Vikrant Massey in '12th Fail'
Credit: DH Photo
Mumbai: Actor Vikrant Massey believes his latest Sector 36 is a film that will always remain important to people due to the persistent and pervasive nature of crimes against women and children.
Based on true events, the crime thriller is directed by Aditya Nimbalkar and features Massey as a serial killer who targets children.
"This film is not just important right now. Unfortunately, it will be important at any point in time. I say this with a very heavy heart because of the world that we live in. If I can very briefly tell you about crimes against women and children, these are very pertinent issues that we are dealing with day in and day out," Massey told PTI in an interview.
His comments come against the backdrop of two cases that have shaken the nation -- the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata, as well as the alleged sexual assault of two four-year-old girls at a school in Badlapur, Maharashtra.
Massey said though India has made great strides in other fields, there are still a lot of things that people of the country "need to work on collectively".
"We have reached the moon, we are one of the largest democracies. We are everywhere and an emerging superpower... As much as we want to entertain, we also want to sort of leave you with a thought, ‘Is this really the world that we want to live in? Is this the direction that we need to head into?'” the actor said.
As a father, Massey said that issues related to the safety of women and children remain as frightening as they were a decade ago “It scares me all the more today when I am a parent. But it would scare me even way back in 2010 when I was not married... Such is the travesty of our times that unfortunately, things remain the same,” he added.
"Sector 36" follows Inspector Ram Charan Pandey (Deepak Dobriyal), father to a young daughter and doting husband, who chases after a serial killer despite warnings to desist.
"With the lives of missing children in the balance, he hunts the enigmatic yet beguiling Prem Singh (Massey), hiding in plain sight," read the official plotline.
To prepare for the role, the 12th Fail actor said he studied serial killer documentaries and books like Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer to understand the character’s mindset. "The larger idea remains the same whether it is a serial offender or a killer, they look just like you and me. But what separates them from a so-called average person or a normal person is what lies within them. The way they process things, see things or their worldview at large.
"Nonchalance was something which was very important for me to portray this character. We wanted to keep it very simple... So that's the ease with which you see me operate,” Massey said.
The actor said he is not looking for praise for his performance as he wants viewers to focus on the issue the film is trying to highlight, saying, "I hope people love the film at large. I definitely do not want to outshine the larger idea. I'm just a small part of this larger puzzle which is the story. And I hope that people resonate with the story much more than my character. If they end up doing that, I will consider that as my victory."
"This particular part is not the one wherein I want people to empathise with me or get inspired by me. I definitely want people to enjoy my character and like my work,” he added.
At the same time, Massey said the film does not seek to glorify such criminals but rather to explore their psychology.
"I definitely don't want to be the Joker in this Batman film. I want people to listen to our Batman, who is Deepak Dobrial," he said.
"There was a very conscious effort, we definitely don't want to glorify a serial killer. But we definitely present certain aspects of a serial killer which you might have not seen in a movie. We don't do that for you to glorify him. We do that for you to identify with him a little more. I see a huge difference between identification and glorification." Sector 36 is produced by Dinesh Vijan’s Maddock Films. The film is slated to release on Netflix on September 13.