Vikrant Massey on winning Best Actor National Film Award: A 20-year-old boy’s dream has come true

Vikrant Massey won his first National Film Award on Friday. Massey, who won hearts with his performance in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail in 2023, was named the Best Actor on Friday as the 71st National Film Awards were announced on Friday. The actor jointly won the Best Actor award with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan whose performance in Jawan won over the audience as well as the critics.

Reacting to the news of his win, Vikrant Massey shared a statement with the press and said a dream that he dreamt as a 20-year-old has now come true.

“I want to thank the Honourable Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the NFDC, and all the esteemed jury members of the 71st National Film Awards for considering my performance worthy of this recognition. I also want to thank Shri Vidhu Vinod Chopra ji for giving me this opportunity.

Today, if I may say so, a 20-year-old boy’s dream has come true. I am eternally grateful to the audiences for honouring my performances and for recommending this film with such love.

It is a privilege to be sharing my first National Award with an icon like Shah Rukh Khan.

Lastly, I dedicate this award to all the marginalised people in our society — those who are often looked through, and those who are fighting the socio-economic paradigm of our country every single day,” Vikrant stated.

About 12th Fail the film

Massey played the IPS aspirant Manoj Kumar, who fights against poverty and circumstances and cracks the UPSC exam. Based on IPS officer Manoj Sharma's life, 12th Fail was a small-budget film that created a huge impact and became a box office hit. On Friday, the film was also named the Best Film of 2023.