Fenil and Bollywood

Almost overnight, Vivek Oberoi who’s doing Ram Gopal Varma’s two-part marathon bio-pic Rakta Charitra, has slipped into the Telugu version of the film as well. Earlier, Vivek was slated to do only the Hindi version, while a new Telugu actor Aadhi was supposed to act in the Telugu version with veteran Mohan Babu as NT Rama Rao. But then Ram Gopal Varma did a look test with Vivek Oberoi.

A source close to Vivek says, “When Ramu did a look test, he immediately decided that Vivek was the right actor to play the role in both the versions. The only problem was, Vivek didn’t know how to speak Telugu… Or so Ramu thought. Actually, Vivek knows better Telugu than Ramu, although the latter is from Andhra Pradesh.” Vivek’s father Suresh Oberoi is from Andhra Pradesh and Vivek is familiar, though not fluent, in Telugu. The source adds, “Vivek has now employed a Telugu tutor in Hyderabad who is teaching the actor the nuances of the language. Fortunately, Vivek is a fast learner. He also insists on talking only in Telugu to everyone in Hyderabad, including his director who can barely speak his mother tongue.”

Vivek Oberoi		Ram Gopal Varma