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00:00Vikranth, have you graduated this movie with flying colors?
00:07Have you become a better actor with Vidhu Vinod Chopra?
00:10I hear he is a director that everybody wants to perhaps work with.
00:15Yes.
00:17I think so.
00:18I mean, the reviews say so.
00:21And the audience response has been phenomenal, unprecedented, to be very, very honest.
00:27And you're not just a better actor after working with VVC, sir.
00:31I think you are a better person by the end of it.
00:35And I have definitely, after two and a half years of my life on 12th field with VVC, sir,
00:42I have definitely worked out a better actor, a better person, and far more skilled.
00:47Far more skilled, is it?
00:49Why do you say a better person?
00:51Because you don't go into a movie set hoping to be a better person.
00:56But why a better person?
00:59Because of the proximity that I had with him on a personal basis today.
01:05And the kind of conversations we've had, the kind of moments that we've had together, the
01:12kind of relationship that we've built together, and the kind of knowledge that he's imparted
01:18me with, they have definitely equipped me, not just in front of the camera, but behind
01:24the camera and to face life, I would say.
01:27A man of great stature, we all know, a man of great wisdom, a man with an incredible
01:34worldview, and most importantly, a man who wears his heart on his sleeve.
01:39And very seldom do you come across people, especially when you're an actor, who are what
01:45they are, irrespective of what you are.
01:48You definitely do not want people being nice in front of you.
01:52None of us want such people in our lives.
01:55Who are very nice in front of you and abuse you behind your back.
01:59Okay.
02:00With VVC sir, it is the opposite.
02:03If he loves you, if he cares for you, he will tell you bluntly on your face and I would
02:08definitely cherish someone like him.
02:09I do.
02:11And I'm glad to have this addition in my life.
02:14That's great, Vikat.
02:15And also another thing, I think he's very blunt, like you said, I think he says it as
02:18it is.
02:19Like if you give a shot, that's perhaps questionable or not to his liking.
02:24I think he would call you out on it and perhaps ask you to, he wouldn't mollycoddle you, right?
02:31He does not exist in VVC sir's life.
02:34Mollycoddling, that is not what he is.
02:36He just doesn't depend on.
02:39And another reason why I would say I've worked out a better person is, and I don't know if
02:44he will appreciate me saying this or no, I think I might be reprimanded for this.
02:48But he has supported hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of families beyond his purview
02:58of work.
03:00I have seen that personally.
03:02I have seen it.
03:05Are you referring to the actual real life individuals who are on the sets for this movie
03:10or in general, he's just a great guy?
03:14He crosses his path whenever in need, Vidhu Vinod Chopra will definitely stand right beside
03:21him.
03:22Okay.
03:23He'll step opposite.
03:24Beyond his purview of work, I would say, because chalo aap jin ke saath kaam karte hain, ek
03:29rishta ban jata hai.
03:31There are hundreds of strangers that knock on his door and he does whatever he can in
03:36his capacity.
03:37I think he might not like me saying this thing, but people should know.
03:41He's someone who helps people beyond what he's asked to do.
03:49But even the character, I think he has helped you the most, I feel.
03:53I mean, this character must not have been easy to play, right?
03:56There's a sense of desperation in you, a vulnerability in you.
03:58When I saw the trailer, I haven't seen the full movie.
04:02So was that, in your own way, I think perhaps this was a tough role for you as well, right?
04:09I see that desperation, that when you lose your money, I think you get robbed of your
04:14money in the initial bit, I could see that.
04:17That kind of helplessness, I thought that was a tough one.
04:21Was that a tough character to then play?
04:25Being the most challenging character I've played till date, I've been very fortunate
04:31that I've had similar opportunities before, whether it was a shoot-to from A Death in
04:38the Ganj, or whether it was Rishu in Haseen Dilruba, or whether it was two Pandit in
04:42Mirzapur, or Aditya Srivastav in Criminal Justice, or Amitabh Bach.
04:52But here I think I was completely pushed against the wall for the better of the film.
05:01And my own skill set, as I've said, I haven't been challenged, I haven't been squeezed or
05:07juiced as much as I've been by Vinod sir.
05:10Nobody has done that.
05:11And also, I'll tell you one more thing that probably aided me sail through these challenging
05:18moments while filming is, the character that I play has a lot of me in it as well.
05:29I probably took up this part because it resonates with me and my own journey in life.
05:35But Vinod sir has had a similar journey, probably worse, because his times were different.
05:40He's been making films for 45 years, I was not even born.
05:44For a small young boy who had dreams in his eyes to make movies, and that is the only
05:50thing that he always wanted to do, I'll share a small anecdote with you.
05:54In Srinagar where he was born, there was only one theatre when he was a kid.
06:01And he had identified his love for cinema.
06:05So he would go to that theatre, and he would request the theatre owner to allow him to
06:10watch the film for free.
06:14Because he was so desperate to watch cinema, he had no money in his pocket.
06:18And the film owner would allow this young little boy to sit in his theatre, watch every
06:24film that releases for free.
06:26And that very cinema hall last week had the Vidhu Vinod Chopra Film Festival.
06:31Oh, that's brilliant.
06:33That's such a heartwarming, yeah.
06:35That's good.
06:36That's life coming full circle.
06:37Oh, that must have been a touching moment.
06:43So was that in your case as well?
06:46Do you resonate with that story that even you, you came up the hard way, there was hardly
06:50anybody holding your hand and telling you what to do.
06:53You were not like shepherded into the industry, were you?
06:58Yeah, definitely not shepherded, nor guided, nor supported.
07:04But I think I wouldn't have it any other way either.
07:08I am absolutely sure of this thing, because I wouldn't have been the person that I am
07:15had I not faced those things, those rejections, those preconceived notions about me as a
07:23person, about TV actors, about Hero Ka Dost.
07:27I'm really glad.
07:28I'm really glad it happened.
07:29I cherish those moments, in fact.
07:32Right.
07:33It's like two souls coming together.
07:34I think you guys had a lot of common ground, saying that we were the underdogs that triumphed.
07:40I call him my soulmate.
07:42He is my soulmate.
07:43That's lovely.
07:44Yeah.
07:45We got the best out of each other.
07:50You bring out the best in each other.
07:52It's good to hear, you know, between a director and an actor.
07:55The movie begins with a very sobering statistic, Vikrant, which says only like 30 make it out
08:00of the 2 lakh students.
08:02It is for representation purposes only.
08:04It is.
08:05Oh, it's not the exact.
08:06Oh, I thought it was an actual statistic and it's true.
08:09I didn't check whether it was.
08:11The statistic is far more depressing.
08:14Oh.
08:15So, currently speaking, I was with a few IAS and IPS officers and in a calendar year,
08:23if there are, say, maybe 7 lakh students appearing for the UPSC exams, only, say, maybe 200 or
08:36150 Hindi speaking students or students with a Hindi medium background make the cut.
08:42Can you believe it?
08:44In a nation that speaks, in a nation where 80% of the people speak Hindi.
08:52That is the disparity.
08:54And this is not the only thing that we aim to bring out to people through this film.
09:01There are many other things which I'm sure you will watch the film.
09:04I hope you watch the film.
09:05No, of course I will, I will.
09:07Come face to face with a lot of daunting things which exist in real life because this film
09:13is based on a true story.
09:16That is true.
09:17And it's also apparently, I mean, I just read the Guardian review, it said that it's a searing
09:20portrait on class and the caste systems as well.
09:24It takes on issues about how meritocracy might one day triumph, etc.
09:29Are you a changed person after this film, like after seeing such, and it's real life
09:34people, right?
09:35The students are real, except for you who plays the actor, the rest are all, the desperation
09:40is real among them, isn't it?
09:42Yeah, they are real students.
09:45All the students that you see in our film are real students.
09:49None of them are actors.
09:50No, is that different though, playing, you know, acting with, I don't know, they're not
09:55even amateurs really, right?
09:56They are who they are.
09:57I mean, it's more like a fly on the wall approach.
10:00I guess it's a filmmaking that some people's technique they use.
10:04But in this case, how did it help you or not help you perhaps?
10:08It was so challenging because the first day I went in, was sitting in the classroom with
10:13these students and I was checking my shots at the monitor and I realized I was just not
10:20feeling right.
10:21I was like, what's off?
10:22What's off?
10:23What's off?
10:24I think everything seems right.
10:26And this is the first day in that classroom.
10:27I'm like, nah, it's just not working, not working, not working.
10:32And after a while I realized it was me that was not working because they were not playing
10:39the part.
10:40They were just themselves.
10:44So I actually there and then started to unlearn things that I was carrying with me as an actor.
10:55And it was very, very challenging for me to unlearn most of the things and be one of them.
11:05And that is the beauty of having authentic people be a part of your film.
11:12You know, they shared such interesting anecdotes about their lives, where they come from, their
11:18backgrounds, their worldviews.
11:24This is an answer to your previous question, which I didn't answer, which is, I definitely
11:29walked out a changed person after this film.
11:34And these very students have a very important role in that.
11:37Right.
11:38Right.
11:39Their tales are also, I think, you know, stories about perseverance.
11:43Like you can't say, you can't quit.
11:46That's what I, that was that, you know, telling sign that you have to be resilient.
11:50If you're in it, you're going to like, you know, like he was comparing it to the game
11:54of snake and ladders.
11:55It just shows resilience.
11:56Right.
11:57It does.
11:58Did that help you Vikrant?
11:59At some point?
12:00Did it put everything into perspective?
12:02Was this movie of the biggest level for you saying that, listen, I can't sit and crib
12:05about perhaps my life.
12:07I am far more privileged.
12:11I have been someone who's pretty much aware of his surroundings.
12:15I have been, or I would want to believe that I've been a realist all my life, but the degree
12:23of that realism or realization has definitely gotten better after this experience.
12:30And as I said, also one of the reasons why I did the film was because it resonated with
12:33me, my own struggles.
12:35I have seen similar days.
12:37So when I was sitting in between takes with those children, it was not an actor sitting
12:42with students or fanboys and sharing his life.
12:46It was all of us coming together from different backgrounds and sharing common anecdotes about
12:51our lives, our joys, our struggles.
12:55And I have lived that life.
12:58I have lived that life and that resilience probably stems from those grounding moments
13:05that I very, very well remember.
13:07And I remind myself from time to time.
13:10That's brilliant.
13:11I'm really looking forward to this film because you have done so well, by the way, I just
13:15have to say, you have to give yourself a pat on the back.
13:17You have mixed things up.
13:18You played the trouble lover who gives an arm and a leg literally for your thing.
13:24And criminal justice, the US and in Death In The Gunj, are you just happy at the way
13:29your career is now going?
13:30Like you're looking at yourself and you're like, you know what?
13:33I've not done so shabbily.
13:35I'm happier today.
13:37Every film takes you a step towards your aspiration, whether it works or it does not work.
13:46And also success is so subjective.
13:48The definition of success is changing from time to time.
13:51And what success to me today is far away from what I thought success was 10 years ago.
14:00So I'm evolving as a person.
14:01I'm learning as I grow as Vikrant or Vikrant the actor, Vikrant the son, the husband, the
14:08friend, I think everything, everything.
14:12These things are so concomitant to each other.
14:13So you're not just sort of growing wiser in one domain.
14:19I've always maintained this thing that acting is just a chunk of my life, a big chunk.
14:25I don't deny that.
14:27But that is not my identity.
14:28So these experiences, whether good or bad, you're privileged to spend two, two and a
14:35half years with someone like Vidhu Vinod Chopra sir, you know, these things, they really enable
14:40you to face life, to see life in a different light.
14:46And in so many ways.
14:47And I'm so glad because, you know, two and a half years is a long time.
14:51Because in Bollywood, they are known for their cinematic wikis, like three months, the movie
14:56is out, it's out of the oven, you know.
14:58And you told me two and a half years, I'm like, that's long, you know, that must have
15:01been painstaking and requires for patience at the end of the day, right?
15:06It's absolutely worthwhile.
15:07You know, there were so many things that were, that were first for me, on Twelfth Fail, like,
15:16for example, Vinod sir's work approach suits mine.
15:23I mean, he involved me.
15:27And this happened to me for the first time in my career.
15:30He was so generous enough to involve me in the scripting process, in the audition process,
15:36in the styling process, in the execution process, in brainstorming beyond the book and script.
15:44And all we did on set was just execute.
15:50And by then, already tried so many permutations and combinations, we definitely knew what
15:55not to do.
15:56And I think that was one definite weapon that we carried with ourselves on this film set.
16:02No, no, it can't be didactic, because this is one subject that is also not very, like,
16:08what do I say?
16:09It's like Oppenheimer.
16:10At the end of the day, how interesting can you make it, you know?
16:14It's nucleus and nobody gets it.
16:16And even in this case, I feel, you know, only people in that struggle would really...
16:19So you can't make it too, like, preachy and make it like a classroom of sorts, you know,
16:25that there's always that fear.
16:26The beauty of this film is, and I'm sure you will feel this when you watch the film, that
16:32it is not just for students.
16:34This film is not just for students.
16:36We haven't made a film student-centric.
16:39We have made a film life-centric.
16:43That is the nucleus of this story.
16:47It's life-centric.
16:48You must have realized, there are a few taglines on our poster while we play the trailer,
16:54Haar Nahi Maanunga.
16:57It's not just for students or UPSC aspirants.
16:59It's for people like you and me.
17:01And it's for that average human, average Indian, average person who's doing a nine-to-five
17:08job as well.
17:11And hashtag Restart is synonymous with all our lives.
17:17You know, it really does not matter how you start.
17:19What matters is how you restart.
17:21And then you can sort of club in that old adage, which says, you know, you're not defined
17:25by the successes that you see, but by the failures that you face.
17:29I know, I know.
17:31It's forever.
17:32Brilliant.
17:33No, no, I really look forward to it.
17:35The reviews have been fantastic.
17:36I was just reading it while you had gone.
17:39So many...
17:40Good for you.
17:41I'm so happy.
17:42And I'm so happy it's releasing in the UAE cinemas, because it's a very unlikely...
17:45You know what I mean?
17:46It's not like got Blockbuster written all over it.
17:49There are no like crazy stunt sequences, people jumping off cliffs, you know, in a bike.
17:54Blockbuster written over it after the audiences have watched the film.
17:58We haven't...
18:03Because the film talks about this, and I can very proudly say, we haven't taken the corrupt
18:06route.
18:07We haven't paid anyone to call us blockbusters without people watching it.
18:10And I think it is the audiences who will go out there and call it a blockbuster themselves.
18:14And that is what is real success for me.
18:18Brilliant.
18:19It's very heartening to hear.
18:20And may you find this success in every film that you do, Vikrant.
18:24Thank you for entertaining us.
18:26It's always a pleasure talking to you.
18:29Always, always.
18:30And I really hope to enjoy.
18:31I'm really looking forward to the movie tonight.
18:32I'll watch the screen.
18:34And friends along, if there is anyone who's...
18:37It is, it has got a U certificate, but on a personal note, I would say anyone who's
18:43beyond 10 years old, like kids below 10, I think it is not for them.
18:49But anyone beyond 10, up until 100, I think you can take them and they will definitely
18:55enjoy the film.
18:56Brilliant.
18:57On that note, thank you so much for entertaining us, Vikrant.
18:59I really look forward to this film.
19:01Lovely.
19:02You take care.
19:04Lovely speaking to you.
19:05Take care.
19:06Bye-bye.
19:07Bye.
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19:35Bye.