“For ‘Rakta Charitra’, I was in talks with Ramu for just 7 seconds” - Vivek Oberoi

Vivek Oberoi hardly needed any convincing before he signed on the dotted line for Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Rakta Charitra’. It took him a mere seven seconds to make up his mind as he decided to return with his ‘master’ many years after ‘Company’.

When asked that for how long was he in talks with Ramu for the project, Vivek replies, "Honestly, a mere 7 seconds. That’s because 7 seconds into our conversation and I knew that this was one conversation that I had been waiting the last 7 years."

But over the last few months, wasn’t he tempted to throw some hints around his BIG project coming in?

"Not really actually", he says after a brief pause, "The person that I have become today, I had rather work than talk. I am excited and eager to grow with Ravi under the master’s guidance."

He is unable to conceal his excitement about working in the project though. "I can’t begin to express how excited I am about transforming into Ravi. At most times actors make characters but sometimes a character can make an actor. Paritala Ravi is one such rare opportunity", he gushes.

Ever since he started his career in Bollywood, Vivek has delivered a commercial/critical success practically every single year. ‘Shoot Out At Lokhandwala’ [2007], ‘Omkara’ [2006], ‘Kaal’ [2005], ‘Yuva’ [2004], ‘Masti’ [2004], ‘Dum’ [2003], ‘Saathiya’ [2002], ‘Road’ [2002] and ‘Company’ [2001] are case in point.

During 2008 though, he had taken a conscious break from movies (with ‘Mission Istanbul’ being his sole release) in order to get some re-prioritization in place. Why didn’t he make much noise about his ‘introspection period’ rather than letting media have a field day and question his absence?

"See, one of the things that I learned during my introspection was - ‘Why make noise when you can make music (winks)?’ Why shout and scream in meaningless clarifications when you can just let your work speak volumes instead? I guess that’s the approach which is working best for me", says Vivek who would now be seen in an altogether different in ‘Rakta Charitra’. - SAMPURN (Joginder Tuteja)