By Radhika Bhirani
Gurgaon, Jan 30 (IANS) Vivek Oberoi is clearly not happy about being tagged as a "stalker" or a "gatecrasher" and says he is "genuinely sick" of all controversies.
"Suddenly I'm a stalker one day and one day I'm a gatecrasher. Mela laga hua hai kya (Is it a fair of controversies)? Will anybody say anything and walk away? What nonsense is this? It's very irresponsible and I completely disapprove of it. It's rubbish. If there was an element of truth in this, I can understand. But this is nonsense," Vivek told IANS.
The actor, who was here to give a sneak preview of a Bollywood musical to be performed at a yet-to-be opened entertainment destination Kingdom of Dreams, seemed visibly upset about recent news reports about him. He has been accused of going uninvited for a party at superstar Shah Rukh Khan's residence where his former beau Aishwarya Rai was present with husband Abhishek Bachchan.
"Shah Rukh and Gauri have been exceptionally kind to me, they are lovely people. It's not like I haven't been to their place before. I have been to their place for their events, their parties - and suddenly I become a gatecrasher? From where? Does anybody do that? I won't go to my relatives house without an invite," Vivek said.
The 33-year-old also came in the spotlight recently when he was seated next to the former Miss World at a function in Mumbai, while at another event, he was blamed for being strategically seated behind power couple Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan.
And when Vivek made an unexpected late entry at the premiere of "Rann" in New Delhi Thursday, where Aishwarya and Abhishek were present, his presence was speculated upon yet again.
"Yesterday I came out of the premiere of ?Rann' and I was asked a silly question - ?Why weren't you sitting in the same auditorium?'. How do I answer that? Do I have to go search for them in each auditorium and then sit accordingly? It's ridiculous. And if I was inside the same auditorium as theirs, then people would say ?You're stalking them'," said Vivek.
He stressed that every person involved in these speculations has moved on and is happy in his or her life, and so the media should just let them be.
"They are all happy with their own lives. I am doing great work by god's grace, my personal life is very happy, I have got a great life and wonderful friends. They (Abhishek and Aishwarya) are married, they are really happy, doing really well and they are wonderful, civil to me as I am to them and there is no problem. It is irritating that people just keep bringing it up."
The actor first brush with controversy came when he called a press conference against actor Salman Khan in 2003. He has been courting controversies ever since, but says he is tired of making clarifications now.
"I'm tired of clarifications. Why should I keep giving clarifications? There are new stories about me everyday, so should I leave everything and make clarifications? I'm a human being, I'm an actor, I work, I have a family, I have got a nice life - let me live it. Otherwise I should be on the hotline with the media constantly. I am genuinely sick of it. People should stop it now," he said.
On the film front, Vivek will soon be seen in Ramesh Taurani's "Prince" followed by Ram Gopal Varma's two-part series "Rakta Charitra".