12th Fail Review: Vikrant Massey pulls through convincingly as IPS Manoj Kumar Sharma

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is the most challenging and demanding civil services examination in India. UPSC results hog headlines with toppers getting Page 1 stories the next day and flood social media with myriad inspirational stories every year. The area around Delhi University and Karol Bagh has institutes promising to get every aspirant through the do-or-die test. The travails of such an aspirational journey is what makes 12th Fail a compelling watch.

The long-expected 12th Fail traces the inspirational tale of real-life IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma from Bilgaon village of Chambal district in Madhya Pradesh. For the film, Chopra brings together a batch of adroit OTT alumni, Vikrant Massey, a star on the rise, Anushmaan Pushkar, Medha Shankar, and Anant Joshi. Massey plays Manoj Kumar Sharma, a man from a poor background, who aspires to be an "honest" police inspector.

12th Fail opens on a wee shaky note with a cub reporter narrating Manoj Kumar Sharma’s story. An honest DSP, played by Priyanshu Chatterjee, nabs the principal who allows students to cheat in Board exams. Manoj, played by Vikrant Massey, is inspired by the DSP and decides to quit cheating. With his grandmother’s savings, he leaves for Gwalior to be a "wardiwala". But strange are the ways of the world which prey on the innocent, he loses his bag while travelling, leaving him hungry for days. Fortune's grace returns when he meets a well-to-do man, who explains to him how the civil services examination can pave the way for the wardiwala aspirant.

Then begins the drama. Determined, the sweet-smiling Manoj tries to overcome his impoverished background. He remembers his promise to his grandmother to return to his village in a ‘wardi.’ Under the guidance of his mentor, played by Anshumaan Pushkar, and his friend, played by Anant Joshi, Manoj burns the midnight oil to prepare for the civil services exam.

Just like Hrithik Roshan in Super 30, Vikrant Massey has to endure brownface makeup (because he is meant to be poor, starving, etc, and not urban and suave). Ironically, the actor had earlier aced every small-town role without any brush of bronzer on his face. Vikrant is faithful to the character and performs fervently as Manoj. Be it Bablu bhaiya in Mirzapur or Rishabh Saxena in Haseen Dillruba and now Manoj Kumar Sharma in 12th Fail, he is definitely a bonafide star whose time is nigh. His expressions in the film are so warm-hearted that I couldn’t restrain the tears in some scenes.

As expected, 12th Fail also has its wishy-washy moments. Medha Shankar, playing Manoj’s love interest Shraddha Joshi, is eye-catching and maintains a lively pace. It’s so brave of her to choose a no-manic pixie dream girl role for her Bollywood debut. Anshumaan Pushkar as Manoj’s mentor is impressive as his accent comes from his heart and is authentic. His acting prowess is a testament to his story of a small-town guy in a big ‘arcade’, given the fact that he hails from Bihar. Anant Joshi, who earlier gave an impressive performance in Netflix’s Kathal opposite Sanya Malhotra, is poignant as Manoj’s friend and the film’s narrator.

The beauty of Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s films lies in his storytelling which brings the best out of every character. He has a knack for socially relevant themes and has multiple sequences that question the system and society’s hypocrisy. However, 12th Fail also has melodramatic sequences that make it a tad too long. 12th Fail has dull moments but elicits hoots and applause in the theatres. The message is simple and yet resounding, "Never give up."

The film is based on the book, 12th Fail, by Anurag Pathak. It is challenging to put all of the book’s meat into a few hours of screen time. Still, the film retains its authenticity as it has been mostly shot in Mukherjee Nagar and Rajendra Place in northwest Delhi. With the tagline, "Hara wahi jo lada nahi", 12th Fail is nothing but inspiring, and the climax will surely have you looking for the hanky.

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