Vikrant Massey (born 3 April 1987) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films and streaming series. He started out on television, including in the popular series Balika Vadhu, and moved into films with Lootera (2013). He became known for grounded, everyday characters in films such as A Death in the Gunj, Chhapaak and Haseen Dillruba, and in the series Mirzapur. His role in 12th Fail (2023) won him the National Film Award for Best Actor in 2025, which he shared with Shah Rukh Khan.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Vikrant Massey |
| Born | 3 April 1987, Bombay (now Mumbai), India |
| Age | 39 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Spouse | Sheetal Thakur (m. 2022) |
| Children | 1 (Vardaan, born 2024) |
| Known for | Balika Vadhu, A Death in the Gunj, Mirzapur, Chhapaak, 12th Fail |
Early Life
Massey was born in Bombay into a middle-class family with roots in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. His father is Christian and his mother is Sikh, and he has spoken about growing up in a household where several faiths were respected. He trained as a dancer and began working in television as a teenager.
Career
Massey made his television debut in the Disney Channel India series Dhoom Machaao Dhoom (2007). He went on to roles in Dharam Veer, Qubool Hai and, most notably, the long-running drama Balika Vadhu, which made him a familiar face across India.
Massey left television for films, starting with a supporting role in Vikramaditya Motwane’s Lootera (2013), opposite Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha. He appeared in Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) and had his breakthrough lead role in Konkona Sen Sharma’s A Death in the Gunj (2017), for which critics praised him highly. He also starred in Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017). He found a wide audience on streaming as Bablu Pandit in the first season of Mirzapur, and he appeared in Criminal Justice, Broken But Beautiful and Made in Heaven. He co-starred with Deepika Padukone in Chhapaak (2020) and led the Netflix thriller Haseen Dillruba (2021) and Love Hostel (2022).
In Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail (2023) Massey played Manoj Kumar Sharma, a real-life police officer who rose from poverty and failed exams to join the Indian Police Service. The film became a sleeper hit and won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics). In 2025 it won him the National Film Award for Best Actor, which he shared with Shah Rukh Khan. He followed it with the crime thriller Sector 36 (2024) and The Sabarmati Report (2024). In December 2024 he announced he would take a break from acting, but he later returned to work.
Personal Life
Massey married the actress Sheetal Thakur, his co-star in Broken But Beautiful, in February 2022. Their son, Vardaan, was born on 7 February 2024.
Awards and Honours
Selected Filmography
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Vikrant Massey born?
Vikrant Massey was born on 3 April 1987 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India and is 39 years old.
What is Vikrant Massey known for?
Known for: Balika Vadhu, A Death in the Gunj, Mirzapur, Chhapaak, 12th Fail.
Featured image: President Droupadi Murmu presents Vikrant Massey with the Best Actor award for 12th Fail at the 71st National Film Awards, New Delhi, 23 September 2025. Photo by President’s Secretariat, Government of India, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.