Vikrant Massey makes hard work look tiring, a useful gift in films that want to encourage us. His restraint gives 12th Fail much of its feeling, and we value the strain he lets show through the determination.
Fi1m perspective
In 12th Fail (2023), Vikrant Massey makes Manoj Kumar Sharma's pursuit of the civil service examinations look exhausting. His determination never quite settles into confidence, and we have room to worry about him. We were moved by the effort to keep studying because Massey lets the strain register even when the writing is busy assuring us that persistence will pay. It is a good performance in a worthwhile, overlong film, and a useful place to begin with this actor.
Film work followed television, with Lootera (2013) and Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) preceding his first lead in A Death in the Gunj (2017). Konkona Sen Sharma's film gave him scope for the vulnerability that remains central to his appeal. The inwardness of his performance there is an early example of what he does well. Mirzapur (2018) and Haseen Dillruba (2021) took him into crime and thriller work before 12th Fail became a major breakthrough.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra gets something valuable from him by taking Manoj's ambition seriously: passing an examination is allowed to matter. Cinematographer Rangarajan Rambadran gives the performance room to register, making the film's encouragement easier to accept. Shantanu Moitra's music sometimes presses the hopeful feeling after Massey has already supplied it. That excess is also in Chopra's repeated lessons about perseverance, which need firmer editing. We would gladly accept less encouragement and a little more uncertainty about how Manoj will manage.
There is a risk of casting him too often as a decent man whose suffering is there to improve us. His usefulness in 12th Fail is that Manoj remains someone we worry about, even while the script asks him to teach a lesson. The antagonist role in Sector 36 (2024) suggests there need be no shortage of less reassuring assignments. What we would look for next is writing that allows him to struggle without constantly telling us what we should learn from it. For an introduction, choose 12th Fail and forgive the extra lectures.
Biography
Vikrant Massey is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films and television. Born on 3 April 1987 in Mumbai, he began his career in television with roles in series such as Dhoom Machaao Dhoom (2007), Dharam Veer (2008) and Balika Vadhu (2009–10). He later took lead parts in Baba Aiso Varr Dhoondo (2010–12) and Qubool Hai (2013).
Massey made his film debut in Lootera (2013) and appeared in Dil Dhadakne Do (2015). He received acclaim for his performances in A Death in the Gunj (2016), Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017), Haseen Dillruba (2021) and the series Mirzapur (2018). In 2023 he starred as Manoj Kumar Sharma in 12th Fail, directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, for which he won the National Film Award for Best Actor and a Filmfare Award.
