'I was sure I'd get the lead': Vivek Oberoi's nepotism confession ends in public humiliation

Long before Vivek Oberoi made a Bollywood debut with ‘Company’ (2002), the actor says he experienced a public humiliation that completely changed the way he approached acting. Quoting his conversation with CNN-News18, Vivek recalled the shocking incident from his college theatre days, when an audience member threw a shoe at him during a stage performance.

Speaking about his time at Mumbai's Mithibai College, Vivek admitted that he walked into a theatre competition with a lot of confidence, believing his awards and even his father Suresh Oberoi's name would guarantee him the lead role. Instead, he was cast as a silent guard standing in the background with a spear.

Frustrated by the small part, Vivek confessed he lost focus during the performance, leaning against the spear while the lead actor struggled to remember his lines. That's when a shoe came flying at him from the audience.

"I moved just in time, and it hit my shoulder," Vivek recalled. But what stayed with him was the comment that followed. Someone in the audience told him, "You are such a big actor, and you can't even do one small job right? Can't you even stand straight?"

Vivek said it made him realise that no role is too small if performed with complete commitment. From that moment, he decided to give every character his full effort, adding that by the end of the year, he had started landing lead roles in college productions.

During the same interview, Vivek also talked on privilege and his father's journey into films. While acknowledging that being Suresh Oberoi's son gave him opportunities, he said, "Privilege can buy you an introduction, not an identity."

He also shared that his father began his acting career after borrowing Rs 400 from a friend to travel to Mumbai against his family's wishes. Inspired by that determination, Vivek said he even dropped his surname in the early days and introduced himself simply as Vivek Anand, wanting to build his own identity before eventually making his breakthrough in Bollywood.