Vivek Oberoi describes his ‘goofy gangster’ character in an upcoming film

Wrong Bhai at the right place

Vivek Oberoi describes his ‘goofy gangster’ character in an upcoming film

    Playing a gangster comes easiest to Vivek Oberoi. A decade ago, he started out in Bollywood as the ambitious Chandu Nagre (Company). A few years later, he was Maya Dolas (Shootout At Lokhandwala). Both characters were aggressive, dangerous men. In the upcoming Jayanta Bhai Ki Luv Story, he returns to familiar territory with a twist. This time his ‘gangster’ avatar is goofy and lovable.
    Calling Chandu and Maya “authentic bhais”, Vivek says, “Jayanta is basically the wrong bhai at the right place. While he fancies himself as a serious bhai and is pretty good at whatever he does, Jayanta is also a fun-loving, good-natured guy. He’s naive and this creates problems for him.”
    Things change when he falls for Simran (Neha Sharma), a girl who rents the house next door. Their relationship is doomed from the start, but the inevitable happens. As Vivek explains, “In some ways, he tries to be her mentor, guide, albeit as a bhai, from his experience as a gangster. That’s where the fun, mad humour, craziness of two worlds colliding, come into place. When Jayanta falls in love with Simran, who’s way beyond his range and class, it’s cute to see the way he wants to protect her, the ideas he comes up with to see her smile.”
    The actor calls this role a challenge. “I wanted to surprise myself, the audience, with all that you can do with a ‘bhai’ character. Jayanta is very vulnerable and emotional. He’s very real, that’s what makes him endearing and entertaining.”
    Kiran Kotrial, who scripted this Kumar Taurani production, says Vivek was the first actor to come to mind when director Vinnil Markan and he were writing the movie. “The kind of character Jayanta is and the way he speaks, only someone born and bred in Mumbai can enact perfectly. Vivek’s character is like Company’s Chandu meets Aditya of Saathiya. We’ve seen both aspects of Vivek as an actor. When you merge the two, you get an interesting combination,” Kiran sums up.
Jayanta Bhai Ki Luv Story, produced by Tips Industries Ltd, releases February 15.

Neha Sharma

Vivek Oberoi