12th Fail Movie Review :— It has been a great year for Bollywood, both in terms of critically acclaimed movies and superhits at the box office. Pathaan, Jawan, Animal, and Tiger 3 were some of the movies that performed fairly well at the box office. However, all of these movies were released in many big and small theatres and reached a wide audience. Made on big budgets and with prominent superstars, these movies found a platform to achieve massive success.
Then comes movies made on a small budget but with the complete heart and soul of the team. Released on a limited number of screens nationwide and with very little production investment, 12th Fail is one such movie.
12th Fail Movie Review:
The movie’s core plot also reflects the same thing- the same platform, different opportunities and ladders for people. The same education system and economic structures are divided among people with different resources and social capital. While movies are a source of entertainment and a way for most people to escape reality, I believe they should also be a reflection of our society. This is exactly what 12th Fail attempts to do.
Based on the story of a real-life IAS aspirant, 12th Fail seemed like an unrealistic portrayal of what a person may go through to break the shackles of poverty and achieve their aim. However, Manoj’s story, in its bits and pieces, reflects the stark reality of many Indians who continue to encounter challenges because of their socio-economic status within the society.
Based in the town of Chambal, which is famous for its dacoits, the movie shows a young boy, Manoj who passes his exams by cheating with the help of the Principal of the school since the Mayor establishes it, and he doesn’t want it to harm his reputation. Manoj’s father is a man with high moral values. He gets suspended from her clerical job as he cannot digest his corrupt colleagues. Leaving his family to fend for themselves, he proceeds to fight against this system in the High Court. The movie shows how moral values are not a package of the educated class and are also found within the rural areas.
Manoj failed his 12th class when the honest DSP Dushyant Singh did not accept the bribery and arrested the Principal. Meanwhile, Manoj and his brother are wrongfully arrested by the police for their rickshaw since the route to another village must only be travelled by the Mayor’s bus. Manoj’s brother is harassed and beaten by the police, so he runs to call Dushyant to save them. Seeing how the DSP can show his authority over the corrupt cops, Manoj decides to become a police officer as well to battle the system that reeks of corruption from its very roots.
To become an IAS in India, every person has to pass the UPSC entrance exam. The criteria for choosing the civil servants seem fair since everyone is given the same exam with the same questions. However, 12th Fail shows how one’s background and capital influence one’s performance in exams as well. Manoj can clear prelims twice but cannot pass the Mains exam because of his poor English and lack of writing skills. The movie shows Manoj’s struggle as he goes on to work 12-13 hours a day in a mill and study the rest of the day.
Coming to the movie’s review, Vikrant Massey gives his career-best performance as Manoj. He brings the needed determination you need for such a character. How he handles the ending sequences with maturity, where Manoj gives an interview in the final stage and manages to bring out the required emotions and countenance, shows Massey’s utmost talent and ability.
The movie is crafted creatively with the realities of the social world entwined within the plot. Education appears to be a space that is based on pure merit. However, as we peek into the multi-layered and complex world, we realise that things are not as easy as they appear to be. While Manoj prepares for the same exam as his friends, he also has to work for half a day in extreme hardship, earn money to send it home, and live in dire situations. In contrast, his friends study within the comfort of their homes and with their parents motivating them and caring for them at every moment.
Never once in the movie would you see Manoj struggling with his faith. He firmly believes in being optimistic in life. Whenever you see him studying in a claustrophobic one-room house, he says, “Abdul Kalam studied under a street lamp, I have a bulb of my own.” 12th Fail shows this two-way perception of demonstrating the education system and the larger society’s shortcomings while portraying how one has to accept the circumstance and make the best of it.
Conclusion-
12th Fail serves as a reminder of the stark differences between the strata of society. While equality is still a far-fetched notion, the movie shows how the education system is also structured in a manner that makes it easier for those in privileged positions to climb the ladder to the same destination. As Manoj says in the interview, Edmund Hilary was the first person to climb Mount Everest but the Sherpa were the first to reach without oxygen support. Thousands of people similarly reach top positions without such support- 12th Fail is a movie that demonstrates the struggles of these people, which are concealed within the rose-tinted visions of the upper classes.
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