12th Fail Review

Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 12th Fail is an uplifting melodrama based on the real-life story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma. Hailing from Chambal, a notorious hub for dacoits, Manoj (portrayed by Vikrant Massey) grows up in a world marred by corruption and exploitation. In his school not only is cheating during exams allowed, it's actively encouraged. From his point of view, honesty doesn't have much upside. It has also brought immense suffering to his father, an unwaveringly principled man who loses his job and becomes entangled in legal battles in his quest for justice.

However, a pivotal moment arrives when a police officer enters Manoj's life, reshaping the narrative in his mind. For the first time, he encounters somebody who is both powerful and ethical. This epiphany strikes him like a thunderbolt, propelling him onto a risky and transformative path as a civil services aspirant.

12th Fail's story is stirring because it shows Manoj's struggle not just to become any IPS officer, but an honest one. Every time Manoj has to choose between an easy but dishonest path and a hard but honest one, he doggedly pursues the latter. His unwavering morality is at the heart of the film. Starting right from when he arrives at Mukherjee Nagar in Delhi, the Mecca for all UPSC aspirants, he refuses to accept money from benefactors, instead living direly and doing odd jobs while studying at nights.

Amidst these struggles, however, a beautiful love story unfolds between Manoj and a fellow aspirant Shraddha (Medha Shankar). Her support of him and belief in him is as moving as are his personal trials. Theirs is a love story that is of almost filmi proportions - she is a well-to-do city girl, and he is dirt poor.

Medha Shankar as Shraddha is like a breath of fresh air. Her nuanced performance brings a depth and believability to Shraddha's love for Manoj. Vikrant Massey himself too delivers a remarkable performance as Manoj, truly embodying the character's evolution. He seamlessly transitions from being a desperate, helpless and often subservient young man when he first arrives in Delhi to becoming a poised and confident Manoj. One scene in particular where Manoj goes to the police station to question the cop for wrongfully arresting his friend stands out - he undergoes a sensational transformation, and it is like witnessing the birth of the formidable officer that he will become.

Although the focus of the film is on Manoj, the film gives an honest glimpse of the life of an average UPSC aspirant: the overcrowded classrooms, the long study hours, and the unlikely friendships formed between students as that of comrades in a battle. Using blurry, dizzying shots, Rangarajan Ramabadran's cinematography captures the frenetic pace of Mukherjee Nagar. And through the artful manipulation of ambient sounds, from dialing up or dimming of the chaos to occasionally falling completely silent, the design of the film's sound masterfully conveys the diverse moods as effectively as the performances themselves.

Despite knowing how the movie ends, you can't help but nervously anticipate its finale. The redemption that follows Manoj's enduring struggle is nearly as gratifying and uplifting as if it were your own. Undoubtedly, the countless Indian students toiling away in crowded coaching centres will relate to Manoj's journey and find inspiration within it.