Lost Weight, Burnt My Skin

Image was shared on Instagram. (courtesy: MilanBarsopia)

New Delhi:

Vikrant Massey, who won big at the Filmfare Awards this year for his outstanding performance as an UPSC aspirant in 12th Fail, in a chat with GQ India, recently revealed that preparing for his role as Manoj Kumar was not only challenging but also rewarding. Talking about his preparation, the 36-year-old actor said, “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 actually got burnt, and I freaked out, thinking we’d have to push our shoot by a couple of weeks.”

Vikrant Massey revealed that when he told the film’s director Vidhu Vinod Chopra about the skin burn, the director suggested that they could shoot “raw.” “He said that this was a boon and now we wouldn’t need any makeup. We’d be going in raw. The toughest part of this journey for me, however, was the emotional weight that came with playing this character. Someone who represents the dreams of millions of Indians. To tell a real India story that would resonate with the masses.” he said.

Earlier, Vikrant Massey opened up about his Television days in an interview with Unfiltered by Samdish. Before venturing into films, Vikrant acted in hit serials like Balika Vadhu, Dharam Veer, Baba Aisa Var Dhoondho. Recalling days of struggles and hectic shifts, Vikrant told  Unfiltered by Samdish, “Back in the day, artistes would shoot for 18-20 hours. There came a time when I had to shoot for 110 hours straight without stopping.”

Vikrant also narrated an incident where scriptwriters reworked scripts to use him as fillers in every frame. He said, “They had no choice but to use me as a filler. Day shifts were melting into night shifts. There was no sense of time. Funnily, when they finally packed up, it wasn’t even for me. An actor who came to the set at 10 am in the morning got upset and walked out  by evening.”

12th Fail is headlined by Vikrant Massey, while Medha Shankr essays the role of Manoj Kumar Sharma’s wife Shraddha Joshi. Vikrant Massey also received the Best Actor Award in the Critics Category at the 69th Filmfare Awards, for his performance in 12th Fail.