12th Fail
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVidhu Vinod Chopra
Written byVidhu Vinod Chopra
Based on12th Fail by Anurag Pathak
Produced byVidhu Vinod Chopra
Yogesh Ishwar
Starring
CinematographyRangarajan Ramabadran
Edited byJaskunwar Kohli
Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Music byShantanu Moitra
Production
company
Distributed byZee Studios
Release date
  • 27 October 2023 (2023-10-27)
Running time
146 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹20 crore[2]
Box officeest. ₹60.03 crore[3]

12th Fail is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film produced, written and directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It is based on the 2019 eponymous non-fiction book by Anurag Pathak about the real-life story of Manoj Kumar Sharma who overcame extreme poverty to become an Indian Police Service officer.[4] The film stars Vikrant Massey in the title role, alongside Medha Shankar, Anant V Joshi, Anshumaan Pushkar, and Priyanshu Chatterjee.

Released theatrically on 27 October 2023, 12th Fail received critical acclaim and emerged a sleeper hit, grossing over ₹60 crore (US$7.5 million) worldwide on a ₹20 crore (US$2.5 million) budget.[3][5]

Plot

Born in the dacoit infested Chambal, Manoj Kumar Sharma is a 12th fail son of an upright clerk and grandson of a subedar of police who died in action. His father and his grandmother are both strict Indians and do not believe in corruption. Due to this unflinching belief, Manoj's father is suspended for hitting a corrupt officer. Manoj prepares for his Class 12 exam by making small chits, as do all his batchmates as this is an entrenched system supported by the school and the local MLA who dictates all students must pass. However, cheating during Manoj's exam is stopped by the new DSP who ignores the MLA's call & arrests the headmaster when the latter tries to bribe him. As a result, Manoj and everyone else fail their 12th board exams. Meanwhile, his father goes to challenge his suspension in the High Court, leaving the burden of family to Manoj and his brother. The brothers decide to put together a travelling car and charge fees so that he can help out at home.

Manoj's brother is caught on false charges and the corrupt officers try to make them guilty to punish their father for hitting their superior. But the new DSP Dushyant Singh stops them. When Manoj requests to learn as to how to become a high ranking officer like Dushyant, Dushyant advises him to "stop cheating."

One year later, Manoj passes his class 12 exams in 3rd division without cheating and chooses to do BA (Bachelor of Arts) to become a DSP. His grandmother gives him all her savings as he sets out to study in the government PSC coaching centre in Gwalior, but it is stolen when he reaches Gwalior. At Gwalior, he meets Pritam Pandey, who had also come to study for PSC. His father now tells him to study for UPSC in Delhi. Manoj travels with Pritam to Delhi to study & become an IPS officer. He meets Gauri Bhaiya who is on his last attempt to clear the examination and provides Manoj with job opportunities and a place to study. The interview results come for Gauri Bhaiya and it is revealed that he has failed, meaning that he will now never become an IPS officer.

Deciding to move on, Gauri Bhaiya opens a coaching institute and tea stall named 'Restart' and provides his services for free. Next year Manoj gives his Prelim Examinations, but fails. With Gauri Bhaiya's help, he again gives the Prelim examination the next year and clears it. He also meets Shraddha Joshi, who is doing PCS and falls in love with her. Despite his best efforts, Manoj fails to clear his mains examinations that year as well.

He then decides to work even harder and Pritam describes that Manoj worked 12 hours and studied all night, only sleeping for three hours a day. He again clears the Prelim examination, but fails in Mains again. He returns home and realises that his grandmother has died.

Now, a frustrated Gauri Bhaiya moves Manoj to his own house and tells him to give up working odd jobs and start to completely focus on his studies. He does so, and clears not only the Prelims but the Mains Examinations as well. Around this time, Pritam, who had repeatedly failed all the exams, gets jealous of Manoj and falsely reports to Shraddha's father that Shraddha was sleeping with Manoj in Delhi. This causes a wrench in their relationship, but eventually is cleared even though Manoj becomes very angry with Pritam. He had realised earlier that Pritam wanted to work as a reporter yet his father was forcing his to do UPSC and advises Pritam to stand up against his father. Manoj gives his interview and honestly responds to all the questions. He reads a letter written to him by Shraddha asking him to marry her. He happily gives the interview and comes out smiling.

2 months later, when the results are declared, Manoj realises he has topped the class and breaks down crying with emotion. One year later, Manoj becomes a High-Ranking IPS Officer and goes to meet DSP Dushyant Singh at the police station in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh to thank the DSP for encouraging him to give up cheating and gives his Wedding Invitation Card. The DSP at first does not realise Manoj but later is filled with joy and embraces Manoj at his success. The film ends as Manoj celebrates his wedding with his friends and family, finally having won against the tides of the cruel education system.

Cast

  • Vikrant Massey as Manoj Kumar Sharma
  • Medha Shankar as Shraddha Joshi
  • Anant V Joshi as Pritam Pandey
  • Anshumaan Pushkar as Gauri Bhaiya
  • Priyanshu Chatterjee as DSP Dushyant Singh
  • Geeta Aggarwal Sharma as Manoj's mother
  • Harish Khanna as Manoj's father
  • Sarita Joshi as Dadi
  • Sanjay Bishnoi as Naval
  • Dr. Vikas Divyakirti as himself
  • Vijay Kumar Dogra as Sundar
  • Perry Chhabra as Rajini
  • Darius Chinoy as Mr. Solanki
  • Radhika Joshi as Tanya
  • Fasi Khan as Kishan shraddha house servant[6]

Production

Development

In November 2022, filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra announced the film, based on the novel Twelfth Fail, by Anurag Pathak.[7] The film is inspired by the real life story of IPS Officer Manoj Kumar Sharma and IRS Officer Shraddha Joshi.[8]

Casting

In November 2022, Chopra announced that actor Vikrant Massey will play the lead, marking their first collaboration.[9] UPSC coaching professor Vikas Divyakirti was cast to play himself on screen.[10] Many real life UPSC aspirants were cast in various roles. According to Massey, it added "authenticity" to the film.[11]

Filming

The film is shot mainly at various locations in Agra Chambal, Delhi, Mussoorie and Mumbai. A major portion of the film was shot in the two education hubs for government job aspirants, Rajendra Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar.[12][13] The filming was wrapped up in December 2022.[14]

Release

The film's teaser was released on 10 August 2023. The trailer was released on 3 October 2023. Film was released on 27 October 2023 in the theaters.[15][16] After the success in Hindi, the makers announced that the film will be dubbed in Tamil and Telugu languages and was released on 3 November 2023.[17][18]

Reception

12th Fail received critical acclaim.[19] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of nine critics' reviews are positive.[20]

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 3.5 stars out of 5 and said It's an original depiction of an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer's life, 12th Fail is a thought-provoking and amusing film. A really sympathetic story is produced by the screenplay. It avoids any kind of extravagance in order to extract every last bit of drama from the bump and tumble of the man's journey.[21] Mayank Shekhar of Mid-day gave 4 stars out of 5 and reviewed the movie "This is the India story!".[22] Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times stated in her reviews that 12th Fail is a must-watch to understand not only the hardships and emotions that UPSC students go through, but it also sheds light on the overall education in our system, something that Chopra won hearts at with 3 Idiots.[23]

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave 3 stars out of 5 and wrote that In spite of the soundtrack and the sporadic upswings in mood, 12th Fail mostly remains a grounded reality film with characters who seem to have wandered off the street and are hanging out with us, sharing life lessons sprinkled with inspiration. Not only does it feature a large cast, but it also features a large number of young people who congregate in areas popular with coaching facilities, like Mukherjee Nagar in North Delhi. The image of these people, crammed into small spaces far from their homes and studying day and night in an attempt to pass exams and change who they are, is a quintessential Indian story.[24] Deepa Gahlot of rediff.com praised the performance of Vikrant Massey and said 'If Vikrant Massey does not win a National Award for this film, it will be unjust to an actor who has given a performance of such unalloyed brilliance'.[25] Dhaval Roy of The Times of India gave 4 stars out of 5 and stated in his review that "12th Fail" is an excellent film that is highly recommended, with nearly every scene over its 147 minutes leaving you feeling inspired and amazed. Bravo to Chopra for making sure each character in the film is given their best chance.[26] Bhavna Agarwal of indiatoday gave 4 stars out of 5 and wrote "Vikrant Massey passes with flying colours on performance sheet".[27]

Anuj Kumar of The Hindu reviewed movie and wrote "‘12th Fail’ movie review: Vidhu Vinod Chopra delivers yet another hug of hope that is more earnest than magical"[28] Sneha Bengani of CNBC TV18 reviewed movie and wrote "Vikrant Massey powers through this remarkable story of perseverance".[29] Gunjan D. Bidani of Zee News gave 4 stars out of 5 and wrote "Not to be hyperbolic, but ‘12th Fail’ might be just perfect. To watch ‘12th Fail’ properly requires fortitude. Goes without saying that the film at its root is a deep deprivation of human fundamentals. The arc of Vidhu Vinod Chopra-directorial is a daily barrage of study load, tricky social dynamics, menial jobs for sustenance and raw spillage of emotions. It's an elusive sequence of blameless Manoj (Vikrant Massey) who’s determined to climb the ladder only to find - a shaking ground underneath."[30] Sajesh Mohan of Onmanorama in his review wrote "The soundscape, meticulously crafted by Manav Shrotriya, amplifies the aches and joys of Manoj's journey. The way Manav uses and reuses background noise fading in and out to isolate Manoj and his emotions even in crowded scenes adds a meditative focus. While not as imposing, some of these moments strike a deep chord, similar to Stephen Hopkins' famous locker room scene from 'Race' where Larry Snyder teaches Jesse Owens to block out the noise."[31]

References

  1. ↑ "12th Fail (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "बॉलीवुड की इन कम बजट वाली फिल्मों में बॉक्स ऑफिस पर मचाया धमाल, मेकर्स हुए मालामाल". ABP News (in Hindi). 1 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023. विक्रांत मैसी की हालिया रिलीज फिल्म 12th फेल 28 अक्टूबर को रिलीज हुई है. ये फिल्म सिर्फ 20 करोड़ के बजट में बनी है लेकिन बॉक्स ऑफिस पर अच्छी कमाई हो रही है। फिल्म ने सिर्फ 5 दिन में करीब 11 करोड़ का कलेक्शन कर लिया है। [Vikrant Massey's recent release film 12th Fail has been released on 28th October. This film has been made with a budget of only Rs 20 crore but is earning well at the box office. The film has collected around Rs 11 crore in just 5 days.]
  3. 1 2 "12th Fail Box Office Collection". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "Vikrant Massey and Vidhu Vinod Chopra on 12th Fail: It is an homage to bureaucrats of the country". Indian Express. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  5. ↑ "12th Fail box office collection: Vikrant Massey's film crosses ₹50 crore during 5th week in India". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  6. ↑ "All Details About 12th Fail Movie". FilmyZap. 28 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  7. ↑ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra's next titled '12th Fail': Story of aspiring IAS, IPS students". ANI News. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  8. ↑ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra announces new film 12th Fail. Vikrant Massey to play the lead". India Today. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "Vikrant Massey shares how he prepared for his role in '12th Fail'". Times of India. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "12th Fail: Real UPSC professor Vikas Divyakirti on acting in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's film: "For the first time, Hindi cinema has tried..."". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "Vikrant Massey on shooting 12th Fail with junior-artists-cum-UPSC-aspirants: This really did add further authenticity". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra shot major chunk of Vikrant Massey starrer '12th Fail' in Delhi's old Rajendra Nagar". Times of India. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  13. ↑ "Vikrant Massey shares picture with Vidhu Vinod Chopra from '12th Fail' sets". The Print. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  14. ↑ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Vikrant Massey's 12th Fail wraps up shoot". Cinema Express. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  15. ↑ "12th Fail teaser: Vikrant Massey and Vidhu Vinod Chopra chronicle the struggles of UPSC students". Filmfare. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  16. ↑ "12th Fail Trailer".
  17. ↑ "Vikrant Massey starrer 12th Fail to release in Tamil and Telugu tomorrow". Bollywood Hungama. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  18. ↑ "After surprise success at box office, Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Vikrant Massey-starrer 12th Fail to release in Tamil, Telugu". Daily News and Analysis. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  19. ↑ "'12th Fail' box office collection Day 2: Vikrant Massey's film gets a thumbs up". India Today. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  20. ↑ "12th Fail". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  21. ↑ Chatterjee, Saibal (27 October 2023). "12th Fail Review: A Gentle Little Film That Stays True To Its Purpose". NDTV. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  22. ↑ "12th Fail Movie Review: This is the India story!". mid-day.com. 27 October 2023.
  23. ↑ Kukreja, Monika Rawal (27 October 2023). "12th Fail Review: Vikrant Massey delivers a superlative act in this pure and honest tale of success and failure". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  24. ↑ Gupta, Shubhra (27 October 2023). "12th Fail movie review: Vidhu Vinod Chopra film is the elixir our cynical times need". The Indian Express. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  25. ↑ Gahlot, Deepa (27 October 2023). "12th Fail Review: Terrific!". rediff.com. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  26. ↑ Roy, Dhaval (28 October 2023). "12th Fail Movie Review: A top-class tale of grit and determination". The Times of India. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  27. ↑ Agarwal, Bhavna (27 October 2023). "12th Fail Review: Vikrant Massey passes with flying colors on performance sheet". indiatoday.in.
  28. ↑ Kumar, Anuj (26 October 2023). "'12th Fail' movie review: Vidhu Vinod Chopra delivers yet another hug of hope that is more earnest than magical". The Hindu.
  29. ↑ Bemgani, Sneha (27 October 2023). "12th Fail movie review: Vikrant Massey powers through this remarkable story of perseverance". CNBC TV18.
  30. ↑ D. Bidani, Gunjan (27 October 2023). "12th Fail Movie Review: Vidhu Vinod Chopra Does It Again! Vikrant Massey Demands — And Deserves — Your Full Attention". zee news.
  31. ↑ Mohan, Sajesh (28 October 2023). "Vidhu Vinod Chopra's '12th Fail' will inspire you to 'restart'". onmanorama.
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