It’s been a magical few months for Vicky Kaushal and Shweta Tripathi. The Masaan debutants have hobnobbed with the world’s biggest names at Cannes and watched their film win big on the festival circuit. In the run-up to the Friday release, Vicky and Shweta were in Calcutta — with co-actress Richa Chadha and director Neeraj Ghaywan — to talk about their small big film. 

To have your first film win big at Cannes and be right in the middle of all that action must have been surreal?
Vicky Kaushal: You used the right word… it was surreal, for sure! Right from Cannes to now as the film releases, it’s just been one hell of a journey…
Shweta Tripathi: I look at this whole film as a blessing. As actors, you can’t ask for a better debut. Going to Cannes, getting a standing ovation, the international audience appreciating your work… and then the awards (FIPRESCI, International Jury of Film Critics prize and Promising Future prize in the Un Certain Regard section)… it’s like the release of so many emotions. 
Vicky: We have been counting down to the release date all these months... and now that it’s here, we can’t believe it... we keep pinching ourselves several times a day!

What was your reaction when you were told that your debut film would be competing at Cannes?
Vicky: The moment Neeraj called me and said, ‘Buy your suit… we are going to Cannes’, I was stunned. Initially I thought it was just a screening, but then we realised it’s in competition, along with only 19 films selected from all around the world. That in itself was a big deal for us. All of us saw the film for the first time at Cannes and to watch it with 1,200 other people was a surreal experience. The standing ovation began and everyone got emotional.... At Cannes, we were surrounded by cinema. Everyone was just talking about films. It was something new for all of us, especially for me and Shweta. We were actually quite depressed when we got back.
Shweta: We were in la la land! We couldn’t stop beaming. Even now, when we are talking to you about the film and Cannes, we can’t stop smiling (laughs). 

How was it seeing yourself on screen for the first time?
Vicky: I am a little self-critical and whenever I see my own work, I don’t get sleep that night because I feel I could have done everything better. But honestly, to see yourself on screen at Cannes is truly special. 
Shweta: I love seeing myself on screen! Even if I have a co-actor, I only focus on myself. But in this film, I kept looking at Vicky because he’s so fantastic in the film. I hated him for it! 
Vicky: Coming back to Cannes, I actually understood how the Indian cricket team feels when we applaud them because we were representing the country and it felt so special to see the foreign audience appreciate an Indian film. 

This isn’t a conventional song ’n’ dance debut vehicle. Did that play on your minds at any point?
Shweta: I can safely say for the two of us that as actors, we both get excited by the script and not by a ‘project’. We both feel that the script is the hero of every film. When I signed on, there was no one else on board. But I had faith in the film and as time went, more and more heavyweights attached themselves to it and that’s how Masaan grew. There was never any doubt in my mind… I wanted to do this film. 
Vicky: I was the last actor to be cast, but mine and Neeraj’s journey started at the same time… we both worked as ADs (assistant directors) on Gangs of Wasseypur and we both come from the school of Anurag Kashyap films. This film chose me… and I was locked for the part even without reading the script. I had complete faith in both Neeraj and Masaan. 

What’s been the biggest challenge and the biggest takeaway of working on Masaan?
Vicky: I am a total Bombay kid… very urban and from a Punjabi family. To try and portray a Banarasi boy who hails from the dom community and works at the crematorium was so alien to me. I have never come across a guy like Deepak, ever. So getting to that was a challenge for me. But thankfully, Neeraj and Varun (Grover, the film’s writer) had done a lot of research. Then prior to the shoot, I spent a few weeks in Banaras talking to the locals and just getting a feel of the place. I learnt the Kashika dialect (a mix of Bhojpuri and Hindi). I surrendered to the role completely. Sometimes you go through a process that makes you fall in love with what you do… Masaan has made me fall in love with the magic of the movies. That’s been my greatest takeaway. 
Shweta: Like him, I had to lose my city traits to become Shaalu. The love story between Shaalu and Deepak is magical and beautiful and I was scared I wouldn’t be able to do justice to it. To maintain that innocence was tough and to create that magic in the love story was a huge challenge. 
Vicky: I remember that when we were shooting the romantic scenes, I would blush so much… I would keep smiling even when ‘cut’ was called. But I was so much into this character of a small-town boy who has fallen in love for the first time, that I actually felt what Deepak was feeling. I just couldn’t stop smiling through the day!

Unlike most debutants, you both have already moved on to your second film. That must give you a lot of confidence…
Vicky: My second film is called Zubaan and it’s directed by a debutant again, called Mozez Singh. I shot Zubaan before I shot Masaan, but this one is releasing first. Again, that film chose me. Unlike Masaan, Zubaan is the film where I am singing songs and doing action. It will come out around October. It’s about this guy from a small town who fears music! 
Shweta: I am doing my second film called Haraamkhor opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui. He is an amazing actor and I respect him so much. Haraamkhor has now been a part of seven international film festivals. It’s the story of a 14-year-old girl who falls in love with her married teacher. As white as Shaalu of Masaan is, Sandhya from Haraamkhor is just as grey. 
Vicky: Let me tell you something about Shweta… she’s the only actress who has won a best actress award (at the Los Angeles Film Festival for Haraamkhor) even before she’s debuted! So she could possibly be the only actress ever who is coming out with her first film after having already won a best actress award! (Laughs)

Priyanka Roy