There has been a long-standing debate about whether cinema is just for entertainment or is it meant to convey a message. The debate is largely flared by incompetence of the film-makers in producing entertainment content along with a good message for the audience. To derail the debate around entertainment and messaging in cinema, every now and then, a movie comes along with the right mix of entertainment and messaging. Such cinema leaves us with motivation, inspiration, guidance for life and the courage to struggle and fight. One such film that has come out this year is 12th Fail.
Written, produced and directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the movie ticks all the right boxes and has the optimum mix of entertainment and messaging. A film that is sure to stay with the audience for a long time and has the ability to inspire generations. I can use many adjectives to define this magnum opus, but let’s first understand the nuances of the cinema.
The story is based on the life of Manoj Sharma and his wife Shraddha Joshi. It captures the journey of an ambitious boy from Chambal, who embarks on an inspirational journey of becoming an IPS through his sheer grit and determination. The cinema beautifully shows the rustiness of Chambal coupled with the gruesomeness of Delhi IAS preparation zones like Mukherjee Nagar. The story moves from the protagonist failing class 12, to seeking inspiration from a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), to having to do menial jobs to finance his own education, to having to bear the burden of responsibility of his poverty-stricken family, to giving it all to achieve his ultimate aim of becoming an IPS officer. It shows all phases of his life from a 12th fail student to becoming an IPS with utmost honesty.
Let’s move to the technical aspects. The direction is brilliant and all actors deserve a great round of applause. The protagonist played by Vikrant Massey deserves the highest honours. He has immaculately portrayed the humility, grace, determination, responsibility, confusion and honesty of the protagonist. His performance is almost flawless and his best till date.
Medha Shankar’s Shraddha Joshi is charming, honest, loving and selfless. The mentor (Gauri Bhaiya) played by Anshuman Pushkar and best friend played by Anant Joshi show how friends and well-wishers act as propellants in one’s journey.
Even actors playing the smallest of roles leave a huge impression. Dadi played by Sarita Joshi makes one relate to how our forefathers, even with their struggle and minimal resources, planned and saved for our future.
The inspiring DSP played by Prityanshu Chatterjee is wholesome on screen. The protagonist’s sister played by Perry Chhabra or tea vendor (Tutul) played by Abhishek Sengupta stand out. The movie is an acting master class.
There are some minor flaws though. While the cinematography could have been better, better songs could have given the movie a boost. The background score also deserved a little more attention. Reducing the length of the movie by 10 -15 minutes could have helped. Irrespective of these minor glitches, the movie remains a stellar cinematic experience.
The real magnificence lies in its messaging and moments. Let’s address some gems here.
The best scene of inspiration is captured in the initials of the cinema where the protagonist asks the DSP how he can become like him. His reply: “Cheating chodni padegi”. Another beautiful moment is captured in a father-son duel, where a dejected father mentions to his son that honesty has not taken him anywhere in life, to which the son replies: ‘Imandari itni bhi buri cheez nahi hai’.
Another moment worth mentioning is where Gauri bhaiya shuts down English medium students denigrating Hindi medium aspirants by saying: “Gareeb hota hai inka baap, nahin padha paata hai apane bachchon ko mahange school-college mein, lekin pata hai phir bhi yeh log khaali haath nahi aate jazba lekar aate hain.”
Also, moments like ‘Dadi’ saving money to educate her grandson or a mother lying to his son about the wellbeing of the family just to keep her son distracted from his family problems and keep him focussed on studies enriches one about the strength of our family system. Even the constant support to the protagonist displayed by his brother who himself does menial jobs fills one with hope about goodness around.
Moreover, the concept of reset or restarting even after failures is depicted beautifully. The words ‘reset’ and ‘restart’ used in the movie come up as a constant motivation to deal with hardship and overcome failures. It serves as a constant reminder that everyone has an opportunity to restart even after the biggest failures, reducing all our hard work to zero.
The cinema also captures the patriotic and selfless fabric of the Bharatiya system. The scene where ‘Dadi’ asks her son to fight the corrupt system without caring about the economic situation of the family is a full display of vigour, selflessness and grit. This vigour is also reflected in the attitude of the father of the protagonist who takes on the system for the betterment of society without caring about himself or the family. That is the true selfless Bharat that stays in the rural landscape and, irrespective of the daily hardships, always thinks of the betterment of the society with a selfless attitude. The selflessness of society is also depicted through the attitude of the best friend of the protagonist played by Anant Joshi who decides to take the protagonist from Gwalior to Delhi even when the protagonist doesn’t have money and helps him in all possible ways during his stay in Delhi. This selflessness is also reflected in the attitude of Gauri bhaiya who gives up his room for the protagonist to prepare for the exams and even appoints his helper to cook for him. This is the true reflection of our Bharatiya parampara where individuals stand out to help others in need even beyond their comfort zones. This selfless attitude separates the sanskriti of Bharat from the west. Bharatiya people believe in contributing to society. We are not a state-driven nation, but a society driven nation, which makes us unique. They have a collectivist mindset, which allows them to bear hardships together and come out winners. This is different from the individualistic mindset of the west. Our civilisation as forever survived on this basic tenet.
The cinema depicts that the protagonist’s sister is studying even while living in a small village in Chambal. Also, when the female lead requests her parents to give up on medical studies to pursue civil services, the father never once hesitates to allow her to pursue her dreams, instead takes her to the best place. Furthermore, when the female protagonist confronts her father for not trusting her regarding her relationship with the male protagonist he restores her trust on her and allows her to do the right thing. The scene where the protagonist tells his best friend to be courageous and tell his father that he doesn’t want to do civil services is a treat to watch.
Among all these moments and scenes the poetry of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee “Haar nahi manunga, raar nahi thanunga” builds a brilliant depiction of grit and determination. The poetry lines fit in with the struggle and determination of the protagonist beautifully. The only trivialisation that one notices in the cinema, however, is the dilution of the motivation of the protagonist to crack the IPS to his love life.
This being said, the cinema, as an overall package, has multiple moments that will remain entrenched in memories of moviegoers for generations.
Sandeep Krishnarao Patil is Executive CCO, VSK Mumbai, and Advisor, VESIM Literati Festival, Mumbai, Khajurao Literature Festival. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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