Two is company

When observed closely, one can say that Ram Gopal Varma and Vivek Oberoi have led parallel lives. Both know what it’s to be on the top of the game, and both know what it’s to be down and out. With Rakht Charitra, releasing today, the duo hopes the world will once again sit up and take notice of the hard work they have put into a project together. Their wish list also includes setting the cash registers ringing — that’s something neither of them has done in a long time.

“In so many years, it was for the first time that I felt a certain passion while doing a film. I used to reach the venue earlier than the scheduled time. It felt exactly the same when I did Company. The only difference was, this film marks my debut in the South with the Tamil and Telugu versions,” says Oberoi, who portrays the character of the Andhra Pradesh politician Paritala Ravi, a rebel-turned-politician. Varma terms this as “Vivek’s best performance”. Oberoi was the director’s natural choice for the role. “There are less than 10 actors in the country,” says the filmmaker, who feels Oberoi has a vulnerable, cocky and arrogant attitude about him which makes him a good actor.

The partnership of Varma and Oberoi goes back to 2000 when the latter’s father, veteran actor Suresh Oberoi, had come to Varma with a few pictures of his son. “At that point, I was looking for somebody to play Chandu in Company. Suresh (Oberoi) happened to come to me at the right time. I looked at his photographs and immediately decided to cast him,” reminisces Varma. Oberoi was happy to be debuting with the talented filmmaker, who was known for successful films like Satya, Rangeela, and Shiva. “There was no way I would have said no,” says the actor, who became a popular face in Bollywood soon after the release.