Vikrant Massey On Broken But Beautiful

If  you’ve been watching the live streaming of the web series Mirzapur you can’t miss the very talented Vikrant Massey’s  knock-out performance as a trigger-happy but  quiet character who makes his  presence  felt through his silences.

Vikrant is that kind of rare actor who can make an impact without dialogue. He has a lot of silences to savour in his  next   web series Broken But Beautiful  which streams  from November  27.

Vikrant couldn’t be in a happier place. “Even as  Mirzapur streams in 202 countries across the world my new web series comes along .In Broken But Beautiful  I play a completely contrasting character.”

Vikrant  plays a character in the city dealing with heartbreak and loss.  He has seldom been seen playing an urban character.

Says Vikrant, “I never  though of this. But you are right.I’ve hardly ever played urban characters. I am proud to have  played so many non-urban characters because I feel the heart of real India beats  in the non-urban areas.If I  have captured the heartbeat  of  the heartland in my performances  I’ve succeeded in doing what I set out to do.”

Though an  urban  character  in Broken But Beautiful  Vikrant still plays an eminently relatable  character. “My character  is  from the city. But his  isolation, his anguish , his confrontation of his loss and coming to terms with it, are a process that we all go through at some  point in our lives. Broken But Beautiful  is  about that one person we all cherish in  our hearts  above anyone else and whom we  think about when we’ve no one  else for  company.”

So is this like  a season of guns and roses  for Vikrant? “You can say that for sure. While  Mirzapur is a homage to small-town violence Broken But Beautiful is  about two broken people played by me  and  Harleen Sethi finding one another. It  is  the  most romantic work I’ve done.  I want to thank (producer) Ekta Kapoor for trusting me with this.”

Vikrant feels this  is a good time for  quality work  in the Indian entertainment industry.  “The MeToo movement  has made everyone more professional. The trashy aspects  of  filmmaking  are now eliminated.There  is  certainly fear and caution among those men who think they can get away with  any behaviour. At the same time we have to be careful about not overdoing the enthusiasm of the  MeToo movement. Whether this campaign is sustained remains  to be seen.Nirbhaya’s rape  brought radical changes in the Indian mindset. Whether the MeToo movement results  in  actual changes remains  to be seen.And why just the entertainment  industry? The Movement and  its ramificatioins must be felt all across in every sphere of Indian  life.”

Vikrant feels Indian cinema is in a transitional phase. “While the webseries  has given actors and directors unlimited freedom I feel the experience of viewing a  film cannot be replicated at home.At the same time the reach of live streaming is  tremendous. Even today , almost two years after the release of  A Death In The Gunj, at least 30-40 people tell me every week how  much they liked the  film and my work. There is unlimited scope for  a  film to expand and grow on the internet.”