After the release of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 12th Fail, Vikrant Massey, who portrayed the real-life IPS Manoj Kumar Sharma, has garnered immense praise for his performance. In a recent interview with Unfiltered by Samdish Viran, Vikrant candidly shared the story of how his brother decided to change his religion and convert to Islam. The actor said, “My brother's name is Moeen, I am called Vikrant. You would wonder why the name Moeen. He converted to Islam, and my family let him change his religion. They said, ‘Beta, if you find satisfaction in this, go ahead.'” Vikrant added, “He converted at the age of 17, it is a big step. My mother is Sikhni, my father is a Church-going Christian, he goes to church twice a week. From a young age, I have seen a lot of arguments related to religion and spirituality.”
Vikrant Massey also spoke about how his relatives reacted to the news. He said, “My father was questioned by my extended relatives about how he could ‘allow' that [brother's conversion]. He said that was none of their business. ‘He is my son, he is only answerable to me and has all the rights to choose what he wants.' After seeing this, I went on my own quest, wondering what exactly is religion. It is man-made.”
In the same interview, Vikrant Massey also opened up about how he dropped a successful TV career to try his luck in Bollywood. He shared, “I earned a lot on TV. I bought my first house at the age of 24. But all that regressive content on TV was happening simultaneously and I felt like coming out of the world and trying my luck in cinema. I realised that though I became secure financially, it didn't help me sleep well. I had this realisation when I fulfilled all my financial responsibilities towards my parents and others.”
“My parents were in shock when I told them I am going to restart over in films. I was making a lot of money. At the age of 24, I was earning ₹ 35 lakh per month, especially for someone who comes from a middle-class background. I quit TV at the time when I had a ₹ 35 lakh per month contract in my hand. I decided to do good work and find peace,” Vikrant Massey added.
Vikrant Massey won the Critics Award for Best Actor at the 69th Filmfare Awards for his performance in 12th Fail.
