Actor Vivek Oberoi has confirmed that he was approached for lead roles in popular Hindi films like Munna Bhai MBBS, Hum Tum and more. He said he refused the films because he ‘could not adjust his dates’.

According to a report in Huffington Post, Vivek was offered Munna Bhai after getting recognised for his work in Company and he even took part in workshops for the film. He later backed out of the film just a few days before release. “I wanted to do Munna Bhai, I said yes to it, but destiny had it that it was supposed to be a Sanjay Dutt film. I couldn’t adjust my dates,” he said.

The report added that even Farah Khan had offered him the villain’s role in her hit 2006 film Om Shanti Om starring Shah Rukh Khan and debutant Deepika Padukoke. After he refused the role because he didn’t want to play a negative character again after Company, it eventually went to Arjun Rampal.

Vivek Oberoi dressed as Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the shooting of his upcoming film PM Narendra Modi. ( PTI )

Vivek had often accused Salman Khan of meddling with his projects and career after his infamous press conference in 2003. However, on her show Tere Mere Beech Mein, Farah reassured Vivek that Salman had no role to play in her decision to not hire him for the film. “In his defence, Salman Khan never told me to not work with you. Not once. Whatever people did, maybe they did it on their own,” she had said.

Not just these two but films like Farhan Akhtar’s Rock On (2008), Shaad Ali’s Bunty aur Babli (2005), Kunal Kohli’s Hum Tum (2004) were offered to Vivek first. All the film were big hits and even critical successes.

Talking about his decisions, Vivek said, “For the 10-odd films I let go which succeeded, there were 70 or 80 films that I let go off which failed and bombed at the box office,” Oberoi said, adding, “How do you make sense of it? Well, you take an informed call or life takes it for you.”

Vivek’s latest film PM Narendra Modi has been put on hold by the Election Commission until the Lok Sabha elections are over. The EC asserted that any biopic material with the potential to disturb the level playing field timing the elections should not be displayed. .

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First Published: Apr 11, 2019 18:09 IST