Bollywood superstar Vivek Oberoi is a master thespian. Having etched a niche via thumping performances in super hit movies like Company, Saathiya and more recently as a villain in Krrish 3, he now carries his bad boy avatar onto the digital space as well.
He essays a suave yet evil match fixer in Amazon Prime debut Indian original Inside Edge, which has gone live recently. Vivek’s performance in the endeavour is laudable, lending much needed gravitas to the plot. IndianWikiMedia met up with Vivek at his pluss Juhu pad for a quick interaction on the same. Excerpts:
What has been the response so far?
Phenomenal, we started trending worldwide within hours of going live. This just goes to show that we have fans all over the world, getting hits from places as far as Poland, South Africa and the Far East. The fact Amazon released the film in 192 territories show their confidence in the product for it is as good as most international series which we Indians always go ga ga about.
Talk about the transition from the Bollywood to the web space?
When last year producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani (Excell) approached me for the project, I had the same query, on making the leap from Bollywood to web. But they were adamant asking me to drop in. I was completely shocked hearing the budget which was three times of films. Amazon’s calculation is different, they charge Rs 499 for a year per subscriber so if they have crore subscribers pan India, they net a whopping Rs 499 crores. They are here for the long haul wanting to bring in more people on the Prime service.
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Most importantly, I was bowled over by the subject and my mind game playing character Vikrant Dhawan, I jammed with the writer and director (Karan Anushuman) to create a better graph as there was lot more juice in the story than what was narrated to me at first. Together the team added mad touches and the results are for all to see.
What was your biggest challenge?
To ensure that I don’t go over the top, for Vikrant does oscillate between the real and unreal. They lobbed a time bomb on my chest and now told me do your thing.
Your two cents’ worth on the digital medium?
We need to invest much more on content. And tailor make content as per platform needs. Web scores over traditional media on the following markers, we are finally free from the shackles of CBFC which has been a major issue. Secondly, we are no longer depended on the whims of exhibitors who sometimes give us late night show timing for a youth flick which is best suited for noon or evening slots. Last but not the least, viewers will now have the freedom to consume content at a place and time of their choosing. The biggest take home from this reception is that the audiences have been hungry for good and differentiated content where net can help.
There is a lot of use of swears and s*x scenes in your show?
Well, that’s the way sports people actually talk off ground. Having played boxing nationally, I know all about it. As for sex, it is a natural urge why shy away from showing it?
Any plans to have season 2?
The massive adulation which has surprised us has surely opened the possibility of sequel much quicker than we had planned for we have already been contracted for three. So, now we need to start working on the script double fast. First season took a year to come on screen.
We wish him all the luck and success.
