More than anything, 12th Fail is a triumph of Vidhu Vinod Chopra—the teller who raises the bar of a widely known story of the struggle of the underdog. It is a triumph of filmmaking, the powers it holds, and the possibilities of emotions it can carry within. Along with Manoj and Shraddha, a far bigger victory is therefore that of Chopra, who is making us see these characters in a way that is unforeseen. The story had all the elements to just succumb to the same-old wry and dry aesthetics and tap into similar emotions with a well-established style prevalent in the genre. However, Chopra doesn’t want to do that. He understands that the story is pretty basic, and what really has to stand out is the way in which he tells it.
Writing, producing, directing, and co-editing a film at 71, Chopra rises up as the master. At a similar time in Hindi cinema in the 90s, he stood up to make Parinda, a film that redefined many things. Now, after all those years, he is in utmost control of his craft, and does he blossom?
There are scenes in 12th Fail that are just exemplary in terms of their structure and the way they play out. It just makes you calm down and be still. When someone challenges your notion of what a “film” is by taking you on completely new pathways to reach the same destination, it automatically makes you want to sit and listen. It is not the story itself that your mind is hooked on, but the elements chosen to bring it forward. We don’t know which color Chopra would bring to the palette of every consecutive scene. When the story is a simple drama, Chopra’s aesthetics are like a tale of mystery—you never know what moves he is going to make next.
There is no romantic song that underlines the feeling of love. There is not the sense of rising up shown by the protagonist after something happens to them. There is no traditional use of song and background music that is usually present in popular films to underline an emotion. Rather, the dramatics are well controlled, and the hero’s journey is set not according to any pre-set methods or lazy plot points but with carefully plotted scenarios. When the structure of the film is not made apparent but stays conspicuous within the flair of the aesthetics, it really wakes up to start speaking with you. And in Chopra’s 12th Fail, they sing a symphony.
If I go on speaking of individual scenes crafted by Chopra, it will take a lot of space, as every single shot has so much happening to it that gives you an experience. Manoj and Shraddha meet for the first time at a coaching center, where he saves her from getting enrolled there because of his honesty. She notices him, and they later meet up at the library, and it’s raining outside. She discovers that he works there and doesn’t come there to study, as he had told her before. The scene is filled with so many complexities, reflecting that Manoj is not comfortable being open about his social reality in front of the girl he has developed a thing for. The way it plays out puts you at the center of that feeling.
When Manoj and Shraddha finally fall in love, it is the environment around them and the kind of shot-taking that makes us believe in their story. The lights shimmering in their hearts for each other are reflected through the background of Diwali, with lamps hanging all over. It works perfectly well and doesn’t disturb the overall rhythm, which Chopra wants to maintain throughout.
His sharp and delicate understanding of rhythm is impeccable. He is like that musician who wants each tune to be in place; like that carver who knows what shape he wishes to make of the wood; like that cook who puts just the right amount of sugar crystals in the porridge so that it gives the right amount of sweetness it needs. When Manoj comes to visit Shraddha in Mussuorie and is told by her to just leave and go back to Delhi, the calm hills are shown just for a few seconds for us to absorb the underlying emotion with the twilight. He is giving you a moment to stay with that feeling experienced by Manoj. Instead of breaking that rhythm, this small inclusion in the edit creates a cloudy bridge for us to slowly go into the next scene. It is like a breather for what is to follow.
There are many more such instances. And that’s why 12th Fail, apart from being an inspiring tale, is a masterclass in filmmaking. Vidhu Vinod Chopra has blurred the boundaries of what kind of cinema it is. It has experimental storytelling that stays away from formula, yet it doesn’t ever feel overburdening. Chopra shows with his 2-hour 30-minute film that he can pull you under his influence without ever complicating things. It is a formally arousing, extraordinary achievement.
KuchTohBhi 