Akshay Oberoi says he didn’t ‘have access’ to cousin Vivek Oberoi’s achievements, was basically told ‘Tu kar apna’

Actor Akshay Oberoi has said that he found it ‘funny’ when everyone latched on to the revelation that he is related to actors Vivek Oberoi and Suresh Oberoi. Akshay said that his well-established relatives were not involved in his acting career.

In a new interview, he addressed the topic once again. Akshay Oberoi said that he didn’t have ‘access’ to whatever had been achieved by his family, and that things could’ve been easier had he used the connections in his favour.

He told PeepingMoon, “I look at it two ways. I’m very glad that whatever happened to me happened. Because of certain relationships and certain situations, I did everything on my own. I never used that connection, or said anything, or named anyone. But it gave me value for whatever I gained in life. I hold on to things I achieve so closely. I can’t slip, I have to keep working as hard as I did yesterday. I have to have that level of passion if I want to survive.”

He continued, “Sure it would’ve been easier, maybe it would’ve been faster, the climb would’ve been bigger, had I had access. I didn’t have access; it’s not like I said ‘no’. I didn’t have access to whatever had been achieved by my family. It was pretty much said ‘ke tu kar apna (you do your own thing)’. I’m grateful for it, I’m deeply respecting of both their talents. I think they’re wonderful actors. And I’m so glad that they had the courage to be actors because somewhere it might’ve inspired me to try.”

He said that fame is a ‘double-edged sword’ because as a person becomes more popular, the more people want to know about them. He said that no one knew about his family connections until he spoke about it recently. “I never brought it up, and neither did my family, so nobody knew I was related to anybody,” he said.

Also read: Akshay Oberoi says cousin Vivek hasn’t been involved in his career, for reasons he doesn’t ‘ever want to get into’

He’d told a leading daily last month, “Unfortunately, for whatever circumstances, which I’m not even really aware of, nor do I ever want to get into, because it doesn’t bother me, they were not a part of my journey. You know, it would have been probably a little bit helpful for me maybe, maybe not.”

Akshay is known for his performances in films such as Gurgaon and Kaalakaandi. He will soon be seen in the third season of Amazon Prime Video’s Inside Edge, which also features Vivek Oberoi, although they ‘won’t be in the same frame’.