Today marks the 20th anniversary of Ram Gopal Varma’s Company, which starred Vivek Oberoi, Mohanlal, Ajay Devgn, and Manisha Koirala, among others. On the occasion, we met with Vivek, who revealed what he learnt from his co-stars. While the actor admitted that he didn’t get many acting tips, he did learn a lot about life on the RGV set.
He recalled one of the most valuable acting tips he received from the “brilliant” Mohanlal. Mohanlal portrayed Mumbai City Police Commissioner Veerappallil Srinivasan in the film Company.
“I didn’t get many advice as an actor since everyone knew I was well-prepared.” “However,” Vivek remarked, “Mohanlal, Ajay Devgn, and Ram Gopal Varma taught me so much about life.”
“I recall Lalettan (as Mohanlal is fondly known) scripting all the Hindi dialogues in Malayalam,” he said. He would scatter little pieces of paper containing conversations all around the room. He would simply read the Hindi dialogue in his Malayalam writing by looking at those pieces of paper. I asked him how he does it, and he said, ‘Acting is not about conversations.’ ‘Like in life, you need conviction in acting,’ he said. That line stands out in my mind. “I was astounded.”
Years later, on the sets of Mohanlal’s film Lucifer, Vivek Oberoi used Mohanlal’s technique.”I made my first Malayalam film, Lucifer, with Mohanlal about 17-18 years after I made my first film with him. I did the opposite.” All of the Malayalam dialogues were written by me in Hindi or English. I wrote them all myself.I positioned them behind him and his co-stars. When I approached him to inquire how I was doing, he remarked, ‘One cannot tell you don’t know Malayalam.’ You were fantastic.’ So I told him, ‘This is precisely what I learnt from him 17 years ago,'” he said.
Ajay Devgn also played the lead in the film. When questioned about Ajay, Vivek referred to him as his “older brother,” recalling how his courage and honesty inspired him. “I recall him telling me about his financial difficulties after Raju Chacha and how he handled it calmly.” He was so powerful that he overcome the obstacles. What you learn from people, he said.
Vivek further said that he learnt not to take both praise and failure seriously from director Ram Gopal Varma. His advice: ‘I don’t care what other people think of me.'” Right now is where I’m at. Every second is mine. ‘I am the master of my own path.’ I have no doubt that he feels the same way. By doing so, he determines his own success. “He doesn’t let others define it for him, which is fantastic,” the actor remarked.
Finally, Vivek Oberoi said that being a member of RGV’s Company was a “absolute honour” for him. Actors throughout the world want to be immortalised on film, and “Company offers me a sense of immortality,” he remarked.
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