Vicky Kaushal reveals key Masaan scene was shot without permission, says director Neeraj Ghaywan used his white T-shirt as reflector

Vicky Kaushal recalled how a key scene in Masaan was filmed with no production crew or permissions, and only the director and cinematographer present.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | November 24, 2023 12:44 PM IST

3 min read

Vicky Kaushal in Masaan. (Photo: Vicky Kaushal/Instagram)

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Actor Vicky Kaushal recalled how they shot a key scene in his breakout movie Masaan, which was directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and written by Varun Grover. In an interview with Pinkvilla, Vicky said that several scenes in the indie movie were shot guerilla-style, meaning that they didn’t have the proper permissions from authorities, but secretly got the footage they needed anyway. Vicky is no stranger to rogue productions, and famously got arrested as an assistant director while working on Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur.

A scene in which Vicky’s character throws a ring into the river, the actor revealed, was shot impromptu with only Neeraj and cinematographer Avinash Arun present. He said that they had so little money at the time that he carried some of his own costumes in his suitcase. Vicky said that he wasn’t supposed to cry in the famous ‘dukh kahe khatam nahi hota be’ scene, and Neeraj also filmed another scene in which the tears were actually scripted, just so that he could have options on the edit table later. But because they had some time to themselves, Neeraj decided that they should film the second scene without him crying.

Also read | Vicky Kaushal shares how he created a story about his mother’s demise for ‘Ye Dukh Kaahe’ scene in Masaan: ‘Then a train unexpectedly passed by us’

He told Vicky to bring his costume from the hotel, Avinash set up the shot with a small digital camera under a street lamp, and they got a local child named Kanhaiya to look after their belongings. “He became the de-facto production guy,” Vicky joked, recalling how Neeraj took off the white T-shirt that he was wearing and used it as a reflector to light Vicky’s face. “That scene is in the movie, and we decided to shoot it on a whim, no team, no makeup, only three of us,” he said.

Masaan premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, as a part of the official selection. It was released to critical acclaim a couple of months later, launching Vicky’s career as a leading man. Neeraj went on to co-direct the second season of Sacred Games, the short film Geeli Pucchi, and a few episodes in season two of Made in Heaven. Vicky will next be seen in the biopic Sam Bahadur, scheduled for release on December 1.

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