The first movie of the year 2024 has been, I daresay, accomplishing to watch. ‘12th Fail’ on Disney Hotstar is a treat. There are two ways a biopic can be made – one complete with realism and another with transparent, reasonable creative liberty; and 12th Fail is the best a filmmaker can do in the latter category. Vidhu Vinod Chopra has knocked it out of the park with this one.
To sum it up, 12th Fail is the story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma hailing from the naxal prone village of Chambal. The classic rags to riches story of a poor boy aiming for something great and achieving it despite the extracting obstacles that come his way is at play here. A sub theme of his romantic life that blends right into his journey of ambition is also included.
Character arcs are my favourite thing in films. Given that the story of the movie is a unidirectional element that doesn’t leave much to imagination, the writers are challenged with the appropriate, convincing unveiling of character arcs. And boy have they done it well. The makers have put an actor who was quite literally born to play this role to work and worked magic with a story as simple as the ones in children’s books. Vikrant Massey has played the role of Manoj Kumar Sharma with everything he has got. From a naive teenager who is star struck by an honest police officer who comes to his village, to an IPS officer delivering his wedding card to the same officer – Vikrant Massey has played Manoj Kumar Sharma with every ounce of his being.
The naive teenager knows only his goal – to become a police officer, and an honest one at that. His ambition surfaces after he fails 12th standard exam because an honest police officer does not allow the school to cheat in final exams. His father, also an honest man fighting his own battle, has a role to play in shaping his integrity. It is endearing how unhinged he is by any hurdle that comes his way- no money, no food, no abode, no backup plan whatsoever. He trusts a random stranger who shows him uncommon sympathy and takes him to Delhi to become an IPS officer, about which he knew not the first thing. But as if the universe reflects his innocence back to him, he finds the most wonderful friends and teachers with a giving spirit. In fact, there are a number of sympathetic characters throughout the movie such as the hotel manager who gives him free food, a library assistant who looks after him, an attendant during IPS interview who tips him, etc. In the spirit of throwing hardships at the lead character, Vidhu Vinod Chopra has not gone overboard and that’s a rare thing in Bollywood.
Throughout the process of attempting the UPSC exams four times, Manoj remains an extremely humble, hardworking, honest and simple man with an obvious aptitude; the likes of whom any of us would want running the country’s administrative services. Some factual nuances of clearing UPSC exams have been omitted from the script but that’s completely acceptable given that the central element of the film is Manoj’s personal journey.
A character that is self built, with so much endurance and humility through hardships, will naturally be a grounded, resilient one. His self-respect does surface a number of times through the span of the movie whenever his honesty is questioned, but never when he has to do menial things to earn money or a favour. The only time he is bold and rude is when he has an opportunity and the stature to correct a wrong in the system – when his friend Pritam Pandey is wrongly arrested and a police officer expects a bribe. At all other times, he is an endearing, sweet man with great integrity and an adorable smile that make anyone root for his success.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra has resisted the urge to make any dramatic revelations or unnecessary aesthetic/sentimental additions to the film. Manoj and his obsession with becoming an honest police officer is the single central element of the movie that has been promptly been delivered justice to. Sure, there is an endearing love story in the periphery that derives from Manoj Sharma’s real life and adds value to the storyline without feeling like a forced embellishment. 12th Fail also manages to reflect some realities of the country we live in, in a way that is motivating for youngsters and not depressing. Every tiny detail has been well taken care of. I don’t assume anyone would want to change a thing about the movie.
12th Fail is the kind of movies we want to watch Bollywood make. Surely, Vikrant Massey‘s career has gotten a massive boost from this and we’ll hopefully see him deliver justice to more such roles in the future. In fact, the entire cast has done a remarkable job. The movie makes for a memorable watch with a number of takeaways; I’d say the benchmark for 2024 has been set.
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