- Vikrant Massey won the National Film Award for Best Actor for 12th Fail
- Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra initially hesitated to cast Vikrant due to TV background
- Chopra questioned why audiences would pay to see a TV actor in cinemas
Vikrant Massey won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in 12th Fail, but his journey to the big screen wasn't simple. Vikrant recently recalled his first meeting with director Vidhu Vinod Chopra before working on the 2023 hit.
At the time, Chopra knew Vikrant from his work in A Death in the Gunj and Mirzapur. He liked his performance but was unsure about casting him because Vikrant was mainly known as a TV actor. The director even questioned why people would buy a cinema ticket to watch someone they had already seen for free on television.
According to IANS report, while appearing on Shekhar Suman's talk show, Shekhar Tonite, Vikrant Massey recalled, “12th Fail was a very special experience for me because I gave one and a half years to the film. When I first met Vinod sir, Rajkumar Hirani ji had recommended my name to him. He had seen my film A Death in the Gunj and my show Mirzapur. He told me that he liked my work, but he also said that Mirzapur was not a show he could watch beyond one episode.”
“He then asked me, ‘Why should I work with you? You are a TV actor. People watch you for free at home, so why would they come to a theatre to watch you?' I took it very sportingly because, somewhere, I felt there was truth and constructive criticism in what he was saying. I simply told him that I wanted to work with him.”
During his audition for 12th Fail, Vikrant Massey sat in the same position that viewers saw in the film's opening scene. The moment left Vidhu Vinod Chopra impressed, who felt Vikrant was right for the role. What made the experience even more special for the actor was that Chopra allowed him to watch how the story and script were developed. Vikrant was also given the chance to share his thoughts and ideas during the process.
12th Fail is based on Anurag Pathak's 2019 book of the same name. The story follows Manoj Kumar Sharma, who grew up in extreme poverty but worked hard to become an Indian Police Service officer.
Vikrant Massey played Manoj in the film, alongside Medha Shankr, Anant Joshi, Anshumaan Pushkar, and Priyanshu Chatterjee.