In this straightforward and sincere account of achievement and failure, Vikrant Massey gives an incredible performance.
12th Fail Review:
Vikrant Massey gives the best performance of his career in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s latest picture, which is about UPSC candidates.
In his most recent film, 12th Fail, writer-director Vidhu Vinod Chopra demonstrates his skill at telling an underdog tale that sometimes hits home. It is based on Anurag Pathak’s book of the same name, which follows Manoj Kumar Sharma of Chambal as he attempts to be ready for the notoriously difficult UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) exam despite having dropped out of high school.
Chopra paints a variety of emotions in this moving and captivating story, including anguish, rage, failure, success, helplessness, and confidence. 12th Fail doesn’t sugarcoat anything and portrays the situation as raw and genuine as possible.
Vikrant Massey plays Manoj, who is seen to have taken up low-paying jobs at a tea stand, then at an aata chakki, and in between he even cleaned toilets. It will also undoubtedly strike a chord with the countless thousands of students who study for and take the UPSC exam each year; some succeed, while others “restart” and try again. Early on in the movie, Chopra informs us about the restart funda for UPSC candidates. She essentially adheres to it until the very end, slipping it in gently at different points.
12th Fail also exposes the flaws in our educational system, such as a school in Chambal that openly encourages students to cheat on board examinations because they can only obtain employment and support their families if they pass the 12th grade. Manoj (Massey) realizes this is the road he wants to take when DSP Dushyant Singh (Priyanshu Chatterjee), in a minor but significant role, shows up at the school and prevents students from cheating.
However, DSP is transferred the following year, and classes resume as normal. All students pass with the first division, with the exception of Manoj, who is content with his third division. After landing in Gwalior for UPSC tutoring, fate eventually leads him to Delhi, where he finds himself in the bustling Mukherjee Nagar neighborhood—famous for housing a million students who have traveled from all over the nation to secure a single UPSC slot. The main focus of 12th Fail is on Manoj and his lover Shraddha Joshi’s (Medha Shankar) daily struggles as they travel through this life.
Massey wins for putting on an outstanding performance—by far his best to date in his career. He adds a multitude of nuances to his persona at every turn. He doesn’t understand that it is wrong to cheat in school as a teenager. He is a hard-working UPSC student who doesn’t mind sleeping for three hours each night to make sure he has enough time to study and complete menial tasks to survive. Manoj’s role is fully embodied by Massey, who executes it flawlessly, eliminating any room for criticism.
Even at 147 minutes, 12th Fail never goes too far to become monotonous or didactic. It is captivating to watch because it maintains the suspense, mayhem, hustle, and pace. Every subplot and track Chopra adds has a tale of its own, and none of them appear forced in the writing at first. Everyone has a unique narrative to tell, whether it is the son of a government servant named Pandey who is Manoj’s friend, or Anshuman Pushkar’s character Gauri bhaiya, who, after realizing his dream of becoming an IPS, dedicates his life to mentoring others and helping them start over.
Chopra has kept the dialogues straightforward, but they have a powerful and enduring effect on you. With ease, he has grasped the weaknesses of kids who stumble, fall, and then get back up. Chopra has also mentioned, albeit briefly, the crooked system that prevents young people from obtaining an education or rising to positions of authority and would otherwise be a hindrance. But despite all of this, the movie never loses sight of its core message, which is one of conviction and willpower.
Watching 12th Fail is essential if you want to comprehend the struggles and feelings that UPSC students experience, as well as the general state of education in our country—a topic that Chopra touched on in 3 Idiots.