Vivek Oberoi On Refusing Om Shanti Om: Farah Khan’s ‘Om Shanti Om’ is a classic Bollywood film which is close to the hearts of the fans. Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and Arjun Rampal played lead roles in this movie. But do you know that Vivek Oberoi was the first choice for the role of villain ‘Mukesh Mehra’ in this film but he rejected the offer and later Arjun Rampal played this role. Vivek has revealed after 17 years why he said no to ‘Om Shanti Om’?
Why did Vivek Oberoi reject the offer of ‘Om Shanti Om’?
In an interview with MensXP, Vivek Oberoi revealed that he got the assignment for Farah Khan’s film Om Shanti Om but it was clashing with Apoorva Lakhia’s gangster drama, Shootout at Lokhandwala, for which he was already committed. . The actor said, “Because the dates were clashing and both were negative roles. I liked my role (in Shootout at Lokhandwala). Moreover, by the time Farah contacted me for this role, I had started doing all my research for this character.
In fact, by the time Farah Khan contacted him, Vivek was already quite interested in his role of the infamous gangster ‘Maya Dolas’ in Shootout at Lokhandwala. Vivek said, “I met the police, read their crime files and started imagining the character. I had already prepared for that role for 4-5 months. Then, at that time, it would have been difficult to suddenly change gears and do another role.
Vivek Oberoi wanted to do both films
Vivek further said, “Had it been a different situation, I would have definitely said yes. Why not? If I had time to do both, I would have wanted to do Om Shanti Om, Farah has made a wonderful film. Working with Shah Bhai is always amazing. Throughout my career, I have been in Saathiya (Shahrukh Khan Got a chance and fun to shoot for a few nights with ) where he did a guest role in the film.