Want to entertain people and challenge myself now: Vikrant Massey

PTI, Jul 12, 2021, 6:01 PM IST

Actor Vikrant Massey says he has reached a stage in his career where he now wants to choose scripts, which appeal to the audience and also provide him opportunity to play complex characters.

Massey is on an all-time career high with all his recent projects– web series ”Mirzapur”, Netflix’s film ”Dolly Kitty Ke Chamakte Sitare” and the latest Taapsee Pannu-starrer ”Haseen Dillruba”– earning him acclaim.

The actor, who will now be seen in ZEE5’s upcoming romantic comedy ”14 Phere”, said he looks for the combination of a good script and rich character before signing a film. ”My biggest criteria to choose a film is the script. If, alongwith a beautiful script, I also get something complex, something challenging as an actor… if I can entertain and at the same time challenge myself, thats the most important thing for me right now,” Massey told reporters.

The 34-year-old was speaking at the virtual trailer launch of ”14 Phere”.

Co-starring Kriti Kharbanda, ”14 Phere” is about two lovers, Sanjay and Aditi, who lie to their parents about each other’s families to get them to say yes for their marriage. The film has been directed by Devanshu Kumar, of ”Chintu Ka Birthday” fame and written by Manoj Kalwani.

Massey said his role in ”14 Phere” is a huge departure from ”Haseen Dillruba”, where he played the character of Rishabh Saxena, a young man who grapples with insecurities and complexities of love.

”Playing Rishu was extremely tough, this character was easier. I definitely identify a lot more with Sanju, who has middle class values. But Rishu was emotionally and physically taxing.” Kharbanda said that even though the title suggests that the film will be about weddings, it’s actually a love story.

”’14 Phere’ is not about weddings. It is the journey and love story of Sanju and Aditi. I was looking for a love story for so long that had purity in it. Nothing’s perfect between the two, they fight, argue, there’s love. ”But these two characters can’t leave each other. I was looking for this purity in a script, which I found in ’14 Phere,”’ she said.

Kharbanda quipped that the film continues her trend of chronicling stories about weddings on screen, referring to her projects like Rajkummar Rao-starrer ”Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana” (2017) and ”Veerey Ki Wedding” (2018).

”I have become Bollywood’s bride but now I’m running out of looks,” she added. Also starring Gauahar Khan and Jameel Khan, ”14 Phere” will release on ZEE5 on July 23.