“10 saal baad isi station pe vaapas aayenge. Aaj hi ke din… Aayega? Aayega?” For Bollywood buffs, these words would be an instant reminder of an inebriated Chatur ‘Silencer’ Ramalingam venting his angst after being tricked into delivering a double entendre-laced monologue, in 3 Idiots.

“I remember thinking how hard it would be to interpret the speech the way it was intended, sans Rancho’s indecent alterations. I remember thinking how difficult it would be to play the speech straight with cameras rolling and a full house rolling in their seats. And then flash, I remember it all being over and everyone loving it, even the lighting crew who rarely stick around to watch the action,” he recounts.

The 3 Idiots speech is so iconic, Omi reasons, is “because rarely does a movie scene reach such hilarity and provide such satisfaction that it can be rewatched countless times. I can’t tell you how many messages I receive from people around the world telling me how the scene has brought them so much laughter and joy”.

“Rarely do you get to play a character that people love to hate,” adds the US-based actor. The memories bring a smile to his face. Omi recounts that the Rajkumar Hirani directorial happened serendipitously when he auditioned for it in 2007 courtesy a friend.

The film was, as he says, a “roller-coaster ride” which changed his life “forever”. For a quick dekko at how it felt for Omi to “go from a struggling actor to a household name”, he suggests viewers watch his documentary Big in Bollywood.