Vivek Oberoi on 15 years of 'Omkara': I wanted to play Langda Tyagi

Vivek Oberoi. Pic/Yogen Shah

Vishal Bharadwaj's critically acclaimed directorial film 'Omkara' completed 15 years on Wednesday. Released in 2006, 'Omkara' was inspired by William Shakespeare's celebrated novel 'Othello'. The film's characters Langa Tyagi (Saif Ali Khan), Kesu Firangi (Vivek Anand Oberoi), Omi (Ajay Devgn), Dolly (Kareena Kapoor) and other pivotal roles played by Naseeruddin Shah, Deepak Dobriyal, Konkona Sen Sharma, Bipasha Basu among others had left an impact with the audiences.

Remicinsing the days of shooting 'Omkara', actor Vivek, 45, shared interesting anecdotes. "When Vishal bhai (brother) and Ajay had called me for the film, we sat together to read the script and loved it. Vishal bhai said that he saw me as Kesu Firangi. But I wanted to play Langda Tyagi. He said I was too young to play Langda Tyagi. As history would have it, Saif went on to play Langda Tyagi and win multiple awards as the best actor in a negative role, and I went on to play Kesu Firangi and went on to win multiple awards for the best supporting actor," Vivek told IANS.

The actor was last seen in the film 'PM Narendra Modi' in 2019. Going down memory lane, Vivek shared his experience of shooting his introduction scene for 'Omkara' in Lucknow University Campus. The actor played the role of a young student leader in the film. There were posters with slogans like ‘Humara Neta Kesu Firangi' and people chanting the same. "This is the first time I realized what it would be like to be a political leader. It was really surreal," said Vivek.

Vivek has worked with Ajay Devgn in films 'Company', 'Yuva', 'Kaal' and 'Masti' before 'Omkara' happened. He said: "Ajay is a big prankster. We have worked on 5 films together. We had that understanding."

"We had such a great time, the three of us boys shooting," said Vivek about his bond with Saif Ali Khan and Ajay Devgn.

The actor shared the joy of working with his director. "Vishal Bhardwaj is a very authentic filmmaker. He wants to make things look very realistic. He asked me to learn to play the guitar for my role. When I finally played it live during the shoot, the smile on Vishal bhai's face, the way he felt, he came and gave me a big hug and told me that the scene had come out so good.

"I felt so good because when you're able to achieve something that your director aspires you to do, something authentic, something real all the efforts become worth it," signed off Vivek.

Also read: 14 years on, Vivek Oberoi opens up about his role in 'Shootout at Lokhandwala'

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