Suresh Oberoi (born 17 December 1946) is an Indian actor and politician who appeared in Hindi films. He is a recipient of the 1987 National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. He started his career in radio shows, modelling and later moving to Bollywood, making him a popular character actor in the 1980s and much of the 1990s. He is the father of actor Vivek Oberoi. Early life Oberoi was born to Anand Sarup Oberoi, a Khatri and Kartar Devi on 17 December 1946 in Quetta, then Baluchistan Province of pre-partitioned British India. Within a year due to partition, the family along with four brothers and sisters moved to India, and later relocated to Hyderabad state where his family established a chain of medical stores. Oberoi attended St. George's Grammar School in Hyderabad and was active in sports. He was a Tennis and swimming champion, later winning the President's Award as a Boy Scout. After his father's death when he was just out of high school, Oberoi, along with his brother, continued running his pharmacy chain. He is fluent in Pashto, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, English, Telugu and Tamil. Career In the early 1970s, due to his interest in acting and a good voice, he gained entry into radio shows and stage plays, prompting him to attend the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune. Modelling and radio shows In his early Mumbai years, his prior radio show experience and his well received voice kept him going and his contacts with advertising agencies led to him being picked up as a model for Charminar cigarettes and Lifebuoy soaps, making him one of the leading models by late 1970s. Bollywood In late 1977 he made his debut with Jeevan Mukt. He did lead roles in films like Ek Baar Phir in 1980, but the film was not commercially successful. Later he was part of the radio program Mukaddar Ka Sikandar. Then he accepted character roles in Kartavya, Ek Baar Kaho, Surraksha and Khanjar between 1979 and 80, which were commercially successful. He gained recognition nationally for his supporting role as a Police Inspector Sharma in the 1980 film Phir Wahi Raat, starring Rajesh Khanna in the lead and directed by Danny Denzongpa, which was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. It also laid the foundation for him being cast as a police inspector in many of his future films. In 1981,