Vikrant Massey On Prepping For 12th Fail: "Lost Weight, Burnt My Skin"

"I spent almost a year and a half preparing for the film," said Vikrant

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."