Vivek Oberoi Lived in a Mumbai Slum for 3 Weeks After ‘Company’ Rejection: “I Took a Kholi…”

Long before Vivek Oberoi became a familiar face in Bollywood, his career began with a rejection—and a decision to respond to it in an unusually determined way.

For his debut in Ram Gopal Varma’s 2002 crime drama Company, Oberoi was initially considered unsuitable for the role of Chandu. The filmmaker reportedly felt that the actor’s polished appearance did not match the rugged, street-smart personality required for the character.

Instead of walking away, Oberoi decided to understand the character from the inside out.

His preparation eventually took him to a Mumbai slum, where he rented a small room and lived for three weeks.

Vivek Oberoi turned down a comfortable Bollywood launch

Oberoi’s struggle to enter the Hindi film industry had begun well before Company.

The actor had the option of making his debut in a film backed by his father, but he chose not to take what he considered the easier route. He wanted to establish himself on his own rather than enter the industry through a family-backed launch.

That decision came with a price.

Oberoi has recalled spending around 18 months struggling for opportunities and facing repeated rejections. Yet, despite the difficulties, he has said that he never regretted making that choice.

“I walked away from that opportunity, struggled for 18 months after that, and faced a lot of rejection, but I am proud of that choice,” the actor said in an interview with The Indian Express.

Ram Gopal Varma rejected him for looking too polished

When Oberoi approached Ram Gopal Varma for Company, the filmmaker initially did not see him as the right actor for Chandu.

The character belonged to a completely different world from the polished young actor who had walked into Varma’s office.

Oberoi was reportedly asked to wait three weeks before another meeting.

Instead of simply waiting, the actor decided to spend those three weeks experiencing the environment he believed his character came from.

He rented a “kholi”—a small room—in a nearby Mumbai slum and moved in.

“From his office I didn’t go home; I went straight to a nearby slum, took a kholi (room) there, paid the rent, and moved into it. I lived there for 3 weeks,” Oberoi recalled.

He studied everything around him

The actor used the time to observe everyday life around him.

He paid attention to the way people spoke, their body language, their mannerisms and the way they interacted with one another. Rather than simply changing his hairstyle or wardrobe, Oberoi wanted to understand the world that shaped Chandu.

He also worked with a struggling photographer to develop the character’s visual appearance.

The goal was simple: when he returned to meet Varma, he did not want to merely tell the filmmaker that he could play Chandu. He wanted to show him.

Vivek Oberoi walked into Varma’s office as Chandu

When the three weeks were over, Oberoi returned for his meeting with Varma looking dramatically different.

He reportedly arrived wearing worn-out slippers, loose trousers and a torn vest, with a beedi in his hand.

Rather than behaving like an actor pitching himself for a role, he entered the room with the mannerisms and attitude of the character.

He also placed photographs documenting his transformation on Varma’s desk.

The effort made an impression.

Varma eventually decided that Oberoi was right for the role, giving the actor his breakthrough in Company.

The film became an important milestone in Oberoi’s career and established him as an actor capable of handling intense, performance-driven roles.

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Company became the beginning of Vivek Oberoi’s Bollywood journey

Released in 2002, Company explored the world of organised crime and starred Ajay Devgn, Vivek Oberoi, Manisha Koirala and Antara Mali, among others.

For Oberoi, playing Chandu was far more than simply landing a debut role. His preparation demonstrated how seriously he approached the opportunity at a time when he was still fighting to establish himself in the industry.

The story of the three-week stay in a Mumbai slum has since become one of the more striking anecdotes from the actor’s early career.

Ram Gopal Varma returns to the crime genre

Meanwhile, Ram Gopal Varma is once again exploring the world of crime and law enforcement with his upcoming project Police Company.

The film is reportedly inspired by a special police squad associated with encounters with more than 300 gangsters between 1997 and 2004.

Varma has described the establishment at the centre of the new film as being even “more dangerous” than the underworld portrayed in his 2021 film D Company, which revolved around the organised crime syndicate associated with Dawood Ibrahim.

Harshvardhan Rane is set to play the central police officer in Police Company. Rane gained wider attention with films including Haseen Dillruba.

For Varma, the new project marks another return to the gritty crime territory that has remained a recurring theme throughout his career.

And for fans familiar with Company, the filmmaker’s return to the genre offers an intriguing reminder of the film that once gave a determined young Vivek Oberoi his breakthrough.