12 FAIL Movie

Exactly halfway through “12th Fail”, directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, civil service aspirant Manoj Sharma (Vikrant Massey) receives a visit from his father (Harish Khanna) at the decrepit flour mill in New Delhi where he lives and works. Manoj is at the nadir of his journey from an obscure village in Chambal, Madhya Pradesh, to success in the highly competitive civil service entrance examinations. He has been unsuccessful in his previous three attempts and is preparing for the fourth and last one for which he is eligible. However, the preparations are not going smoothly.

Having lost a relatively more comfortable job as a cleaner at a library, he now works at a flour mill. With little access to books, notes, or training classes at New Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar, essential for clearing the examination, he faces more challenges. On a recent visit to his village, he learns that his family is in dire financial circumstances. As a result, he works longer hours at the mill to send money home. His budding relationship with fellow civil services aspirant Shraddha Joshi (Medha Shankar) is also on the rocks Manoj’s father has had his share of struggles. Earlier in the film, he was dismissed from his government job on false charges of corruption. Abandoning his family in the village, he has been fighting the government in the courts for rehabilitation. But seeing his son in such distress breaks his resolve to continue the fight.

“People like us can never win,” he says. “But we will not accept defeat either, will we?” replies Manoj, smiling brightly, his face covered in soot and flour dust. He reminds his father of a poem the latter taught his children: “I write a new rhyme on the pages of time / I sing a new song.”Manoj’s father has had his share of struggles. Earlier in the film, he was dismissed from his government job on false charges of corruption. Abandoning his family in the village, he has been fighting the government in the courts for rehabilitation. But seeing his son in such distress breaks his resolve to continue the fight.

“People like us can never win,” he says. “But we will not accept defeat either, will we?” replies Manoj, smiling brightly, his face covered in soot and flour dust. He reminds his father of a poem the latter taught his children: “I write a new rhyme on the pages of time / I sing a new song.” The encounter between Manoj and his father reminded me strongly — not of “Pather Panchali” — but of a scene from “Apur Sansar”, the third and final film of Ray’s trilogy. In this scene, quite early in the film, the protagonist Apu (Soumitra Chatterjee) and his friend Pulu (Swapan Mukherjee) are out in the evening to watch a play and have dinner. Apu works as a tuition teacher, earning Rs 15 a month. Their conversation reveals that he could have got a job in a railway company but did not take it up because the position was of a strike-breaker. Now, he lives in a decrepit rented room and eats rice, dal, and boiled potatoes every day. A treat of cutlets from his friends prompts him to loudly recite poetry on the streets.