A rags-to-riches storyline is always appreciated, especially in a competitive field such as entertainment. Starting in small, supporting roles in the beginning, Vikrant Massey has slowly climbed his way up from starring in television shows to being seen on big screens across the country in Bollywood—one of the largest film industries in India, which is primarily catered towards the Hindi-speaking audience. The lines between film industries are becoming blurrier with recent trends towards OTT platforms and a more competent dubbing industry.
Born to Jolly and Meena Massey on 3 April 1987, Vikrant Massey enjoyed a middle-class life in Mumbai. He had been interested in the entertainment industry since he was a child and had given various performances before eventually venturing into the television industry in his debut show, Dhoom Machaao Dhoom, which aired on Disney Channel India. His big break in a lead role came about in 2017, starring in Konkona Sen Sharma’s directorial A Death in the Gunj, for which he received critical acclaim. His seminal performance, which catapulted him to stardom, was in the biopic of Manoj Kumar Sharma, where he played the same, making the movie 12th Fail a huge success in 2023.
Vikrant Massey is a symbol of persistence and commitment—someone who climbed his way up to the top and so on instead of being handed the reins.
Big Budget Movies
Indian cinema has seen a massive number of big-budget projects, starting from the last decade and so on. From the Baahubali duology to RRR and Pushpa, regardless of the box office, the push seems to be towards seeing larger-than-life scenes on the big screen. This has massively increased the scale of Indian cinema, letting it be noticed by global audiences, while a secondary reason for this could be the increase in ticket prices, which has made audiences more selective in what type of movies they would spend money on in the theater for.
Ramayana, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, which is slated to be released in 2026 with two parts, is perhaps the most ambitious out of any of the projects noted above. The total budget of the movie is said to be around 1600 crores (approx. 185 million USD), making it one of the most expensive cinematic projects in the world, let alone Indian cinema. This would mean that movie would have to be a cultural landmark in order to even survive the chance of breaking even if one were to remove the prospect of profit from the equation.
Based on the epic by Valmiki, the story will follow the mythological story of Rama, Sita, and Lakshman as they navigate life and eventually defeat Ravana in order to retrieve Sita. The movie has big shoes to fill, as the tale is beloved in many Indian households and has had multiple iterations in the form of television shows, regional poetry, retellings, stage shows, and the faithful Japanese adaptation released in 1993 as part of an Indian-Japanese collaborative effort. Overall, the movie has to strive to capture the hearts of the people, which could prove to be difficult despite the star-studded cast that includes famous actors like Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi, with supporting and antagonistic roles being filled with people of the same caliber and fame.
Therefore, Ramayana as a project could make or break the landscape of Indian cinema depending on how the movie would perform. If it is to be a hit, the entertainment industry could see a flurry of films capitalizing on mythology with huge budgets, and if it is to be a loss, it could mean the doom of risky filmmaking as producers and studios would try to play everything safe and boring to avoid the loss of any funds.
His New Role
According to reports online, Vikrant Massey has been cast for an important role in the big-budget movie, which could increase his future prospects and visibility among the casual Indian audience, who may not be following his line of work as they do for the well-established stars, and perhaps even gain new fans outside of Bollywood, as Ramayana is intended to be a project that would attract audiences from every part of India, as the mythology is interwoven into the culture of every Indian household due to the popularization of regional retellings and versions. In fact, it could even lead Massey to be noticed by international audiences, as the Ramayana is extremely popular in nations like Indonesia and Thailand, forming a huge part of their cultural zeitgeist.
Massey is to play a son of Ravana named Indrajit, or Meghanada, a role that is negative in nature, as the character in the epic is known for his strength and prowess in fighting, having defeated a huge chunk of Rama’s army before being defeated by Lakshmana. Though it is a role antagonistic in nature, it is a huge opportunity for Massey to show off his acting chops and his skill in making the character believable on the big screen—a feat that is hard because many people have their own version of the Ramayana in their head to guide them through the anticipated movie.
In short, the movie could be a huge career booster for an outsider to the industry like Vikrant Massey, who is not new to the entertainment game. Ramayana (2026-27) is a story familiar to many Indians, and the movie might be subject to extreme scrutiny, especially due to past failures of the film industry to capture the spirit and essence of the epic and its story. The first installment will release on Diwali in 2026, making it the perfect time for a movie about the beloved epic by Valmiki.