Neither Jawan Nor Animal, 12th Fail Is The Best Film Of 2023 & Vikrant Massey Is The Alpha Male

Movies are meant to entertain but some leave us inspired. Vidhu Vinod Chopra¡¯s 12th Fail belongs to the latter. While the nation busied itself with Ranbir Kapoor and Sandeep Vanga Reddy's Animal chatter, only a few contributed to making 12th Fail a sleeper hit of 2023.

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Clearly, the fault lies in our stars. As viewers, it¡¯s our duty to support important and thought-provoking films but most of us are guilty of adding to the box office collection of movies that feature big names and not-so-great stories, including yours truly.

After giving 12th Fail a watch on OTT, the very first thought that came to mind was how I failed as a cinegoer because I chose to spend money on Animal but completely ignored 12th Fail during its theatrical run. Unfortunately, we are the same people who then crib about these frivolous movies that waste our time and money. Had I spent a fraction of money on 12th Fail, it would have given me immense satisfaction of watching such a phenomenal film on the big screen.

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As they say better late than never, my new year¡¯s resolution would be to not give in to the noise and take wise decisions of choosing the films that have gravitas instead of nonsensical hype.

Moving on, 12th Fail garnered a lot of positive reviews from those who did watch it in theatres and post viewing it on OTT, I feel that it deserved way more than it got!

Manoj Kumar Sharma Is The Alpha Male That We All Should Aspire To Be

Machismo is not in violence but in owning up and taking a stand for yourself and your family. In the film, Vikrant Massey¡¯s Manoj showed courage to stand up against those who did him wrong. There¡¯s a beautiful scene where his brother and him are wrongly taken into custody by the police for driving their ¡®Juggad¡¯ (a self-made vehicle to ferry customers to nearby villages).

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The officer instigates Manoj to get his dunali (desi rifle) for a face-off in exchange for his brother¡¯s acquittal. Instead of choosing violence and a false sense of manhood, he approached his idol and the honest DSP of his area Dushyant Singh. When Singh tells him to come in the morning, he utters a blunt yet truthful statement that what is the point of honesty when you can¡¯t help a poor person in need. Dushyant is moved by his determination and bravado and decides to help him out.

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A small deed by Dushyant left such a massive impact on young Manoj¡¯s impressionable mind that in that very moment he decides that he will give it his all to become an honest policeman without taking the route of cheating. Instead of following the masses, he gives his 12th exam honestly even if that entailed a third division while all his classmates scored first division via cheating.

Vikrant Massey Deserves All The Awards For This Film Because Just Like The Character That He Played, Even His Real Life Is Somewhat Similar

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Belonging to a middle class family, Vikrant has been performing since the age of 7. From small-time dancing and theatre gigs to playing the lead in several films, he has surely come a long way due to his hard work and determination. I, for one, first took notice of him when he was introduced in the TV show Balika Vadhu as Shyam Singh. It was hard to ignore him as his presence had an enviable spark. With time he went on to become a part of several big projects, be it Mirzapur, Dil Dhadakne Do, Lootera, Haseen Dillruba or Criminal Justice among others, the man can never go wrong when it comes to acting.

He¡¯s an actor in the true sense of the word and his love for the craft is evident from every role that he chooses. A humble and soft-spoken young man, he¡¯s always a delight to watch both on and off the screen.

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As for his 12th Fail performance, he deserves every bit of success and accolades because his honesty, conviction and emotions translated and resonated with the audiences beautifully.

Right Emotions, Relatability And An Inspiring Real Life Story Is What Makes 12th Fail A Really Special Film!

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Elitists constitute only a small fraction of our population. A majority of India belongs to the low-income group with big dreams and goals. For a young boy belonging to a family that barely makes ends meet to dream of becoming an IPS officer, is something that is not uncommon. In real life we have seen children of laborers, auto drivers and farmers among others go on to achieve triumph only because of their hunger for success and yearning for a decent life, something which kids of rich families get automatically on a golden platter.

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Manoj worked odd jobs like cleaning toilets, waitering in a tea stall, working in a library and milling flour to make meager money which helped him get tuitions and books. He would study almost 13 hours, work for 8 hours and sleep for only 3. This practice wasn¡¯t a one-off thing, he continued doing it for years until he made his dream come true.

Parallely, we are shown a privileged boy Pritam who was the one who planted the IPS dream in Manoj¡¯s head and supported him throughout his journey (well, most of the time minus a few hiccups). He failed to clear the exams continuously only because he knew that he had a fall-back option - his father, a PWD contractor. The contrast between the two men is something that I'm pretty sure, most of us, have witnessed in our daily lives.

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12th Fail scores high on relatability and every moment of the film keeps you gripped because you will find yourself rooting for Manoj. His wins and losses aren¡¯t just his own because they feel personal. When he flunks his mains exam, it felt like a personal blow because one couldn¡¯t fathom how this hardworking boy who has worked and studied day and night without caring about his health or personal life, would have to restart the entire process all over again!

The Film Reinstates Our Faith In Hard Work And Perseverance, Something Which Is Needed Like A Constant Reminder

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It¡¯s a cliche line that hard work never goes in vain and we all have been told this over and over again by our elders but we all lose faith in this belief when we don¡¯t get the desirable outcome. We need constant reminders by those around us that it indeed is the only key to success. There are no free lunches in the world and even luck supports those who work hard. 12th Fail feels like a warm hug on a cold night.

From Gouri Bhaiya To DSP Dushyant Singh, Even The Side Character Have Engaging Sub Plots

Instead of making the film hero-centric, director and scriptwriter Vidhu Vinod Chopra ensured that the supporting actors aren¡¯t just for props. Anshuman Pushkar who played the role of Gouri Bhaiya gets full attention and respect for being so selfless and kind.

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A UPSC aspirant himself, once he maxes out his attempts and still doesn¡¯t crack it, he makes it his life goal to assist those who dared to dream of becoming an officer. He not only motivates and teaches but also goes out of the way to help Manoj financially and emotionally. That small scene where he carries his carefully packed police uniform for Manoj on the day of result announcement will bring such a happy smile on your face that you¡¯ll not forget him for days.

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Priyanshu Chatterjee, who played DSP Dushyant might not have a long screen time but he managed to leave a solid impact with whatever he got. It all boils down to the fact that it was because of him that Manoj realized his dream and kept working towards it. The sense of fulfillment hits hard when Manoj who is now his senior goes back to meet him and touches his feet before presenting him his wedding invitation. When Dushyant realises, it¡¯s the same boy who once asked him how he can be like him, he gives Manoj a grand salute once again out of respect!

It¡¯s these little things in the film that speaks volumes about the heart and intent that the makers had behind making 12th Fail.

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You can hate me all you want but I will go out on a limb and say this, 12th Fail has the recall value that most of this year¡¯s releases have failed to attain. This is one film that many people will go back to over and over again to experience what happiness and contentment feels like. This is the kind of cinema that our country is capable of producing. It¡¯s high time we overlook the massy and choose the underdogs.

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Interestingly, Abhishek Bachchan recently explained how 12th Fail is the biggest hit of 2023 despite low box office numbers in comparison with Jawan, Gadar, Animal and other movies.

Abhishek Bachchan was present at a roundtable discussion with Vikrant Massey where he said, ¡°Being a keen observer of, and a student of the industry, you also have to understand something known as a quantum. Vikrant has given a great example of a small film with a big heart working, but with all due respect, I¡¯m not sure what his budget would¡¯ve been. But it can¡¯t have been more than single-digits, or Rs 10-12 crore. A movie that is made on that budget is going to have a possibility of only a certain kind of marketing. It¡¯s going to grow, as it should, because it¡¯s a good film. And that¡¯s a prerequisite.¡±

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He then compared the success of 12th Fail with Jawan and added, ¡°It¡¯s not possible for a film like that, because of the system, to do Rs 500 crore. He doesn¡¯t have those kinds of theatres. The amount of people he¡¯s managed to show the film to is because he has a particular number of theatres, so its occupancy percentage will be very high. You can¡¯t expect him to compete with a Jawan, which is made on a budget of possibly 20x of what his budget was. And, it¡¯s Mr Shah Rukh Khan, who¡¯s one of the biggest stars that the nation has ever seen. Every film has its own quantum, but if you see the percentage ROI, I¡¯m sure (Vikrant) has got the biggest hit of the year.¡±

Isn't that just wonderful?

Apart from Massey, the film also stars Priyanshu Chatterjee, Sarita Joshi, Medha Shankar, Anant V Joshi and Anshuman Pushkar among others.

12th Fail is available for streaming on Disney+Hotstar.

(To read more such stories related to movies and shows released on OTTs, keep reading Indiatimes BINGE)