Vivek Oberoi says he felt stuck in Bollywood, turned to business and raised over $1 billion in last year alone: ‘You have to marry Silicon Valley with a Marwari mindset'
has revealed that a sense of stagnation in the film industry led him to pivot more aggressively towards business. Having spent over two decades in Bollywood, the actor said he grew increasingly disillusioned with the lack of meaningful collaboration in the entertainment world.
That realisation pushed him to pursue entrepreneurship, which he now calls his 'primary source of sustenance.'
Speaking to CNBC TV-18, Vivek shared, 'After a while in the industry, I realised I was going around in circles and ending up where I started. I didn't enjoy that. It wasn't empowering. I enjoyed being there and collaborating with certain people, but collaboration needs to be a circular give-back.'
Suresh Oberoi sparked his early interest in business
The foundation for his entrepreneurial spirit, Vivek said, was laid in childhood thanks to his father, veteran actor Suresh Oberoi.
He recalled how his father would often bring home inventory, sometimes perfumes, other times electronics, and ask a young Vivek to sell them door-to-door.
'When I was nine or 10, he would suddenly show up with inventory. One year it was perfumes, another year it was electronics... I'd fill it up in my backpack and go door-to-door. At the end of the day, he'd ask me for my 'khata book' and let me keep only the profit. He'd take the cost from me,' Vivek shared.
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Two of his companies are set to go public
The actor claims to be actively involved in 12 companies, and two of them are gearing up for an IPO. In the last year alone, he says he's helped raise approximately $1 billion (Rs 8,500 crore) in capital. According to reports, Vivek Oberoi's net worth now stands at around Rs 1,200 crore.
'I'm not averse to obnoxious capital,' he remarked. 'That is a substantial sum. But where that capital pipeline deploys and how is that growth protected...
Somewhere, you have to marry Silicon Valley with a Marwari mindset. That marriage has to happen.'
Vivek Oberoi confesses he wanted to 'end things' at one point: 'Which is why I related to what happened with Sushant Singh Rajput..'
Tapping into the 'desi tadka' mindset in business
Reflecting on Bollywood's penchant for adding a local twist to global concepts, Vivek added with a laugh, 'Even when we copied international films, we added our desi tadka. So, why not in business?'
The shift, he explained, came when he chose to stop 'banging his head' against closed doors in the film industry and opted instead to build his own. 'It was about either going down a spiral of pessimism, or stop banging my head against that door and open another one instead.'
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