12th Fail Movie Review : A top-class tale of grit and determination

12th Fail story: The inspiring story of an IPS officer who failed class 12 exams, did odd jobs, slept for just three hours each night, and started over four times to clear the UPSC exams.

12th Fail review: Clearing the coveted Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams is not for the weak, whether in academics or conviction. This makes Manoj Kumar Sharma's (Vikrant Massey) story extraordinary. The boy from a village in Chambal, Madhya Pradesh, flunks his 12th exams after the new DPS, Dushyant Singh (Priyanshu Chatterjee), prevents the teachers from enabling students to cheat in the 'borad' (board) exams. Manoj clears the following year in the third division and reaches Delhi to appear for the Civil Services examination. He has the fire but not the academic acumen to make it, so much so that he's not even aware there's such a thing as the UPSC or the IPS profile. The story follows Manoj and how he juggles menial jobs to survive while realising his dream, with his mentor (Anshumaan Pushkar), friends, and girlfriend Shraddha Joshi's (Medha Shankar) support.

Every track in the film is a story in itself — from Manoj's misled youth where he doesn't know the right from the wrong to his struggles and restarting from zero each time. The viewer feels involved in Manoj's success or failure. As the tension mounts when he goes for the final leg (the interview), silent pauses and the ambient sound makes you hold your breath, too.

The narrative flows easily as it harks back to legends such as APJ Kalam and BR Ambedkar's call to his followers: 'Educate, agitate, organise.' The movie also subtly touches upon why corrupt politicians want the youth to stay unintelligent — so they can be suppressed and ruled.

Vikrant Massey handles a demanding role and character arc with great aplomb. He does justice to the character at every turn — whether he’s agitated, helpless or determined to turn the tide in his favour. Priyanshu Chatterjee shines in his brief role as the DCP, whose honesty is his bravery. His prowess as a performer is evident in the scene where he meets Manoj as his superior. His reaction is a mix of respect for a senior and pride for inspiring a young man to choose the right path. As Manoj's parents, Geeta Agrawal Sharma and Harish Khanna deserve mention for their nuanced performances.

'12th Fail' is top-class and a must-watch that will leave you impressed and inspired through almost every scene of its 147 minutes. Full marks to Chopra for ensuring he gets the best out of every character in the movie.