Three years after making ‘Shikara’, National Film Award winning filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s next film ‘12th Fail’ was released in theatres on Friday. Even before the film’s release, a segment of film enthusiasts was speculating about the potentially underwhelming box office prospects of the film. Considering the fact that the film does not boast of a huge star cast and the subject is not a typical masala entertainer like ‘Jawan’ and ‘Leo’.
But it looks like what was being said to be the inherent weaknesses of ‘12th Fail’, are turning out to be the film’s major strengths. The movie has belied its box office expectations and has sprung a pleasant surprise during the weekend. As per reports, ‘12th Fail’ registered more than a crore on its opening day. During the weekend, the film earned around Rs.6.42 crores during its opening weekend. And that’s a decent figure for a film without an extravagant budget and in the absence of big superstars.
‘12th Fail’ might have got an encouraging start at the box office because of the film’s relatable subject (who does not love a well told underdog story?) and because of the film’s director – Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the gifted filmmaker who has given us some brilliant films like ‘Parinda’ and ‘1942: A Love Story’ in the past.
More importantly, ‘12th Fail’ has received unanimously positive reviews from critics and audiences alike. So, good word-of-mouth played and will further play an important role in the film’s box office performance. And last but certainly not least, we must not forget the terrific performance delivered by ‘Mirzapur’ actor Vikrant Massey in ‘12th Fail’. He has given his heart and soul for this performance and deserves all the accolades. Content driven and well-intentioned films like ‘12th Fail’ totally deserve the attention of true cinephiles and we just hope that it continues to perform decently at the box-office too.
Based on Anurag Pathak’s best-selling book, ‘12th Fail’ is a film which ostensibly narrates the incredible and inspirational story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma and IRS officer Shraddha Joshi. The story is set amidst the backdrop of grueling preparation by students who try to clear one of the world’s toughest exams: UPSC. Have you seen the film? Did you like it?