Vikrant Massey has been friends with the unconventional for so long that it’s the quintessential that makes him nervous. Naturally, he was hesitant to board Aankhon ki Gustaakhiyan, his upcoming romantic drama opposite debutante Shanaya Kapoor. “The last time I did something like this was Broken But Beautiful, directed by Santosh Singh, who has directed me in this as well! Though I did Haseen Dillruba, which also had romance, it was a thriller. But this is a quintessential Bollywood love story with lip-sync songs. I told my producers that I have never done lip-sync songs. Nor have I outrightly romanced someone on screen. I wasn’t sure I would be able to pull it off,” he begins.

(From left) Vikrant Massey and Shanaya Kapoor in Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan

But his body of work is proof enough that he loves a challenge. With Aankhon ki Gustaakhiyan, the challenges were many, the biggest being his character of a visually-challenged man. “Eyes play such an integral role in a romance. So, I wondered how I would be able to do that. But as much as I was jittery about taking it up, it also felt exciting. Unfortunately, in the world of cinema, visually-challenged people haven’t been represented rightly enough. The dignity they deserve and the challenges that eventually become part of their life are not shown. So, to play this authentically was the biggest challenge,” he shares.