Date of Birth
3 September 1976,
Mumbai, India
Height
5' 10" (1.78 m)
Mini Biography
Vivek Oberoi was born on the 3rd of September,1976 and attended Mayo college in Ajmer. At an actors' workshop in London he was spotted by none other than the director of NYU who (unsurprisingly) whisked Vivek off to New York, where he completed his Masters Degree in film acting. Back home in India Vivek worked as scriptwriter and bought his first car with the money he made from that.
But the charmer's big break came when noted filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma offered Vivek a role in his gangster flick, Company (2002). Quite an unusual entrance for a debutant in Bollywood, because the norm for young actors is to play good lover boys till their place in Filmdom is secure. Not Vivek. Apparently, Ram Gopal Varma was having second thoughts about casting Vivek in Company because he thought Vivek looked too cute for a gangster - and told him so. Vivek, not to be outdone, went to the slums of Mumbai and did his homework and a couple of weeks later barged into Varma's office dressed as Chandu the gangster, swung his feet up on the table, and landed the contract pronto.
From there the road went uphill. Vivek's immaculate performance in Company - in which he starred opposite Bollywood big Bad Boy Ajay Devgan, Miss Bolly Manisha Koirala and the granddaddy of Malayalam Cinema, Mohanlal - was more than enough to get the media singing Oberoi's praises. Next in line was the psycho-thriller Road (2002) (opposite Company co-star and co-newcomer Antara Mali), Dum (2003) (which sank without a trace - opposite Diya Mirza) and the next big catch, Saathiya (2002), opposite Rani Mukherjee.
He recently got engaged to, and then broke up with longtime girlfriend Gurpreet, and is currently linked with Rani Mukherjee and Aishwarya Rai. Recently he got himself into the headlines for a public outburst (i.e. press conference) against Salman Khan.
Trivia
Son of Bollywood Actor Suresh Oberoi.
Attended High School Mayo college (Ajmer).
Broke a leg while filming for a Mani Ratnam film and was hospitalised. He needed surgery, was in intensive care and his condition was quite serious for a couple of days. [July 2003]
He was recently awarded a Red and White bravery award for helping re-build a village which was hit severely by the Tsunami and adopted immediately by him.
Is the second of four children. He has an older brother, a younger brother and a younger sister (who is an artist).
He and his family have created the Yashodhara Oberoi Foundation to help those in need
Abstains from smoking, drinking and doesn't drink tea or coffee.
Has two boxers who are his like his children - Duke and Ivy
One of his nicknames is "Rockstar"
Turned down a part in _Guru (2006/I)_.
On turning down a role in _Guru (2006/I)_: "The reason why I am not doing 'Guru' is best not spoken due to my respect for the situation. I share a fabulous relationship with Mani Sir (Mani Ratnam), and I have great reverence and respect for him. He still calls regularly and speaks to me. We have our own reasons for not doing the film and I think those reasons are intact. I will work with Mani Sir again. As for Aishwarya (Rai) and Abhishek (Bachan), I don't want to speak about it." (Stardust magazine, September 2006)
