Firstpost at Waves 2025: Vikrant Massey says he is very fortunate to work in all possible entertainment platforms: 'I started off twenty one years ago on Doordarshan and today...'

Versatile actor Vikrant Massey, who delivered memorable performances in films like A Death In The Gunj, 12th Fail, The Sabarmati Report, has recently spoken about the digitization of entertainment, Bollywood going beyond Mumbai and how COVID and streaming platforms have given us access to consume international content in a panel at Waves Summit 2025.

“I think I’ve been very, very fortunate to have worked on all possible entertainment platforms. I almost did a decade of television and then, came the advent of digitization. I did quite a lot of short films on YouTube. And then, again with the advent of streaming platforms, I was fortunate to work with most of them. But I think I think a lot has changed now. The way we tell stories today and the way they are also consumed today by the audiences. I started off 21 years ago on Doordarshan, and today the consumption patterns have changed. The way we tell stories have changed, and I think it is a process which will keep evolving as we move forward. Of course, television was a door-to-door medium, and then you had the cinema experience, which an average layman would save money once a month, take his family out, to the big screen. It used to be an experience. And today, all of us, most of us, and correct me if I’m wrong, are consuming entertainment on our mobile phones. One thing that has remained constant is our appetite for entertainment. There are many different formats. There are many different now you have audiobooks coming in. You have shorter formats coming in. There is there is so much available today for all of us. Also, at the same time, it’s almost like a double-edged sword that there is also a problem of plenty. But it’s there because people are consuming it. And a lot has changed,” said Massey

Citing the example of his staff, who now consumes international content, Vikrand said, “I think I’ll share a very small example with you. Most of my staff, they come from very humble socioeconomic backgrounds. So ten years ago, it was impossible for me to fathom that go Avengers k_e bara mein kuch pata hoga_. But today, I know it for a fact that most of my staff has actually seen Avengers and most of the Hollywood films dubbed in their local language, and they are able to sort of enjoy that form of entertainment. So what that does for an actor like me now is to sit back and understand that I really need to pull my socks up as an actor. Because today, a guy from Seetha Mani, Bihar or a guy from Kathmandu, Nepal is actually watching global cinema inside a small room on his phone with his headphones plugged on.

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So in the last twenty one years, so much has changed. But one great thing, lastly, I would want to say is that all of us have adopted and adapted. We need to continue doing that because today at Waves, we see the world is smaller. We have representatives from more than 90 countries here under the same roof. It’s such an impeccable opportunity for all of us to connect and expand.

And it is only going to grow from time to time. So, as I said, yes, our appetite for entertainment remains to be that one constant, but we also need to adapt with different formats coming in, different forms of storytelling coming in. So from where I see it, a lot has changed, but, a lot more is yet to change. So we need to adopt and adapt with moving times.”

The actor also spoke of how the journey of cinema has changed and people are now inclined towards watching small town stories. “Cinema a few years ago used to be an experience for real life. To see, you know, machismo, larger than life. One person beating 20 goons, we’ve grown up watching it. We still watch it. But a large chunk of it also goes to our own exposure to international cinema and a certain sense of pragmatism even in storytelling. With smaller towns, with a common man becoming the hero in case 12th Fail or from where I see it, there was an Ayushmann Khurrana film called Dum Laga Ke Haisha. I think it all began from there,” the Lootera actor said.

“When there was not so much commercial success, but also today, what I feel also is what was altered, say, maybe fifteen years ago is mainstream today. I can never imagine a film like 12th Fail, or I can never imagine a film like Dum Laga Ke Haisha, or Trapped for that matter of fact, which Vikramaditya Motwane to be commercially successful. So, a lot of factors come into play firstly, because I think relatability. An average man when I’ll just stick to 12th Fail and I’ll quickly sum it up,” he added.

Sharing how _12th Fail_ has struck a chord with the audience, he said, “Most of the people I’m also meeting here, they are actually saying thank you for 12th Fail because that’s our story. So when people say when they see themselves or someone they know of, their brother, their sister when they see someone alike on the screen, triumphing. There is a sense of hope which is still alive.”

Revealing the reason for moving to smaller towns, Vikrant went on to add, “Why are most of us moving to smaller towns is also because of subsidies. Very straightforward answer is this. Any state government which gives us good subsidies and infrastructure, we go there. And you to UP (Uttar Pradesh) there is a single window there, where you can turn around in two weeks and take your film there. Earlier it was only Mumbai, which had industry but now it is also in Delhi. And also because people want to see those stories. Those stories which were unheard of.  Yesterday, Modiji (PM Narendra Modi) said this so beautifully that in a nation of hundred and 40 crores, we have more than a hundred crore stories. And we are tapping into those smaller stories, bigger stories, larger than life stories, and I think it’s just beginning. Regional cinema for that matter of fact. Thanks to COVID and these streaming platforms that a lot of these regional films or short stories have actually become accessible to us.”

The actor also spoke about the digital era and shared, “For example, if there is a movie on Netflix for that matter of fact. The moment my film is released on Netflix, even if it comes after theaters or whenever it goes live, it is catering to more than 96 to 100 countries at one point. And we are doing the same. You spoke of a Parasite. So the moment I go and I click on that option, I have more than 10 to 12 language options there. And lastly, what YouTube is also doing to a young person from A, B town or a c town city is it is it is also giving them money. They’re getting paid for it. They are able to sort of not just sit in one room and dream about doing certain things. Today, with a selfie light and a single phone, you can actually reach the world. So, and as you said so rightly said, you know, lastly, I’ll just quote you, like, if because of digitization and access, if you’re able to sell or presale your phone for a Rs 120 crores, you’ve made a large chunk of your production budget, and hence, you can actually go out there and make more movies. And all these platforms, whether it is cinema, whether it is satellite, whether it is music, or even the digital platforms, they are all working in tandem with each other.”

“Here a lot of young minds seeking, yeah, you know, you but they are all working together towards the same goal, which is to entertain you, to reach to you either through a cinema screen or your mobile phone. So that is what I just wanted to sort of put it in the layman’s term to the audiences,” he said.