Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail, starring Vikrant Massey and Medha Shankr, is celebrating one year of its release today, October 27, 2024. The film was hailed significantly for its authentic storytelling and compelling performances by each character. On this special occasion, let’s revisit some of the fascinating trivia associated with the film that you might not know.
12th Fail is a biographical drama film based on the life of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma, who failed his 12th exams. Nevertheless, he braves all the hardships and overcomes the pressures by clearing the country’s toughest competitive exam, UPSC. It also shows how his now wife, Shraddha Joshi, became his support and biggest motivating factor in his journey.
1. Rajkumar Hirani was supposed to direct the 12th Fail
According to the official IMDb page of 12th Fail, Vikrant Massey and Medha Shankr starrer was initially supposed to be directed by Rajkumar Hirani. However, during the process of film writing with the new writers, Vidhu Vinod Chopra got so attached to the characters that he got interested in directing the film himself.
Chopra was hesitant about directing the film initially, as he had not directed any such film before. However, when he saw Massey’s test, he was resolute to direct it himself.
2. The widespread casting process
12th Fail went through an extensive casting process where at least 35+ actors were tested for the key roles of Shraddha Joshi, Pritam Pandey, Gauri Bhaiya, Ranveer, Pushpa, and Dadi, which were finally portrayed by Medha Shankr, Anant V Joshi, Anshumaan Pushkar, Geeta Agrawal Sharma and Sarita Joshi.
Interestingly, it was only Manoj’s character for which only one actor was tested.