Mooch ado about Vivek Oberoi

IT TOOK VIVEK Oberoi one whole year to grow the impressive moustache that he is sporting nowadays. But the actor’s new look has not gone down well with his mother and has sparked fresh comparisons with Salman Khan.

While his mother prefers him to be clean shaven, Vivek’s moustache, a part of his homework for Ram Gopal Verma’s Rakth Charitra, is being compared to that of former love rival Salman, who too is sporting the traditional facial hair in Dabangg.

“It took me an entire year and much grooming to grow the moustache. My mother hates it though. She is waiting for when I shave it off and she gets her smooth faced bachcha back,” said Vivek.

The actor is a lot less frank when asked about the comparison with Salman, retorting with, “Is that really a question?”

But the ‘moonch’ got the 34-year-old claps and whistles when he walked the ramp at the ongoing Seagram’s Blenders Pride Fashion Tour for designers Shantanu and Nikhil.

Vivek is hoping for a similar effect at the box office. The actor re-unites with Ram Gopal Verma in Rakth Charitra, eight years after his debut in RGV’s Company.

A lot has changed since then. His hit debut prompted the media to brand the actor the next big thing. But the much publicised spat with Salman and a string of flops, saw him being sidelined in Bollywood.

Vivek hopes that his turn as real life outlaw-turned-politician Paritala Ravi in the upcoming film which RGV claims is one the “most violent films” ever made in Bollywood, will turn the tables.

“The film is all the more special for me because it will be released in three languages, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu and marks my debut of sorts in South Indian cinema. And me and RGV are coming together after eight years so that makes it really special for me,” said Vivek.

The actor will be playing one of the most intense roles of his career in Rakth Charitra which takes a look at the issue of political violence through the life of Ravi, who rose from an impoverished peasant family to become one of the most loved and feared political leaders of Andhra Pradesh.

“It was a role which fascinated me, because Ravi had two very different facets to himself. He was idolised by many as the messiah of the poor and he also murdered many. The film looks at the transition and what forced him to take up arms,” said Vivek.

The film releases in October, soon after which he will tie the knot with fiance Priyanka Alva.

When asked how he will manage both, promoting the film and preparing for the wedding, he replied, “I am already married to the film, it comes first.”