Vivek Oberoi recalls 'sleeping on benches and changing in toilets' during 'Saathiya' shoot: 'We had no budget'

Two decades back, Vivek Oberoi and Rani Mukerji gave us a film that turned out to become a classic cult. Helmed by Shaad Ali, Saathiya is one of the most loved movies from the 2000s and continues to stand up to its title. Revolving around the love story of a couple who elope to get married and start a family; however, gets entangled in a series of challenges.

The film not only gained praise and appreciation for its storyline but the songs were also loved widely among fans. Still counted as one of the best romantic films, but not many know that the actor faced a lot of challenges while shooting.

Vivek Oberoi, in a recent conversation with Humans of Bombay revealed that he was suggested to not do Saathiya, as people argued that he was an action hero and he couldn’t do a romantic one. The actor also recalled that his mentor Ram Gopal Varma was furious about his choosing to work in Saathiya.

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RGV was furious with Vivek Oberoi for doing Saathiya

During the conversation, the actor said, “Everybody said don’t so Saathiya. ‘You are an action hero. How can you do a love story?’ But that wasn’t the film. My mentor, Ram Gopal Varma, was furious. He said ‘No, don’t do this film’ I was like better than taking permission, I will ask for forgiveness. I loved the film. Saathiya’s director Shaad Ali is my school friend. He was initially making the film with Abhishek Bachchan but that didn’t work out. I already had my debut film, Company.”

‘Slept on benches, changed in toilets’

Vivek further spoke about the challenges that he faced while walking in the 2002 film like sleeping at railway stations, on benches and even changing clothes in restaurant toilets.

“I was shooting at railway stations, I used to sleep on the benches because we had no budget. I used to change clothes in restaurant toilets because I didn’t have a makeup van. We had to shoot four scenes in a day and we were shooting for 18-20 hours a day. There was a time when I was carrying equipment, as I had gone back to my assistant days after my debut,” the actor continued.

Vivek also opened up on how his life changed for the good, following the film, adding that people started to recognise him.