'Indian Police Force encapsulates the same spirit, the essence of scale, the essence of action and that riveted rhythm that Rohit Shetty brings about, but is complete with absolute realism.'
Vivek Oberoi is super excited to be seen next in Rohit Shetty's cop drama, Indian Police Force.
"We've always had that admiration for our men in uniform and the armed forces but of the police force, we've always had a lesser opinion in our country. This has changed; Rohit Shetty's Copverse has single-handedly evolved that," Vivek tells Subhash K Jha.
How and when did Rohit Shetty offer you Indian Police Force?
We've met multiple times, mostly over social and charitable causes, because we align on that.
He's always been there for me whenever I've done anything through my organisation for police families, people in uniform, free cancers, screenings, testing, sometimes treatments for the children of the police, more of the foot soldiers than the officers.
Rohitbhai has always been a phone call away every time I've asked him to come in and support these campaigns.
We've always said, let's work together, let's do something together.
And then it finally happened?
He always said to me that when there is a role which I think would be of your calibre, I'll call you. And he did, true to his word.
I've loved playing Vikram Bakshi.
It's been a wonderful experience finally being on set and working with Rohit.
You were one of the most sought after actors after Company and Saathiya. What do you think went wrong? Are you poised for a comeback with Indian Police Force?
I believe that while there will be a lot of analysis or data if you evaluate anybody's career, good choices, bad choices, you get so much evaluation there.
I think you can't drive forward when you're looking into the rear view mirror.
I don't do that as a practice because it turns into an obsession with the past, which is something you cannot change.
In terms of where I am today, the confidence, the self-assuredness, the acknowledgement that, 'Hey, you did well, man. It's been 21 years and more than 50, 60 movies. You have stood your ground, you're still growing in terms of your craft.'
So there is a feeling of self-satisfaction?
That genuine appreciation to myself, not to the outer world, the conversation with myself when I look at myself in the mirror, appreciating and loving who I am today, holistically, not just as an actor, a star, a commodity, but also a person, a father... when I look at the whole story with context, it gives me a sense that I've achieved a lot in my life.
I'm super-poised, relaxed and excited for the work I'm doing because the sense of insecurity and fear of consequences have long departed from my life.
How tough was it doing out-and-out action?
It's not an out and out action series. It has tremendous scale, intrigue and dramatic scenes.
It also has a depth of emotion that goes deeper beyond the uniform. That's what I loved about it.
I believe there is another reason why Indian Police Force is special.
Yes, that was the first time my son Vivaan came on set.
I think he was super awed by the explosions and the bullets and the gunfire and all of that.
I guess boys will be boys.
You seem to have enjoyed yourself with this project. Do you like working on the OTT platform?
It's a liberating avenue because here, you are able to delve deeply into a character because you have six, seven, eight, 10 episodes to peel, layer upon layer of the character.
That's what is exciting.
From a creative perspective, I think it's very democratic in its discoverability. You'll have Indian Police Force, which is a big well-promoted show.
Then you'll have a smaller show that Amazon is putting up. That doesn't have the budget but when you go to discover Indian Police Force, you'll also see something like that. You'll be drawn to it and maybe check it out.
If it's good, it has a chance to have the same number of eyeballs. There's nothing holding it back.
There's no limitations in terms of screens and show times.
Do you see the OTT as the way forward for the film industry?
If your content is good, it can reach anywhere. That's the beauty of OTT. That's what I enjoy the most.
So it's slowly coming to a point where the film is the star, the story is the star, the trailer is the star.
And what the star adds to it is beyond the performance, he adds an awareness factor.
It creates awareness because it has those eyeballs. But the actual decision of going out to see that movie, I think, is now all about the trailer and the way you're experiencing it.
Because you're flooded with so much good content on OTT that to take that extra effort, to pay those extra bucks and make that effort to watch a movie in the theatres... you really need to be able to give them something to draw them out.
Do you see your show as improving the image of the police force?
We've always had that admiration for our men in uniform and the armed forces, but of the police force, we've always had a lesser opinion in our country.
This has changed; Rohit Shetty's Copverse has single-handedly evolved that.
I think the difference between the other worlds and characters and this is that those are such larger-than-life characters that they at some point, require some degree of suspension of belief because it's entertaining popcorn cinema.
Whereas Indian Police Force encapsulates that same spirit, the essence of scale, the essence of action and that riveted rhythm that Rohit Shetty brings about but is complete with absolute realism.
It feels authentic in the OTT space. It absolutely feels real.
It feels like when I would watch a well-researched Jack Ryan, which I incidentally voiced in Hindi for Amazon Prime Video.
I feel it's the same rhythm, energy, authenticity and realism, with which that rawness and grittiness, with which Rohit Shetty has shot this, keeping the same larger-than-life heroism of the men and women in uniform.
