India, Nov. 7 -- Actor Vivek Oberoi was considered one of the rising stars in the early 2000s thanks to films like Company and Saathiya. However, one press conference in 2003 seemed to change it all for him. Now, years later, Vivek claimed on the Relearn podcast that he was 'in hell' during the fallout of the controversy. He also claimed that filmmakers who wanted to work with him would get calls from the underworld, warning them against it.

Vivek was asked to talk about the controversy he faced in the early 2000s even as his career was taking off. Without taking names or getting into details of what happened, he said, "It was a very dark phase in my life. I tried to stand up for something. I came from the thought process that there's a ...