Vivek Oberoi recalls a shoe was hurled at him on stage: ‘Can’t even do one small job?’ | Bollywood News

4 min readKochiJul 28, 2026 12:00 PM Despite being the son of actor-politician Suresh Oberoi, Vivek Oberoi did not choose the beaten path that most star kids do. Instead of pursuing a gaudy role, he strategically sought out an influential filmmaker like Ram Gopal Varma and secured a key part in his iconic gangster drama Company (2002), thus making a strong debut.
Even going forward, Vivek prioritised working with masters on their impressive movies rather than with hitmakers on flashy ones. As a result, the early part of his repertoire would make any actor envious, although he couldn’t maintain the same quality going forward.
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However, this realisation did not come to Vivek early on, and he was quite pompous at one point — at least until college — before an experience he had on stage while acting in a play changed his life and mindset forever. During an interview with CNN-News18, the actor recalled someone hurling a shoe at him midway through the play.
The turning point in Vivek Oberoi’s career
“When I was studying at Mithibai College, Mumbai, I tried entering a theatre competition. then, I had earned several certifications, so I had immense confidence that I would definitely land the main role. I was sure this would happen at least after they find out whose son I am. This may have been a chip on my shoulder,” he recalled.
Much to Vivek’s annoyance, the makers assigned him only a minor role in which he had to stand in the background. “They gave me a useless role which had no dialogues. I just had to stand in the background like a guard, holding a spear. Meanwhile, the guy who got the lead role kept forgetting his dialogues, which I remembered well. I was so frustrated, thinking, ‘I have earned so many awards, and you still made me a prop?’ In frustration, I stood there, leaning my head against the spear.”
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Vivek continued, “Suddenly, a shoe came flying towards me. Luckily, I moved my face, and the shoe hit my shoulder and fell behind me. I felt so angry and considered storming out. Seeing this, the person in front of me said, ‘You are such a big actor, and you can’t even do one small job right? Can’t you even stand straight? If you can’t even do this, what big role will you play?’ That hit me. From then on, I vowed to do any role with full intensity. And before the end of that year, I was doing all the main roles.”
Suresh Oberoi borrowed Rs 400 from friend to start his career
During the conversation, Vivek also admitted that he is privileged. He, however, noted, “Privilege can buy you an introduction, not an identity.” Maintaining that his father remains his idol, Vivek shared that Suresh Oberoi kick-started his career borrowing Rs 400 from a friend.
The actor continued, “He came from a very privileged background and a famous family. He was blue-blooded. But when he wanted to pursue a career (in movies), his family was against it. He borrowed Rs 400 from a friend and started his journey to Mumbai with that money. I was always inspired him and felt that if he could do it, why can’t I? ‘But I have created such a big platform (for you),’ he said. But my response was, ‘Please give me your blessings alone, and I will take care of the rest.’”
He added, “I even dropped my surname so I could introduce myself without its baggage. I was initially known as Vivek Anand. When I eventually got my break, I saw tears of pride in my father’s eyes, and those were worth more than any award I have ever received.”