This movie review blog is written as the post viewing activity after the movie screening of 12th Fail in the classroom in Department of English, MKBU.
12th fail (2023) Movie Review
Introduction
“Main aapke jaisa banna chahta hoon sir.
Cheating chhodni padegi.”
To become a leader or someone who has power comes from the honesty and integrity one holds in whatever one is doing. This comes as a cheating student tries to be honest in his life and become a high ranking officer and also succide in his journey, this is the journey of Manoj Sharma.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra's latest offering 12th Fail brings to screen the inspiring true story of a young man's journey to become an IPS officer. Based on Anurag Pathak's book of same title, the film provides an aspirational tale, shedding light on the struggles of underprivileged students in India's education system.
The film 12th fail deals with the journey of Manoj from how a boy from Chambal who have only seen blunders and cheating people also engages in the mass cheating in the twelfth grade and fails. The only light there is the Father with honesty and teaching the honest life yet it is the environment that is more impactful where the new DSP Dushyant SIngh with his honesty gives a new dream to Manoj to become an honest person and high ranking officer.
Resilience and Self-Actualization
Through the pursuit of becoming a civil servent of Manoj Kumar Sharma, played earnestly by Vikrant Massey, 12th Fail explores profound themes of integrity, social justice and upward mobility. Drawing from positive psychology, the film chronicles the human capacity for resilience and self-actualization against all odds. According to Maslow's hierarchy, Manoj's journey represents the fulfilment of esteem needs through the UPSC Exam.
Here the film is presenting the narrative of “Rags to Riches”, where the protagonist achieves everything at the end of the movie. It is a bit dramatic and fantastical that this type of scenario is a bit hard to digest yet this movie is inspired from true events and portrays realism.
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The female protagonist of the movie does have an important role in the life of Manoj as she provides the inspiration to him as well the emotional support when he is in need but does not have that much of the powerful presence of her own like we find of Dherya in Aspirants.
Class Conflict and Guiding Lights
The story highlights the class conflict and political corruption as the depiction of a powerful politician and his influence as well what happens with those who are poor and honest like the father of Manoj, but also lakes when if we look it through the caste system of the society, the gap is filled with the character of Gouri bhaiya but he is also not winning rather becomes a guiding light for Manoj.
The issue is more focused of lower class students aspired to become successful in education and in society in Super 30 (20190 starring Rhitik Roshan or Rather Dramatic tale of an Assistant professor in Vaathi (2023) tamil film starring Dhanush, the movie here 12th fail also is seemingly loose to depicts the journey of low caste students.
Moral Courage and Collective Success
Like the many series produced by The Viral Fever like TVF Aspirants, Sandeep Bhaiya, the central theme here as in the introductory dialogue is about moral courage, honesty and the results it brings in the success of individuals. It is also about the larger discourse of the Indian youth who are engaged in the exam preparation of government jobs and civil service.
Here the protagonist of film Manoj is representing the large mass as one of the dialogue by Gauri Bhaiiya says,
“Kya samajhta hai tu, ki bas tumhara ladayi hai ye…Hum sabka ladayi hai.
Ek ka bhi jeet hoga na karodon bhedh bakri ka jeet hoge.”
The success of Manoj is not his individual but it has come from lots of people like his Grandmother and his family, his Friends like Gauri Bhaiya, his lover Shraddha. The success of Manoj also becomes inspiring to many others like him who are in this journey of preparing for government jobs and civil services.
Conclusion
"12th Fail" is a compelling tale of Manoj, who, despite academic setbacks, emerges as an honest IPS officer. The film underscores the power of honesty, depicting success as a collaborative effort involving friends, family, and Shraddha, his girlfriend. If you appreciate stories about overcoming challenges while staying true to oneself, "12th Fail" is a must-watch.
