'My mantra in life is to look forward'

I must say that Viveik Oberoi is indeed a very good actor.

The shock of having been dumped by girlfriend Aishwarya Rai does not show on his face.

With a nonchalant look, Viveik sets out to talk at length about his role in his forthcoming film Pyare Mohan when I meet him for this interview.

"Pyare Mohan is a film I look forward to eagerly because it is a fun, young vibrant film full of energy. It is about two guys, one blind and the other deaf, who do not give a damn. They refuse to bow down and are on the lookout for love earnestly. It is in short the story of two people who go beyond what people can normally do and thus become heroes," Viveik says.

The character

He plays the role of Mohan, who is emotional, confused and always over-reacting. "Mohan is always loud and excitable whereas Pyare, played by Fardeen Khan, is mature.

"Like when we shot for Masti, Indra Kumar organised a workshop prior to the shooting because Fardeen and I had to develop a certain amount of bonding since we had never worked together.

"It took me just 30 seconds to hit it off with Fardeen. He is great to party with and is the ultimate authority as far as partying is concerned. We had a grand time on and off the sets while shooting."

Timing

"The job was tough since it was not meant to be an authentic depiction.

"We had to make the viewer feel that we really were blind and deaf. You need timing.

"Initially I did try method acting, but I realised that in the process I was ending up missing my cues, especially because I had to do a lot of lip reading.

"The best thing about Pyare Mohan is that it is circumstantial, the various situations in which both Pyare and Mohan get into. It is all about the resilience of the human spirit.

"On the sets, it was a tough challenge for me as an actor to become sharper hearing-wise and still react as if I couldn't hear."

Emotional journey

Viveik is equally excited about his role in Vishal Bharadwaj's Issaq, an adaptation of Othello, in which his co-stars are Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor.

"I play the role of Kesu Phirangi, the Casio of Othello in Issaq. I had to work on the language and my characterisation. I had to work hard because the film is about the emotional journey of my character, a sensuous flirt with his own moments of intensity.
 
"I know it is sacrilegious to say so but I feel that Vishal's adaptation is more relevant to me because it is connected to the Indian context and every one of us would be able to react to it. When I heard the narration of the character I freaked out on the way Vishal has interpreted the character."

What next

Besides Pyare Mohan and Issaq, Viveik also has up his sleeves films like Fool and Final directed by Ahmad Khan, which according to him is a wild, crazy comedy with which every viewer will be able to identify, with Sunny Deol as his co-star and Naksha directed by Sachin Bajaj.

Viveik confesses that although his two films - Kisna and Home Delivery - didn't do well he had a winner in the form of Kaal.

"Getting a hit or a flop isn't in my hands. I set out to work in only those projects which excite me as an actor. Why should I then crib about it when I get a flop or hit the roof when I get a hit on my hands? If Company clicked, Road was a flop. If Saathiyaa was a hit, Dum was a flop".

Does he miss his girlfriend Aishwarya Rai or regret having turned down Mani Ratnam's offer to act in Guru with her?

With a poker face, Viveik replies. "Look here. Right now I am too busy with Pyare Mohan and my mantra in life is to look forward. I do not look back."