It’s seven in the evening. Vikrant Massey has just wrapped up a 12-hour shoot and is itching to go home to his newborn baby. He’s been up since 4am, playing his daily dual role of actor and new father, but there isn’t a trace of exhaustion on his face. Like his character in 12th Fail, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s award-winning movie based on IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma, when Massey commits to something, it’s 100 per cent or nothing.
“There aren’t any short-cuts to success,” he tells me with the same earnestness he displays as the lead in the movie – one of this year’s biggest critical and commercial successes. Massey’s portrayal of Manoj Kumar Sharma, an idealistic young boy from Chambal who failed his 12th standard board exams for choosing honesty over cheating his way to a passing grade, and then went on to beat the odds and crack the UPSC’s civil services exam in his final attempt, won hearts and minds across the country.
Manoj’s story speaks to millions of Indians for whom clearing the intensely competitive exam and becoming a civil servant is the ultimate dream and pathway out of poverty. Part of 12th Fail’s nationwide appeal is that it teaches this section of the population—a majority of whom are male, hail from the hinterlands, and are often the designated breadwinners—that it’s okay to fail, even multiple times, because it will make success (which will take a new form) that much sweeter. It also highlights the toxic nature of this ecosystem around the tests, opening up a critical conversation on the mental health of Indian students.
Massey’s character also represents a more evolved side of masculinity—one who is unafraid of being emotionally vulnerable. Personally too, the 36-year-old believes that men are learning to be more sensitive, and in time, will learn to be kinder to themselves and everyone else. For the time being, he’s happy to take on the cause through the diverse roles he picks, be it playing a young activist for acid attack survivors in Chhapaak or a gay man helping others own their sexuality in Made in Heaven.
Vikrant Massey is the man of the moment and he’s basking in it because “this is the stuff that dreams are made of”.
First, congratulations! What’s it like being a new dad?
It’s the best role of my life. [Laughs.] A role that’s going to last a lifetime and the one I’m most looking forward to.
How do you plan to raise your son in the current social climate?
I’m going to take each day as it comes. I want to be nimble and think on my feet, so I can adapt. The pace at which the world is changing is faster than most of us can comprehend, so there’s no point in planning ahead. The priority is to ensure my baby is healthy, and apart from that, I’m just soaking it all in.
How did you prepare for the role of Manoj Kumar Sharma?
Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a perfectionist. I spent almost a year and a half preparing for the film, and the three months prior to the shooting were filled with extensive workshops and reading sessions. I had to lose weight and tan my skin. While tanning my skin, it actually got burnt and I freaked out thinking we’d have to push our shoot by a couple of weeks. But when I told Vinod sir about it, he said that this was a boon and now we wouldn’t need any make-up. We’d be going in raw.
