'Crimes Aaj Kal' actor Vikrant Massey blames Internet for spike in crime rates

Vikrant Massey. Pic/Yogen Shah

Actor Vikrant Massey, who is receiving a good response to his recently released streaming show 'Crimes Aaj Kal', has shared that somewhere the Internet has become a tool for those with a criminal mindset to execute the crimes.

For the actor, the show brought a unique opportunity to be a part of a genre that he has grown up watching as a member of the audience.

Talking about what appealed to the actor in him about the show, Vikrant told IANS, "I have grown up watching 'Crime Patrol' like most people from my generation, and when the same makers reached out to me with a similar format, I realised I have to be a part of it. The larger idea of the show is to make the younger generation aware about the crimes happening in our society".

All the stories that have been adapted into our show are inspired by true incidents. They also factor in the influence of the Internet on crime as the actor said, "Internet is an important catalyst to crime, the show presents how the younger generation is misusing the Internet for crime or for personal vendetta. It gave me a sense of responsibility to be a part of the show and make people aware, because awareness uplifts the society".

To be a part of an artwork which digs the ugly side of the human mind, it can affect an actor negatively on an emotional plane. Did it ever happen to him? The actor responded as he said, "It happened to me a couple of times, it gets difficult sometimes for me to detach but, I love my job and on most days I draw clear boundaries and not let it affect me on a personal level".

The crime rate across the world has seen a sudden spike in the past few years in parallel with the rise of the Internet. Sharing his opinion on if the internet is solely the cause behind the same, the actor told IANS, "I don't think there's any one particular answer to such an overarching question. There are so many theories around why there has been a sudden uptick in crime rates across the world".

He mentioned, "One theory states that unfortunately these crimes have always been a part of the society but since we are living in the age of the Internet where everything is so well connected, the crime stories have started reaching us more through our devices as the information travels a lot faster and penetrates deep in this age. We are getting to know more about such stories far more than as opposed to earlier when we were not so much connected as a society".

"There is another theory that states that yes the Internet is responsible to a certain extent for a spike in crime with evidence supporting the theory. But, yes the Internet is definitely a new found tool in execution of crimes", he concluded.

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'Crimes Aaj Kal' is streaming on Amazon miniTV.

Vikrant was most recently seen in the mystery-thriller film 'Gaslight,' along with Sara Ali Khan and Chitrangada Singh, directed by Pavan Kirpalani, and premiered on Disney+Hotstar. He will also be seen in upcoming projects, which include 'Yaar Jigri', 'Mumbaikar', 'Sector 36', and 'Phir Aayi Hasseen Dilruba'.

(with inputs from IANS)