‘I sat on the floor and just cried’: Vivek Oberoi recalls asking his mother ‘why me’ when life seemed unfair. Her answer touched his soul

When life feels overwhelming, even the most successful person can feel lost behind closed doors. Vivek Oberoi recently opened up about one such deeply personal moment, recalling how he turned to his mother during one of the darkest chapters of his life. The actor described sitting on the floor with his head in his mother’s lap and breaking down. What followed was not sympathy or empty reassurance, but a simple question from his mother that changed how he saw his struggles.

Vivek Oberoi recalls breaking down in his mother’s lap

Vivek Oberoi shared the emotional memory in an Instagram post, reflecting on what happens when the confident image people see from the outside does not match what someone is experiencing internally. He began by referring to a Japanese saying about people having three faces. The first is the face shown to the world, the second is reserved for close friends and family, while the third is the most honest version of ourselves, rarely shown to anyone.

For Oberoi, there was perhaps one exception: his mother. The actor recalled a period when he felt as though his life was closing in around him. Although he continued putting on a brave face for the world, he said he was emotionally broken inside. Eventually, he went to his mother. Oberoi wrote that he sat on the floor, placed his head in her lap like a little boy and “just cried.” In that vulnerable moment, he asked the question many people have asked themselves when life feels unfair: “Why me, Ma? Why is this happening to me?”

His mother did not offer sympathy or clichés

What happened next was the part of the memory that stayed with Oberoi. Instead of offering clichés or simply telling him that everything would be fine, his mother gently stroked his hair and asked him to look at the question from another perspective. She asked whether he had ever wondered “Why me?” when he was winning awards or when millions of people were cheering his name.

The question was simple, but it forced Oberoi to confront something deeper. Why should success feel deserved but hardship feel unfair? His mother’s response reminded him that life cannot be measured only by its difficult moments. The same person who celebrates achievements also has to navigate disappointment, uncertainty and pain.

The answer helped him see beyond the ‘actor’ and ‘star’

Oberoi said his mother’s question cut through the public image he had built around himself. In that moment, she was not speaking to the actor, celebrity or star that audiences knew. She was speaking to her son. He described the experience as his mother “touching my soul”, because she saw the vulnerability beneath the brave exterior and responded in a way that helped him regain perspective.

Her words did not erase whatever he was going through. Instead, they shifted the way he looked at it.

What Vivek Oberoi’s ‘why me’ moment teaches about difficult times

Oberoi’s story highlights how easily people can separate success from struggle. When something good happens, it can feel natural to accept the praise, awards and opportunities. But when life takes an unexpected turn, the immediate reaction can be to question why it happened to us. His mother’s response challenges that thinking.

The question is not necessarily whether someone deserves hardship. It is whether they are willing to recognise that difficult experiences are also part of a life that contains joy, achievement and success. For Oberoi, that perspective came from the person who knew him beyond his public identity. Reflecting on the experience, he said that this was “the magic of a mother”: someone who can see a person’s deepest vulnerabilities and still use them to help rebuild their strength.

Vivek Oberoi's latest works

On the film front, Vivek Oberoi was most recently seen in Mastiii 4, the fourth instalment of the Masti franchise. Directed by Milap Zaveri, the adult comedy also stars Riteish Deshmukh and Aftab Shivdasani and was released in theatres on November 21, 2025. Oberoi is now gearing up for Ramayana: Part 1, Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming epic mythological film, which features an ensemble cast including Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Yash, Sunny Deol, Ravi Dubey, Anupam Kher and Lara Dutta, among others.