Vivek thrilled with response to 'Prince'
He visited a theatre in Mumbai for a show during an IPL match, was cheered by audiences
Actor Vivek Oberoi visited a cineplex in Mumbai last night (April 9) to do a reality check on the audience reaction to his 'Prince: It's Showtime' and says he was thrilled by the grand opening of the film despite an Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match on at the time."To be honest, I didn't expect such a public response. I thought it's a nice film and people will enjoy it. I even thought that IPL is on so it would be a bit difficult, and especially there was a match of Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. When distributors and exhibitors called me and said that the halls are houseful, I thought I should personally visit and check it," he told reporters.
Vivek said he sneaked into a hall of the Gaitey Galaxy in Bandra 10 minutes to the film's intermission.
People watching the film were unaware of his presence until media camerapersons came inside the hall and distracted the audience. His fans started howling and whistling and took him on their shoulders, cheering his performance in the film.
"I didn't expect it to be this crazy and I am really sorry for the media people who kind of got pushed around. But I really enjoyed it. Especially, when people started whistling...," he told reporters.
Vivek went inside the hall unguarded, without any bouncer or police protection. But before the situation could go beyond control, he escaped from the hall through an emergency exit.
The actor also said he was inundated by messages on social networking site Twitter.
"I am in Twitter and you get instant feedback there. Some of them are so cute -- while watching the film they kept on twitting me... right now you did this... now you did that... it's mind blowing. It really feels nice when you get so much love," he said.
Vivek, who has done mostly multi-starrer films, said it was producer Kumar Taurani's confidence that helped him do the film as a solo lead.
"Honestly speaking I wasn't very sure that I would be able to carry this film. No other known names... till now I have done mostly multi-starrer films so that the films get safe opening. But it was him (Taurani) who saw his prince in me and asked me to give my 100 percent. This is the biggest opening of my career by far," he said.
'Prince...' narrates the story of a thief who wakes up one morning to realise that he has lost his memory and his life is at stake. The film also features Nandana Sen, Aruna Shields and Neeru Singh.
Vivek, who runs a school in Vrindavan for underprivileged girls who have been abandoned by their families, said he was planning to make a special screening of 'Prince...' for them.
"I want to do a special screening for the children in Project Devi in Vrindavan. There are 1,200 children there but in Vrindavan there is no 1,200 seat theatre, so I will have to divide them into two shows. My 1,200 small angels are very excited to see the film with me," he said.
Asked if he believes that the blessings of these children have brought him success, he said: "Most definitely. If you do some good work, being true to your heart, the blessings you get for it are incomparable. More important than anything else, that takes you to another level, at least spiritually you are very happy by that."
I've always said, box-office is most unpredictable and that's the beauty of this business. The industry was confident that Kumar Taurani's PRINCE, starring Vivek Oberoi and directed by debutante Kookie Gulati, would embark on a thanda start at the ticket window, but its excellent start caught the industry completely unaware. The opening shows were in 50% to 70% range and at places, even better [packed to capacity].
Hollywood has come up with so many movies on memory loss, while Bollywood too has had its share of films which depicted the protagonist losing his memory, GHAJINI being the most recent example. But what if someone robs your memory? Quite an interesting thought, isn't it?
He is being hunted by the secret service of India, the CBI and the biggest white collared criminals in the world. He is the most wanted man in the country because only he knows the whereabouts of the heist, which contains a secret that is linked not only to his loss of memory, but threatens the future of the human race. 
Director Kookie Gulati has an eye for visuals and that's evident from the very start of the film itself. The film looks magnificent and wears an international look as well. Shiraz Ahmed's screenplay is watertight in the first hour, but leaves a lot to be desired in the latter portions. Dialogues [Mayur Puri] are well worded. Cinematography [Vishnu Rao] is top notch and the eye-filling locations are a visual treat. Allan Amin's stunts and chases are mesmeric. Sachin Gupta's musical score is trendy and catchy. 
