NEW DELHI – Vikrant Massey, who won the Best Actor award at the 71st National Film Awards on Friday night, August 1, 2025, has said how grateful and humble he is. Massey, who won the prestigious award for his powerful performance in the Vidhu Vinod Chopra film 12th Fail, shared it with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who won his first National Award in a spectacular 33-year career for Atlee’s smash Jawan.
Vikrant Massey sent out a statement soon after the awards were presented in which he thanked everyone from the bottom of his heart. “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,” he said.
Massey also thanked filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra for the chance that lead to this big step forward. “I also want to thank Shri Vidhu Vinod Chopra ji for this chance.” He remarked, “Today, if I may say so, a 20-year-old boy’s dream has come true,” looking back on his time in the business. He also thanked his fans for all the support they gave him: “I will always be grateful to the audiences for honoring my performances and for recommending this film with such love.”
One of the best parts for Massey was being recognized with an industry icon. “It is an honor to be sharing my first National Award with an icon like Shah Rukh Khan,” he said, recognizing the importance of his co-recipient.
Vikrant Massey ended his heartfelt note by dedicating his award to the parts of society that are often ignored. He said, “Lastly, I dedicate this award to all the marginalized 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.”
About “12th Fail”
The 2023 biographical drama film 12th Fail won over both reviewers and audiences. Vidhu Vinod Chopra directed, produced, and wrote the movie, which is based on Anurag Pathak’s 2019 nonfiction book. It portrays the true story of Manoj Kumar Sharma, who became an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer despite being very poor and facing many other problems.
Vikrant Massey plays the key character of Manoj Kumar Sharma in the movie. Medha Shankr, Anant Joshi, Anshumaan Pushkar, and Priyanshu Chatterjee are also in the cast. 12th Fail got a lot of attention for how real it was about challenges, tenacity, and the power of not giving up. Massey’s performance stood out and really connected with viewers.