Throwback to the time when Vivek Oberoi publicly apologised to Salaman Khan and was later made fun of.
Vivek Oberoi’s fight with Salman Khan is one of the most controversial episodes in Bollywood’s history. The whole fiasco started after Salman Khan’s breakup with Aishwarya Rai, and she reportedly started dating Vivek. Vivek and Aishwarya’s relationship rumors did not go well with Salman, who reportedly called Vivek and threatened him.
Things took an ugly turn when Vivek called a press conference and opened up about the threat calls by Salman Khan. Vivek also revealed that Salman called him 41 times and accused him of having physical relationships with many leading actresses of Bollywood. He also alleged that the actor had threatened to kill him. Soon after, Vivek faced the consequences of going against Salman.
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After the controversial press conference, Vivek didn’t get any support from his colleagues or industry mates. The actor also stopped getting work in the industry, and Bollywood boycotted him. It was one of the most difficult periods in Vivek’s life, which he still looks back on and repents. From constant denials to humiliation, the actor went through an array of emotions.
One such episode happened during the 10th Rajiv Gandhi Awards function, held at Jamshed Bhabha Theatre in Mumbai. During the event, Vivek Oberoi was on the stage and finished his performance on the song, Beedi Jalaile with Koena Mitra. After his performance, on his way out, he stopped in the middle of the stage and bowed in front of Salman Khan, who was seated in the front row.
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After bowing to Salman, Vivek held his own ears and apologized to Salman. However, Salman looked unperturbed by Vivek’s gesture and paid no heed to him. While Vivek was apologising, Salman Khan could be spotted looking away from the stage with a continuous smirk on his face. The Chairman of the committee, Vijay Kalantri, who was seated next to Salman talked about the episode and said:
“Vivek grabbed his (own) ears and bowed and mouthed ‘bhai’. But Salman just shook his head.”
It was an embarrassing and awkward moment for Vivek Oberoi and his fans as the actor’s father, legendary actor, Suresh Oberoi, was also present at the event while he apologised to Salman. Vivek’s public apology was later made into a joke at an award show. During the Zee Cine Awards, filmmakers, Sajid Khan and Karan Johar took a dig at Vivek Oberoi by enacting the gestures he showed to Salman.
To watch the video, click here.
In 2002, Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai parted ways on an ugly note. Aishwarya had ended her relationship with Salman after enduring his alcoholism and abuses. In a throwback interview with The Times of India, Aishwarya bared her heart out about her abusive relationship with Salman. Revealing how Salman couldn’t come to terms with their breakup, Aishwarya stated:
“Salman and I broke up last March, but he isn't able to come to terms with it. After we broke up, he would call me and talk rubbish. He also suspected me of having affairs with my co-stars. I was linked up with everyone, from Abhishek Bachchan to Shah Rukh Khan. There were times when Salman got physical with me, luckily without leaving any marks. And I would go to work as if nothing had happened.”
After breaking up with Salman, Aishwarya started dating Vivek Oberoi, and soon, the duo was leading all the headlines. When Vivek appeared on the first season of the talk show, Koffee With Karan, the host Karan Johar asked him whether he was dating Aishwarya Rai. The actor admitted it by saying ‘yes’.
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In the same conversation, Karan asked Vivek about his press conference against Salman Khan and how the media bashed him. To this, Vivek said that the particular episode had a lot of repercussions on his life. Vivek was quoted as saying:
"I didn't had anything against Salman Khan. In fact, I liked the guy. I thought he was quite interesting when I met him before. But yeah in terms of the way he behaved and within the framework of my personal life at that time, trying to protect the lady in my life. I did what I thought was right."
Watch the video here!
In 2005, Vivek Oberoi broke up with Aishwarya Rai. In 2010, the actor married Priyanka Alva, daughter of politician, Jeevaraj Alva. The couple has a son and a daughter.
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