12th Fail Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra Wasn't Convinced Vikrant Massey Could Play Teen: Why Should I Make... | Exclusive

Vikrant

Massey accepted his first National Film Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in 12th Fail. The biopic on IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma also won Best Feature Film at the 71st National Film Awards; he and filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra picked up their honours from President Draupadi Murmu in New Delhi on September 23. In an exclusive conversation with Times Now Group Editor-in-Chief Navika Kumar, Vikrant recalled how he even landed the role in the Hindi film. It was all thanks to a short film he did that caught the notice of Rajkumar Hirani, who recommended him to the Mission Kashmir filmmaker.

Vikrant Massey on catching Rajkumar Hirani's eye

Speaking with Navika Kumar, the actor revealed how 12th Fail came to be: "I had done this short film with a friend of mine who was Rajkumar Hirani ji's assistant on 3 Idiots. Raju sir had seen some other work as well, but he'd seen that short film that his assistant had made. He reached out to me for the first time, saying 'I saw your short film and I really like your work.' He recommended my name to Vinod sir when he got to know that Sir is making a film like 12th Fail. I met Vinod sir, and Vinod Sir being Vinod sir, said 'How will you look 19?'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGB1o8LccVI

Vikrant continued, "I was 34 then. I generally don't shave. I have my beard, and I had longish hair that time. He said, 'Why should I make a film with you? You are a TV actor, why will people come to theatres to see your film? That's how our relationship began."ALSO READ: Vikrant Massey Shares Anecdotes From 'Bollywood Detox' Era, Talks About How Life Changed After Success | ExclusiveCalling the award-winning director "blunt" and "straightforward", Vikrant added, "He also possesses this childlike quality in him. He's very honest. It could seem brash to some people sometimes, but I think I hit it off with him immediately because I saw a mentor in him that time." Vikrant read through the script and enacted the opening scene when he was curled up in a fetal position writing on chits of paper. That's when the filmmaker exclaimed, "I think I've found my Manoj." The rest as they say is history.