12th Fail Review - Vikrant Massey Scores Distinction In Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Educational Drama

12th Fail Review Movie Talkies

12th Fail Review: Vidhu Vinod Chopra returns to the director's chair with "12th Fail," starring Vikrant Massey in the lead role. Watching and reviewing this film is a different experience for me, as I happen to be one of the UPSC aspirants. I gave prelims and couldn't surpass it, and after that, I never attempted it again. So, I know the process, I know the pressure, I know the ambitions, and I know the struggle, and that's why I know the loopholes too (in the film). 12th Fail certainly comes with some unforgivable loops that are too stupid for intelligent characters who are supposedly topping UPSC and PCS exams. That's the only issue here, and of course, the love story these two characters form. The problematic love story can be forgiven with the excuse of cinematic Liberty, but still, it's too silly on some occasions. It just doesn't suit the IQ level of the characters, while the supporting characters also go through the same problem. Despite several shortcomings, VVC delivers an inspirational education drama with a solid emotional touch at the end.Set in a small village in Chambal, 12th Fail begins with Manoj Kumar Sharma (Vikrant Massey) giving his 12th exam by cheating. The well-settled cheating is stopped by an honest cop, which inspires Manoj to become an honest police officer. He goes to Gwalior, only to lose all his belongings and hopes of becoming a police officer. He is then taken to Delhi by a stranger-cum-friend to attempt UPSC so that he can become a higher-ranking officer, aka IPS. Manoj falls in love with Shraddha (Medha Shankar), a medical student who is now pursuing PCS to become a deputy collector. Manoj has to struggle with his time, work, competition, love life with Shraddha, friendship, and family crisis during this period of attempting the UPSC—the toughest exam in our nation. The rest of the film tells his story of success and what he has to lose and gain in the process. The #Restart is the key factor here.A lower-class boy from Chambal comes to Delhi and becomes the IPS topper out of 2 lac candidates—this story certainly deserves to be made on the big screen, but with more research and nuances. Like I said, I have experience with the UPSC, so I know that a candidate cannot just pass prelims with one book and part-time study; that too is a B.A. pass student. The process is not as easy as shown in the film. Also, the supporting characters don't make much sense. After the 6th unsuccessful attempt at UPSC, the aspirant turns into a tea stall keeper. Why bro? He could have easily gone for other government exams such as Staff Selection, Defence Services, Railways, Banking and so many other fields. If it could have earned him 10x what he was getting at Tea Stall, then why? The other candidate is frustrated enough to yell at his girlfriend and best friend after failing the exams, but not smart enough to understand he wants to be a journalist anyhow. The love story between Shraddha and Manoj is outdated and boring. Two high-IQ people don't behave childishly like these two do in the movie. At one moment, Manoj says he won't meet Shraddha until he has cleared the main exams, but the next moment, you see him at her doorstep. So silly. When did he pass the BA exams, and how? We don't know. The girl, on the other hand, is supposed to be clever, but she couldn't even realise that he wasn't an aeronautical engineer. Come on, which engineer wears such clothes and works at the library? And the same girl later becomes a deputy collector. How contrary one's character graph can be.On a positive note, Vikrant Massey has been phenomenal as Manoj Kumar Sharma in the 12th Fail. He passed the acting exam with distinction. This has to be the best performance of his career. His transformation is amazing; his dedication is brilliant; his expressions are on point; and his accent works big time, so I think I can forgive the bad character graph in the screenplay. The newbie, Medha Shankar, is a pure beauty. Such an innocent and cute face she has. This is exactly what her character required, and she is a fine actress too. A bit shaky and rough in emotional scenes, but otherwise, a very good performance. The supporting characters may be badly written, but they have done well. Sanjay Bishnoi, Harish Khanna, Anant Vijay Joshi, Anshuman Pushkar, and others are good at their roles. The cameo roles of Priyanshu Chatterjee and Vikas Divyakirti (who plays himself on the screen) are pleasant.

12th Fail is shot in real locations, and the presence of realistic sense can be felt on many occasions. The cinematography is fine, the editing is above average, the background score irritates at some points with melodramatic tunes, and the production design is okayish. The music could have been better since we are talking about motivational songs here. The situations were there, the scope was there, yet it feels underwhelming. The Restart anthem sounded somewhat satisfactory. 12th Fail is a well-made film on the technical front; all it lacks is intelligent writing and detailing in direction. VVC's career graph has seen a bit of serious shuffling in the last two decades, but he finally comes home with an 'away' script. As mentioned earlier, 12th Fail is based on UPSC exams, and the IQ level to pass those exams is far from that of regular cinegoers who enjoy mindless, no-brainer commercial entertainers with no hesitation. I think the topic of UPSC deserves a film that's too clever and brainstorming. But here, it's a regular drama with a terrific emotional quotient in the final moments. People who are fans of the "Aspirants" series will notice it in no time. If you are okay with this mismatch, then 12th Fail should get first-class marks from you. I belong to the minority (as an audience member who doesn't enjoy commercial entertainers the way others do) since I have been one of the UPSC aspirants, so I might stay one step lower. You go and climb the ladder; there won't be any snakes to pull your viewing experience down. I'm giving half a star extra for the sentimental climax as Manoj completes the dream, which I have dreamt of once but couldn't fulfill.