12th Fail: A Story Of Million Hopes💫

Have you recently seen any 21st-century Indian movie that fuels up your motivation wheels with an alarming blaze? The 27 Oct. 2023 released movie 12th Fail is that ‘Pearl in the Rug’ piece. With an IMDb rating of 9/10, it has been collecting several Filmfare awards since its release. Directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, it travels back to the crowded streets of Old Delhi where thousands of UPSC aspirants come daily for one hope in their eyes- to become an IAS officer! Within the same crowd also comes our never-disappointing hero Vikrant Massey portrayed as IAS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma. 

The film stars other actors including main female lead Medha Shankr as Shraddha Joshi (another UPSC aspirant, also Manoj’s love) who did an amazing job with the real-like portrayal of her love and warmth for Manoj and other supporting casts such as Priyanshu Chatterjee as DSP Dushyant Singh, Anant V Joshi as Pritam Pandey (Manoj’s friend), Anshumaan Pushkar as Gauri Bhaiya (Manoj’s mentor). With a pack of these fabulous actors, the story revolves around Manoj’s struggling life from being a poor and helpless village boy with big dreams to a strong and never-giving-up man of reality.

In the face of Manoj, the story shows the harsh reality of poverty in our country, the corruption and torture faced by thousands of villagers, the lack of facilities, and most importantly the sheep-walk for this prestigious UPSC exam by lakhs of students every year.  The way candidates from across the country wish to pass this hardcore exam is heartbreaking yet heart-fulfilling. With tough competition and fewer seats, they either keep their hopes high or die out of exhaustion. In the movie too, Manoj’s friend is shown wasting his parents’ money over the fees by befooling them that he is been doing his best but in reality, he is involved in alcohol. 

With experienced mentors like Gauri Bhaiya (who is himself a repeating candidate), aspirants still get a little hope that someday they will pass the exam with flying colors. Being part of this sweat-breaking cycle, Manoj also struggles and fails due to a lack of proper guidance and preparation. But in the later part, he gains more confidence and gets better guidance and finally successfully clears all the 3 stages of this exam- Preliminary, Mains, and the Interview. 

The movie has for sure done an amazing job, including realistic cinematography blended with perfect silents and sounds to give a real picture of life. The director has done a real deal of shots with minimal yet strong backgrounds, set in real locations. Chambal village, Madhya Pradesh (Manoj’s birthplace), and Mukherjee Nagar in Old Delhi (coaching center) with another pristine view of Mussoorie (Shraddha’s home) which makes it a more authentic and attention-grabbing film. At last, the movie proves to be one of its kind as fewer Bollywood movies stand this far. No doubt, this epic story has touched millions of hearts who carry those big dreams deep inside them and get rays of hope from others’ success. Kudos to more such films!