Deepali Singh (DNA; January 20, 2019)

When Vikrant Massey got a call that he has bagged a role in Meghna Gulzar’s next, Chhapaak, starring Deepika Padukone, he took off for a drive. Sharing the trivia with us, the actor revealed that he was shooting in Uttar Pradesh when he got the news. “I had packed up and was on my way to my hotel when I received the call. I took the car for a long drive towards Kanpur, just to let the news sink in,” he recalls with a smile.

Although Vikrant had no big-screen outing last year, he has been in the news for his portrayal of Bablu Pandit in the web series Mirzapur, a simple guy who gets pushed into the world of crime. His movies like A Death In The Gunj and Lipstick Under My Burkha have earned him appreciation from various quarters. The actor, who started his career with television, has an envious line-up of five films this year, including the above-mentioned Meghna directorial. Vikrant will also be seen in Seema Pahwa’s directorial debut Pind Daan, Alankrita Shrivastava’s Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare, Arati Kadav’s sci-fi film Cargo and Yaar Jigri, a slice-of-life buddy film with Sunny Singh. He spoke to After Hrs about this being the best phase of his life and the fear of failure that drives him to do better...

The year has started with a bang for you...
Yes, and I’m really grateful to God for that. Although the news was confirmed much later, I had been in talks with Meghna for a while and the anticipation had been there of whether it will work out or not. We had been wanting to work together for a while and this seemed like the right film. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Saath hi saath yeh bhi hua ki Deepika is also part of it. Yes, there is a lot of responsibility and I have to really keep the focus for the next three months of prep.

You have worked with Zoya Akhtar, Konkona Sensharma and Alankrita Shrivastava and the next four films out of five are also with women directors. Seems like you have become their favourite...
(Laughs) I don’t know. Maybe they bring out the best in me, or maybe I bring out the best in them. It’s always a give and take between an actor and a director. Maybe they are comfortable working with me. I feel, I’ve always had a deeper sense of connect with women when it comes to matters of compassion or sensitivity. And somewhere, women are more sensitive. It’s an honour. I’m just blessed that some of the finest directors are working with me.

The roles and genres you have attempted till date and even the ones you’re doing now, are all really different from each other. One hasn’t been able to box you...
That’s something I have chased all my life. I have always wanted to be known as someone who can do different things convincingly. I have always been afraid of stereotyping myself. There is a conscious effort to play different but relatable characters. I feel honoured when people think that I can do this as well as that. That’s a challenge as an actor. One gets bored playing one- dimensional characters.

You managed to make people take notice of you even when you did smaller roles in films like Lootera and Half Girlfriend...
As an outsider, there is very little margin for error. When you are someone who has no backing, when you are guiding your own self and when you have no one to fall back on, you can’t make a mistake. That fear of failure has always kept me on my toes. I know I’m an outsider. If two of my films don’t work, nobody will put money on the third. So, there is that fear of failure and I won’t deny that. As for people taking notice of my work, I can just be thankful they did that (smiles).