He is one of the best emerging voices in the current crop of actors and Vikrant Massey says with popularity there is a new sense of purpose - he wants to remove the "curtain of pretence" from the characters he plays.
The actor believes every person possesses a gene of "fabrication" in them but he wants his characters to be "pure".
"Those who talk to themselves are the truest actors. There is a fabrication in us. I want my characters to be wholesome and who are made out of life's experiences so that the audience can see themselves in them.
"These are the people who say that the character on stage is me and I want to remove the curtain of pretence from everyone's life. I want to remove the curtain of pretence from all of my characters," Vikrant told PTI in an interview.
The actor, who started working in early 2000s, has build an impressive filmography traversing television, films and the web.
His portrayal of a sensitive, progressive Shyam in hit TV show "Balika Vadhu", the voice of reason as Devdas to Ranveer Singh in "Lootera", Shutu, the quiet, broken soul in "A Death in the Gunj" and the reluctant gangster Bablu in Amazon Prime Video series "Mirzapur" have all been stellar performances.
Vikrant agrees he has played a string of "emotionally-invested characters" and believes he has grown a lot in these years as a performer.
"We generally pretend to be something to survive in a society. So the characters I play, I want them to be wholesome characters. They are not necessarily the most wise people, but they do have a heart and soul.
"As an actor, it's important to feel for the character as you will be watched by audience and when you start feeling your character you share a sense of happiness and achievement," said the actor, who was last seen in another Amazon web series, "Made in Heaven".
Vikrant's next major role is in the upcoming Hotstar Special "Criminal Justice" where he plays Aditya, a taxi driver who is accused in a murder case.
The show is the Indian adaption of the hit BBC produced series of the same name, which was later adapted into the Emmy Award-winning HBO show "The Night Of".
He said the series attempts to explore the basic idea of the judicial system in India.
"There are so many parallels that one can draw from the judicial system in America or Britain. Unfortunately, the judicial system in both the countries shares the same theory."
Vikrant says he is aware that reimagining a critically-acclaimed show like "Criminal Justice" is walking a tightrope.
The actor, however, says as there is no formula to a role and the maximum one can do is to stay true to the job at hand.
"If you feel that if you kick someone or give a look at the camera so people will applaud you, it does not really happen.
"In an auditorium, there can be 500 people who would not be able to make out what you are doing. People make their own perspectives so it's important to stay true to your character and story," he says.
Vikrant has a slew of projects lined up - Seema Pahwa's directorial debut "Pind Daan"; "Cargo" produced by Anurag Kashyap and Shloka Sharma and Alankrita Shrivastava's next "Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare". He is currently shooting for Meghna Gulzar's "Chhapaak" in the capital with Deepika Padukone.
Also starring Jackie Shroff, Pankaj Tripathi and Mita Vashishth, "Criminal Justice" starts streaming Friday.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)