when Company became a success and I was getting these accolades and fantastic reviews, I also had a lot of wellwishers telling me that I was insane to do a love story and that it would be a big mistake. They wanted me to do larger than life films and big action movies. But something inside me said that this was something I wanted to do and I jumped at it,” says Vivek. He also reveals that he wasn’t one of the first choices to play the role and it was destiny that the film fell into his lap.

“Shaad Ali, (director of the film) is a school friend of mine and he had told me about this film. He was excited as he was making his directorial debut with Saathiya and I was making my acting debut with Company. All of a sudden, he called me up one day and said that I have to do this film. I absolutely loved the script but I had to figure out the dates. I remember struggling as I had two films with two different looks and I had to shoot for both them simultaneously,” he recalls.

Working with Rani, he says was a breeze as she was “effortless with the range of emotions she could portray”. It also helped that he was friends with her brother, Raja.

Talking about what’s special about Saathiya, Vivek says, “There is something evergreen about Saathiya. Though it’s been 15 years, the film still evokes the same emotion. There are a few films in my career that have had this kind of a connect with the audiences. Whenever I go and meet people, they remind me about my work. I think the film had a certain maturity and it wasn’t frivolous. At a time when most love stories were candy pop, this was an honest and real love story. It was ahead of it’s times and it did well commercially. But more than that, the respect that the film earned was spectacular.”

Vivek Oberoi and Rani Mukerji in a still from Saathiya