Vikrant Massey recalls being shouted at by a director, says he felt humiliated

Vikrant Massey’s journey as an actor started quite early and it was not out of choice. He was a 16-year-old, working as a barista at a Mumbai restaurant, trying to pay for his education when a TV producer spotted him and offered him the lead role in a show. The actor, who pulled 16-hour days as he juggled two jobs besides studies, jumped at the offer. The show was never telecast at the time, but Vikrant, the actor, was born.

“I always wanted to be an actor, but obviously no 16-year-old wants to be an actor. I thought I’ll finish my graduation and then I will go to NSD or FTII and then maybe, when I am 24-25, I’ll act professionally,” Vikrant recalled about his journey in an interview to ‘Republic’.

Massey said he was raw and untrained when he faced the camera, simply attracted by the promise of the fee that could help him pay for education. “I still remember the date, it was December 19, 2024. Before that, I was working as a barista. I did that job because I had to support my own education. I am not going to get into that sob story or my struggle. I used to also work as an assistant instructor in Shiamak Davar’s troupe and at a restaurant in Mumbai,” he recalled.

However, his experience of facing the camera wasn’t memorable. “It was at a studio on Madh Island where I now reside. I was 16 and faced the camera for the first time. I was horrible at what I was doing and the director was a very experienced film director at that time. Earlier, people would get film directors to set up their show because they would have more money at the beginning. I was so bad. I remember very, very clearly my director yelled at me and I started crying. I was so naive. I was mouthing my lines and he wasn’t happy with the way I was doing it, of course. He lost his patience and yelled at me on the mic. He got personal. He said a few things… I remember breaking down. I started crying because I felt so humiliated,” Vikrant said.

The producer of the show, who had offered him the role, tried to calm down the teenager. “The producer of the show came to me and I just said one thing to her, ‘Yaar sabke samne aisa kyu bola?’ And that was it. I took it on the chin. That’s always been my nature - I am always willing to learn and always wanting to sort of unlearn as well at the same time. And I’m glad that experience happened.”

Massey said the filmmaker later came and apologised to him. “He was generous enough. That evening, he came up to me and he said, ‘I’m really sorry and I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way’. But that one moment, the first day of shoot, you’re yelled at in front of 100 people… I tend to forgive, but I don’t forget.”

He, however, said he doesn’t hold it against the director. “The experience wasn’t severe enough for me to sort of want a payback for it. There have been certain experiences that I have held very close to my heart, especially with many casting directors when I was breaking through from television to movies. And unfortunately, there was this preconceived notion about television actors not being good at what they do - that they’re not good actors. And there was this disparity between film actors and TV actors. So, there were a few people, like producers and casting directors, who very openly told me that you know that you’re a TV actor and we’ll never work with you because you’re a TV actor.”