12th fail passes with flying colours

Parbina Rashid

After enduring headache-inducing antics of the Pathans and Jawans, this 12th fail guy with his dream to wear the vardi comes like a breath of fresh air. And he brings hope, not just for lakhs of UPSC aspirants, but also for Bollywood. The message is loud and clear — one has to touch the emotional chord of whoever one’s target group is, UPSC members on the interview board in case of our protagonist or the cinegoers in case of the makers!

Based on the real-life story of Mohan Kumar Sharma, whose life is documented by Ashok Pathan in a book of the same name, it’s Mohan’s journey from a small village in Chambal to the awe-inspiring UPSC building in Delhi that forms the crux of the plot. The character here is called Manoj Kumar Sharma, which Vikrant Massey plays with aplomb.

Manoj, the village boy, is a product of a school where teachers help them cheat to pass exams. This cozy set-up, however, gets toppled by an honest police officer, and as a result, Manoj fails in his 12th Boards. But he finds his dream — to clear the civil services exam and become an honest vardiwala!

Soon after he leaves home, his life sees more downs than ups, but hope is never a casualty here, not when he loses his belongings, gets kicked out of his toilet-cleaning job at a library, or flunks the UPSC (Mains) when he mistakes the word ‘tourism’ for ‘terrorism’ and writes a complete essay on it. Not even when he is asked to leave when he professes his feelings to the girl he loves. The smile never leaves his face, nor does he allow it to fade from the audience’s face. He nails every emotion, from love to heartbreak, from sadness to frustration.

Shradhaa (Medha Shankar), his girlfriend, comes across as sweet and real. She lights up the screen every time she appears. Not with her glamour but with her earnestness. The supporting cast includes his mentor, a failed IAS aspirant (Anshumaan Pushkar), and his friend with a heart of gold (Anant Joshi). With each scene, they just grow on us. Another character that stays in the mind is Manoj’s grandmother (Sarita Joshi) with all her fieriness. She takes it upon herself to protect her family physically but refuses to share her pension point-blank.

Geeta Sharma Agrawal, who plays Manoj’s hardworking mother, seems hyper-emotional at times but stops short of being melodramatic.

The screenplay is peppered with powerful dialogues. Nothing over-the-top in this department too. And the theme song, ‘Restart’, is really peppy, and hummable.

The first half may give us the feeling of déjà vu, having seen shows on the coaching centre scenario (Kota Factory, Aspirants 1 & 2), but the splendid performances stop the plot from spiralling down. The story picks up in the second half. With the entire team rooting for Manoj’s success, and Manoj on his part transforming into a confident person after clearing the Mains, the plot becomes interesting without compromising on the relatability factor. Vidhu Vinod Chopra does not adopt a preachy tone, even as he brings out serious issues like the differences between English-speaking ‘haves’ and Hindi-speaking ‘have-nots’.

Nor does he dwell on revenge. Manoj’s family’s fight against injustice is subtle and in no way impedes on the core theme — which is of hope and resilience.

Chopra makes this one a beautiful celebration of public and personal life and Vikrant Massey passes his test with flying colours.

This is one performance Massey would be remembered for.