Gener: Biography, Drama
Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Writers: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Jaskunwar Kohli, Anurag Pathak
Directior: 2h 27m
Stars: Vikrant Massey, Medha Shankr, Anant Joshi
12th Fail is an Indian Hindi language film which was released in 2023, Vidhu Vinod Chopra is the director, producer, and writer of this biographical drama film. It is based on Anurag Pathak’s 2019 nonfiction book of the same name, which tells the story of Manoj Kumar Sharma, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who rose from abject poverty. Anant V Joshi, Medha Shankar, Anshumaan Pushkar, and Priyanshu Chatterjee co-star with Vikrant Massey as Sharma in the movie.
When 12th Fail was released in theaters on October 27, 2023, it was met with universal praise from critics and became a sleeper blockbuster, making over ₹69 crore (US$8.6 million) globally on a ₹20 crore (US$2.5 million) budget. It received five awards at the 69th Filmfare accolades, including Best Director, Best Actor (Massey), and Best Film (Critics).
Cast:
- Vikrant Massey as Manoj Kumar Sharma
- Medha Shankar as Shraddha Joshi
- Anant V Joshi as Pritam Pandey
- Anshumaan Pushkar as Gauri Bhaiya
- Harish Khanna as Ramveer Sharma, Manoj’s father
- Geeta Aggarwal Sharma as Pushpa Sharma, Manoj’s mother
- Sarita Joshi as Manoj’s grandmother
- Priyanshu Chatterjee as DSP Dushyant Singh
- Sanjay Bishnoi as Naval
- Vikas Divyakirti as Himself
- Vijay Kumar Dogra as Sundar
- Neeraj Kalra as Professor Prabhakar Joshi, Shraddha’s father
- Perry Chhabra as Rajini Sharma, Manoj’s younger sister
- Darius Chinoy as Mr. Solanki
- Radhika Joshi as Tanya
- Fasi Khan as Kishan, Shraddha’s house servant
- Rahul Dev Shetty as Mr. Mehta, Manoj’s UPSC interviewer
Production:
Development
The movie, based on Anurag Pathak‘s novel Twelfth Fail, was announced by director Vidhu Vinod Chopra in November 2022. The films draws inspiration from the true stories of IPS Officer Manoj Kumar Sharma and IRS Officer Shraddha Joshi.
Casting
Actor Vikrant Massey was set to portray the lead, according to Chopra’s announcement in November 2022, which marks their first working together. Medha Shankar was assigned with the role of Shraddha Joshi. Vikas Divyakirti, the coach of UPSC, was chosen to portray himself in the film. Numerous real UPSC aspirants were assigned with different roles. Massey claimed that it gave the movie more “authenticity”. In the movie, Joshi and Sharma both had brief cameos.
Shooting
Most of the film was filmed in Mumbai, Delhi, Chambal, Agra, and Mussoorie. A major part of the movie was filmed in Rajendra Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar, two popular destinations for students aspiring for government jobs. December 2022 marked the end of the filming.
Release:
Theatrical Release
On August 10, 2023, the teaser for 12th Fail was released, then on October 3, 2023, the trailer. On October 27, 2023, the Hindi and Kannada versions of the movie were released in theaters. Following the movie’s success in Hindi, the producers declared that it would be dubbed in Tamil and Telugu and was released on November 3.
OTT and Television
On December 29, 2023, the movie became available for streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. On February 29, 2024, it premiered on TV on Sony Max. It premiered as a simulcast on March 10, 2024, over several Sony Network Channels, including Sony Max 2, Sony SAB, and Sony PAL.
Recognition:
The critics praised 12th Fail. It has a 9.0/10 IMDB rating given by 109k raters. 90% of the reviews from 10 critics on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes are positive and have an average rating of 6.8/10.
“Despite the background music and the occasional mood spikes, 12th Fail stays, for the most part, a film that cleaves close to ground reality. With characters that make you feel that they’ve wandered off the street.” stated Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express, rating the movie three stars out of five. “It’s not just the main cast, but the numbers of the young who gather in the hot spots rife with coaching centers, such as North Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar: all these multitudes, crowding into tiny rooms, far away from their homes, cramming day and night to get through the exams in the hope of becoming something more than who they are, is such an India story.” She adds.
“12th Fail is a thought-provoking and entertaining film that offers an innovative portrayal of the life of an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, the screenplay creates a genuinely likable story. It stays away from all extravagance to salvage as much drama as possible from the ups and downs of the journey of the man.” says Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV, who scored it 3.5 stars out of 5. Mid-Day’s Mayank Shekhar reviewed the movie “This is the India story!” with four out of five rating.
Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times said that 12th Fail is a must-watch to understand the struggles and emotions that UPSC students experience as well as to have insight into our educational system as a whole—a point that Chopra made in 3 Idiots (2009). Rediff.com’s Deepa Gahlot appreciated Vikrant Massey’s performance and stated “If Vikrant Massey does not win a National Award for this film, it will be unjust to an actor who has given a performance of such unalloyed brilliance.” India Today’s Bhavna Agarwal rated four out of five stars and wrote. “Vikrant Massey passes with flying colours on performance sheet”.
Anuj Kumar of The Hindu reviewed film writing “12th Fail film review: Vidhu Vinod Chopra delivers yet another hug of hope that is more earnest than magical.” Sneha Bengani of CNBC TV18 reviewed the movie and wrote “Vikrant Massey powers through this remarkable story of perseverance”. In his review, Dhaval Roy of The Times of India rated 12th Fail with four stars out of five, saying that it is a fantastic movie that is highly recommended. Almost every moment in the 147-minute film leaves you feel astounded and inspired. Kudos to Chopra for ensuring that every character in the movie gets the finest opportunity possible.
Where to Watch 12th Fail Movie Online?
There are several illegal websites which offer 12th fail movie online streaming. But if we talk about the legal ones there are Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar where you can watch 12th fail movie.