Remember Shah Rukh in Silsiilay; and Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah in Paheli? Whats the common factor that bind them all. Well .....having a sutradhar to introduce characters and prepare audiences for the film.

Now it's Vivek Oberoi's turn to play sutradhar in Firoz Nadiadwala's Deewane Huye Pagaal. Vivek partially introduces the characters, and then watches as they discover more shades to their identities as the film progresses.

Reveals Nadiadwala, "It's an important character, who controls and supports the basic premise of the film. The film starts with Vivek — he also appears after the interval — to trace future events and makes a comeback after the climax, to reason with viewers."

Replete with graphic elements, the sutradhar sequences will see Vivek in a cowboy look, inspired by Crocodile Dundee, conceived by director Vikram Bhatt.

Vivek has also recorded a rap song to introduce the characters at different stages of the plot. He says, "I was thrilled about this innovative approach to reveal the characters in the form of a song. It's a first time for me, and I was highly inspired by Anu Malik. The recording happened at 4 am.

"Vivek was training under Anu Malik, Jatin and Ganesh Acharya for weeks before he recorded the song. Adds Oberoi, "Firoz bhai is family and I would do anything for him. I had no qualms about playing a cameo." Lyrics have been penned by director Bhatt.

Says Nadiadwala, "Vivek has a good voice, but we never thought he would execute it so well. Anu is extremely happy with the way the song has turned out."

The actor has also been roped in to play a lead in Nadiadwala's next, Fool and Final, to be directed by Ahmed Khan; the rest of the cast includes Shahid Kapoor, Suniel Shetty and Sunny Deol.

Says Vivek, "It was exciting because, as a sutradhar, I have my own character, which is a contrast to accepted notions."

Adds producer Firoz Nadiadwala, "We were looking for someone who's fresh, when Akshay suggested Vivek. We conveyed our intentions to him and he readily agreed. It's a crazy comedy, and Vivek's act is going to be the surprise package — it has been kept under wraps in the promos. It's going to be liked, especially by children."