SPECIAL CELEBRATION

Vidhu Vinod Chopra opens up about 12th Fail success, reveals Rajkumar Hirani suggested Vikrant Massey for the lead

The makers of 12th Fail organised a special event in Mumbai as the film completed 100 days of its release on Saturday. Directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the film stars Vikrant Massey, Medha Shankr, Anshumaan Pushkar, Anant Joshi, Sarita Joshi and others. Despite releasing on OTT, the film is successfully running in theatres.

Adapted from Anurag Pathak’s book of the same name, 12th Fail narrates the story of Manoj Kumar Sharma (played by Vikrant), who triumphed over severe poverty to achieve the rank of an IPS officer. The movie sheds light on his remarkable journey and also emphasises the pivotal role played by his wife, Shraddha Joshi, an IRS officer.

During the event, Vikrant asked Vidhu to shed light on his experience of working on the film and its success. The filmmaker said, “100 days ago we had our first show and for me everything boils down to one thing which is the intention of making the film. Why are you making that film? I made an honest film and the result is in front of everyone.”

Vidhu Vinod Chopra said that his wife

(film critic Anupama Chopra) asked him not to release the film in theatres. He explains, “When I was making the film, I was told by everyone, including my wife, to release it directly on an OTT platform. She said, ‘Nobody will go to see your and Vikrant’s film in theatres’. She also said that the film won’t work because I wasn’t ‘connected’ with movies anymore. On top of this, trade agencies wrote that 12th Fail will have an opening of Rs 2 lakh and do a lifetime business of Rs 30 lakh only. Everyone scared me.”

Revealing how Vikrant came on board to play the lead role, the filmmakers said, “I came to know that Rajkumar Hirani and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar had praised the book, 12th Fail. Raju told me that the book is a (can be made into a) film. I asked will you direct it? But he was busy with something. Then I started writing and I fell in love with the script. It was Raju who suggested Vikrant’s name. I had seen his film A Death in the Gunj and I adore him since then. In fact, Vikrant inspired me to direct this film.”

He added that he undertook the project because of his unwavering belief in the film and revealed that the script of the film went through a total of 179 drafts before reaching completion.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra with Vikrant Massey, Medha Shankr and others during the special event of their film