Indo-Asian News Service

Mumbai

Vivek Oberoi rubbishes rumours that he once referred to Amitabh Bachchan as “dude”, saying that the senior actor is a god, not a dude. Vivek, who last year had an accident on the sets of Mani Rathnam’s ‘Yuva’ in Kolkata and was bedridden for weeks, spoke about what the new year held in store for him. Excerpts:

You’re finally out of the lean period of last year.

Yes. My family was my life support system during these critical weeks when I could’ve slipped into a coma and died. My lungs could’ve collapsed. That scared the hell out of my family and me. Every time I’d wake up in the ICU, I’d see my dad sitting on a chair in a corner. At one point I broke down and almost gave up hope.

The chest pain was unbearable. Every day the doctors assured me I’d be better “tomorrow”. But tomorrow never seemed to come. Then suddenly overnight I improved. I’m so grateful to the people who prayed for me.

The last time the nation prayed collectively was when Amitabh Bachchan fell ill.

Noooooo! What his fans feel for him is incomparable. He’s a legend, a god. And when Shah Rukh went to London for surgery, everyone, including me, prayed for him. I had a vested interest in his quick recovery. I want to work with him. For now that will remain a dream. But my other dream of working with the legend came true when I shot with Bachchan in January. It’s incredible but true. Whatever we’ve heard about him is completely justified.

You mean you had never shot with him?

No, I had only met him socially. That whole story about me calling him dude was baseless. I called up Bachchan through Abhishek. He laughed it off.

I wouldn’t have the audacity to call him dude. He’s god! I get shivers up my spine when I think of shooting with him for ‘Kyun Ho Gaya Na’. Our scenes together had to be postponed when Amitji’s father passed away. Then Ash (Aishwarya Rai) had the accident... Fortunately my accident only affected Mani Rathnam’s ‘Yuva’.

‘Kissna’ sounds like an anti-smooch slogan. Did you actually chase Subhash Ghai to get the film?

You’ll have to ask him that! How could I chase him when I couldn’t walk for months? I’m a huge fan of Subhashji’s work. When I saw ‘Karz’ I was blown away by the whole concept. I met him and Shekhar Kapur at Cannes. During one of our long chats, Subhashji asked me how I was placed in December. He didn’t tell me much about the project. But he said he wanted to cast me in a film he was directing. I promised to set the dates aside.

But it’s said Shah Rukh Khan was the first choice.

No, that was for another project called ‘Homeland’ that Subhashji was planning. If you read the script, you’d realise that ‘Kissna’ actually requires an unexposed face. Subhashji has been wonderful. He came home, had food, discussed the role. In spite of his success, his humility and warmth are exemplary. Then there’s Mani Rathnam. Working with him is a dream come true.