12th Fail-Movie Review

Hello Readers!  

This blog is a response to task given by Dili sir Barad as we have seen 12th fail movie as an academic screening 

Release date: 27 October 2023 (India)

Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Introduction of Characters:

 1. Manoj Kumar Sharma ( Vikrant Massey): The protagonist of the film, Manoj is a young man from a poverty-stricken village in Madhya Pradesh. He has failed his 12th board exams multiple times, earning the stigmatizing label of "12th Fail" in his community. Despite the challenges, Manoj possesses unwavering determination and a burning desire to escape his circumstances. He embarks on a grueling journey to achieve his dream of becoming an IPS officer, facing numerous setbacks and self-doubt along the way.

2. DSP Dushyant Singh (Priyanshu Chatterjee): A stern and upright police officer, Dushyant arrives in Manoj's village and enforces strict integrity during the 12th board exams. This shatters Manoj's hopes of cheating his way to success and sets him on a different path. Dushyant represents the importance of fairness and integrity, inspiring Manoj to strive for his dreams through legitimate means.

3. Pushpa Sharma (Geeta Aggarwal Sharma): Manoj's fiercely supportive mother, Pushpa holds the family together during their struggles. She encourages Manoj to pursue his dreams despite the stigma and hardship, serving as a pillar of strength and unconditional love.

4. Pritam Pandey (Anant V Joshi): A kind and wise UPSC aspirant, Pandey becomes Manoj's mentor and friend in Delhi. He provides guidance, support, and encouragement, sharing his own experiences and helping Manoj navigate the competitive world of UPSC preparation.

5. Shraddha Joshi Sharma (Medha Shankar): A brilliant and confident IRS officer, Shraddha crosses paths with Manoj during his UPSC journey. Their relationship blossoms into a supportive partnership, with Shraddha offering him emotional strength and intellectual companionship.

In the scorching heart of Madhya Pradesh, amidst the dust and despair of Chambal, lies Manoj Kumar Sharma. Stuck in the quagmire of poverty and societal pressures, Manoj finds himself staring down the barrel of yet another failure – his 12th board exams. Cheating, rampant in his village, seemed the only path to escape the stigma of being “12th Fail.”

But with the arrival of a resolute police officer, DSP Dushyant Singh, life takes an unexpected turn. Exams are conducted with unwavering integrity, shattering Manoj's hopes and dreams. His world crumbles further as his father's suspension casts a long shadow over their meager existence.

Undeterred, Manoj refuses to be defined by his failures. He embarks on a grueling journey, leaving behind the familiar confines of Chambal for the bustling chaos of Delhi. Armed with unwavering determination and a borrowed room, he plunges into the competitive world of UPSC aspirants. Days melt into nights as he grapples with poverty, self-doubt, and the crushing burden of expectation.

Yet, through it all, a flicker of hope persists. There's his supportive sister, the inspiring stories of fellow dreamers, and the unwavering mentorship of a kind soul, Pandey. Every setback, every rejection, fuels his fire, pushing him to rise above the ashes.

The film paints a poignant picture of resilience, of chasing dreams that seem impossibly out of reach. It's a testament to the enduring power of the human spirit, a celebration of the triumph of perseverance against seemingly insurmountable odds. In the end, Manoj's journey to becoming an IPS officer transcends a personal victory; it becomes a beacon of hope for millions fighting their own battles in the labyrinthine alleys of life.

Film  from the perspective of Film Studies.

Helicopter Shot:

The film starts with the helicopter shot, which marks the focus on the nearby houses and the house of Manoj Sharma when Manoj is making cheats for the exam with the purpose of getting pass by cheating.

Zoom out: The scene where the people of MP takes all the passengers away from Manoj and his brother while trying to earn money from the rickshaw and shot perfectly marks the vision of corruption going on by power.

Close up Shot: The scene were Manoj has got success and was getting married all the corrupt people are together in one frame to make the faces clear closeup shot have been taken in order to make their expressions clear on the fall they would get in future.

Music: The music is used as per the need of the movie themes where is marking the significant effect on the overall sense to the movie.

As both the filmmaker and composer admitted, Pather Panchali was indeed an inspiration behind the score, and their efforts to get the right sitar and flute for the same is an interesting story about the making of the film . (Chaudhuri)

Thematic Study:

Children getting Influenced: There are several scenes in the movie when children were getting influenced by elders, they were getting influenced by the teachers on the matters of cheating and getting the morals of honesty by looking DSP for the first time. In the case of protagonist, Manoj he got influenced by his father and his grandfather was also an army officer so got motivated by his grandmother which was not east for other children of the village.

Looking through the lens of Casteism: Manoj was belonging to the higher caste of the society by being born in a brahmin family so got the courage to threaten other people by showing shoe or his father threw shoe for the two times on the person in his office , if there had been a Dalit person, people could kill him and throw him in the river. In the case of marriage, there was less struggle in the marriage of Manoj and Shraddha as parents pf Shraddha accepted Manoj after he got job, would they allow that easily if Manoj would belong to a lower caste family?

Feminism: All the female characters of the film have been shown as emotional and helping their male relatives, while looking at all of them individually, the grandmother of Manoj was time and again her dead husband and telling her grand sons to make his grandfather proud in heaven on his grand sons. The mother of Manoj told her father to fight for the justice, she will take care of the needs of the family. Sister of Manoj started working and left study in order to make money and comfort to her mother which made Manoj work hard in Delhi. Most significant lady of the life of Manoj, Shraddha who made Manoj change the world by saying she loves him even at the time of interview of Manoj she wrote him a letter saying she will always be with Manoj even if he works as an IAS officer or as a laborer, Shraddha cannot be found with the strong perspectives of working and struggling strongly as Manoj was and it seems here that the film maker wanted his female characters to be courage and love giver while female characters could have been more powerful and self centered!

The male characters conducting interview seems more rude and less supportive than the female interviewers and it is a direct comment that female has to be more kind, supportive and loving when in reality they can differ .

Changing the Path: Gun to Pen: There are some scenes in the movie like getting kept by the corrupt police and inspite of the statements of his brother of bringing gun at the police station, Manoj ran towards the home of honest DSP, which directly indicated Manoj choosing justice and honesty over violence and corrupt power. Manoj chose Pen over the Gun and honestly over corruption which is not that easy as much it seems in environment where gun and power speaks and people like DSP Dushyant, somewhere provides the motivation to the younger generation and people like Manoj keeps on working hard even he Saw his father giving up on his poverty and helplessness for practicing corruption, Manoj kept on trying.

References:

Chaudhuri, Shantanu Ray. "Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 12th Fail passes with flying colours." Telegraph India , 27 October 2023, https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/vidhu-vinod-chopras-12th-fail-passes-with-flying-colours/cid/1975783 . Accessed 18 January 2024.

Chopra, Vidhu Vinod, director. 12th Fail . 2023.

Felperin, Leslie. "12th Fail review – Indian exam yarn offers hope on overcoming corruption and poverty." The Guardian , 24 October 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/oct/24/12th-fail-review-indian-exam-yarn-offers-hope-on-overcoming-corruption-and-poverty . Accessed 18 January 2024.

Kumar, Akhilesh. “12th Fail Movie and Hidden Caste Privilege: A Critical Analysis from Dalit Perspective.” Dalit Times , 15 January 2024, https://dalittimes.in/twelfth-fail-movie-and-hidden-caste-privilege-a-critical-analysis-from-dalit-perspective/ . Accessed 21 January 2024.

Thank you!