Vikrant Massey reveals toughest scene from Criminal Justice: ‘I put my hand into the commode to pull out smuggled drugs’

Vikrant Massey shares details of how he shot for Criminal Justice, the toughest scenes and the response that he received after the show aired.

Actor Vikrant Massey has said the toughest scene for him in the popular web series Criminal Justice was when he had to put his hands into a toilet. In a pivotal sequence of the show that first streamed online last year, Vikrant was seen pulling out a packet of drugs from a commode.

Vikrant Massey featured in Criminal Justice alongside Jackie Shroff and Pankaj Tripathi.

Vikrant told Mid Day, “The toughest sequence was where my character wakes up to find out [that the woman has been murdered] and convinces himself that he has lost his memory. In another scene, I had to put my hand into the commode to pull out the smuggled drugs. These sequences took me out of my comfort zone.”

Elaborating on the response he got for the show, he added, “When I was watching the cricket World Cup in England last year, many belonging to the NRI diaspora came up to me and spoke about this show.”

The Hindustan Times’ review of the show said, “It’s a sign of Pankaj Tripathi’s dependability that even the show’s insistence on slotting his character as comic relief - he enters scenes, more often than not, accompanied by goofy background music - doesn’t get in the way of his nuanced performance. As always, Tripathi is rather understated, despite his character - the street-smart lawyer Madhav Misra - almost begging for an over-the-top portrayal, what with all his quirks, and the eczema.”

Criminal Justice is an adaptation of the 2008 British series by the same name, which was also recreated as The Night Of in the US. “I remember watching both the original series. My friends and I would often talk about how the show should be made here. I wanted people in UP and Bihar to know this story; they wouldn’t have watched The Night Of. I grabbed the opportunity when it came my way. Sameer Nair [producer] has been guiding me since 2007 when I was working in TV, so I had faith in his instinct. Since it was an official adaptation, I knew the show will be of high quality,” Vikrant further told the tabloid.

Earlier, announcing the second season of the show, BBC Studios India’s production business head, Sameer Gogate had said in a press statement, “We are very excited to work with Applause Entertainment once again for bringing in the season 2 of our most iconic, award-winning drama series — Hotstar Specials presents Criminal Justice. The success of season 1 has shown what good content can achieve, and we hope the second season will be equally loved by the audiences.”

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