Film Industry Is The Most Democratic Community In India: Vikrant Massey

 Vikrant Massey is one of the busiest actors in the entertainment industry today with four releases last year and five this year. However, fans seem to not be getting enough of the down to earth and endearingly 'messy' Massey. In an exclusive interview with Outlook Magazine's Lachmi Deb Roy, the actor speaks about his role in the film ‘Haseen Dillruba’, on being the busiest actor in the industry and his journey of seven years in the entertainment industry.

Excerpts:

Tell us how you prepared for the role of ‘Rishu’ in ‘Haseen Dillruba’.

The writing was very clear-cut. I didn’t have to do much and if you are blessed with a good script, half your job is done. I would like to believe that I do possess a certain capacity to understand human nature and human psychology and that is something that I primarily focus on whenever I prepare for any role. There is no one particular method to prepare for a character. It is a job on the go in which you learn and adapt to. You respond depending on the situation and the roles you are supposed to play on screen. All you see on screen for any film is the result of teamwork.

What is your take on being one of the busiest actors in India right now?

You are extremely generous (laughs). Yes, I was fortunate to have four releases last year and I have five releases this year. There was a moment in our life when work did take a back seat. But we are in the business of movie-making and I think we cannot sit on anything for too long. We really have to keep churning content day in and day out. So, I was lucky that way and I have no qualms about entertaining people through different mediums. The larger idea is to do your best and entertain people from time to time. I am happy that the audience has been very receptive and appreciative of my work.

Do you think OTT platforms are a favourable change for actors?

It is definitely a favourable change not just for actors, but for everybody in the entertainment industry and for all creative artists. There is definitely no dearth of work today be it writers, directors, actors and technicians. Everyone today has enough space to at least spread their arms around. We really don’t know about the future, but this definitely is the present and OTT is here to stay. This particular platform has given us a lot of opportunities to showcase our skill sets. And it is a great opportunity to do anything related to storytelling.

Tell us about how you made the shift from television to films.

 It was an absolutely conscious decision. I have nearly done a decade of television. I was doing decently well. But I felt underutilised. Every day after sixteen eighteen hours of work, I was not happy. I was, in fact, very unhappy, if I have to put it bluntly. So, I actually had to sit with my parents and explain to them what I wanted to do next.  And I didn’t wish to continue in television. I come from a middle-class family and our priorities are very basic – “graduation complete hona chahiya, sar ke upar chat hona cahiya” (you must complete graduation and have a roof over your head). So, I bought my first house when I was 24. I sat my parents down and told them that I have done what you wanted from me, but now I want to pursue things that I want to do.

It was difficult initially for me in the industry.  Let me tell you an important fact: television actors eight years back and even today are still looked down upon. It has become a common saying, “See he is a Lokhandwala actor (a snide comment often made by those who live in posh South Bombay and Bandra localities of Mumbai). These comments are very demotivating and it does take a toll on your mental health. But that way I am very thick-skinned. If anybody tells me that this is beyond your reach, I will make sure that I will work hard enough to achieve that. I do have a slightly competitive streak in me. It was tough initially to make that shift. But if you are persistent in whatever you do, irrespective of what others think about you, you generally get it. Eventually what matters is what you think of yourself. You have to back yourself.

Seven years in the film industry, how does it feel?

I feel blessed. But I think there is a lot that needs to be done from my end. I haven’t even done things that I want to do. So, I am still a few years away from consolidating my position as an actor here. But let me take this opportunity to sort of spell this out for a lot of people who don’t know about the film fraternity. This is actually the most democratic and libertarian community that we have in our country. And the popular belief that outsiders don’t get a chance in the film industry is all mostly rubbish. If you are good at what you do, this probably is going to be the first community that will stand up and applaud you and back you. And I would want to believe that I am good at what I do, people within the film fraternity do take notice.

What next?

I have a film with Zee Studio called ‘14 Phera’ on the cards and there is a film called ‘Love Hostel’ with Sanya Malhotra and Bobby Deol.  I am really looking forward to this is one.