12th Fail is a Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Produced under the banner of Vinod Chopra Films and Zee Studios, the film is based on Anurag Pathak's novel of the same name. The film stars Vikrant Massey, Palak Lalwani, Sanjay Bishnoi, and Harish Khanna. It is scheduled to be released on 27 October 2023.
Have seen you from TV to films, every character of yours is different from each other, what was the reason for doing this film?
The story of this film has inspired me a lot. This film is based on a book, and when I read that book, I was very inspired. The second reason is that the producer, director, and writer of this film is Vidhu Vinod Chopra himself, so how could I refuse to do the film? This story is very inspiring, and we have tried to tell the story of crores of people through one character in the film. I hope that the audience is as inspired by this film as I am.
This film is the story of a common man, so how did you prepare for this character, and did you find it challenging to play this character?
Preparation for each character is done differently. Every new character demands something new. At least five crore copies of the book on which this film is made have been sold, which means a lot of people have read the book. People will be aware of this story, and when the film was directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra himself, it was a responsibility on my shoulder to ensure that there was no stone unturned from my side when this film came on screen. Because this is the story of lakhs and crores of people.
My connection with the world of education ended after college. Then I met the children, talked to them, and tried to understand their thoughts and feelings. This film was also physically demanding. When you shoot with Vinod sir, you shoot for three to four months but you prepare for almost a year. It was a bit challenging for me but I am happy that now this film is about to be released and now people are going to see it. I hope and believe that people will watch the film and will like it.
Vinod Chopra, who has been working in the film industry for the last 45 years, has given amazing films like 'Parinda' and Love Story', how was your experience of working with him?
I can say with great pride that this has been a very special experience of my life. His way of working is different, he does not compromise at all. As I observed him while working with him, I understood that he does not compromise not only in work but also in life. I am very inspired by him. And our actor-director relationship is very special to me. If we look at my experience as an actor, the most beautiful has been with him. I hope we make more films together in the future. I like him very much both as a person and as a director. I can also say that I want to become like him in the future.
Have you met him before or directly during this film?
During this movie. We knew about each other but we met when we started talking about this film.
What can the audience expect from this film?
You will find a lot of entertainment, a lot of inspiration, emotion, hope, and all these things in this film. The most important thing is that in this you will see a journey which may be your own. This is my hope and I urge people to watch the film in their nearest theaters on 27th October, and then tell us on social media how you liked the film.
You are playing the role of a student in this film, so are there any memories from your school days that you remembered during the shooting?
Yes, of course, as you must have seen in the trailer when all the children are sitting in the class, they write their names on the bench. Similarly, I also used to do during my school days, used to doodle on the bench, they used to erase it and I used to draw it again. When my character prepares for his exams, I remember my days. Many things are personally related to this film for me.
Talking about the film it talks about restart, as an actor it is not easy to play different characters for different films, so did you ever feel that now you will have to put in a little more effort, and restart?
This happens every day, it comes every second or third day, but this is life in my opinion. Some things in the life of all of us are a challenge for us, and our goal is to overcome that challenge. Many times it happens in life that you feel you have to restart, like when I left TV and chose the path of films, it was a restart for me too. And all this keeps happening. Sometimes people don't like a film that you believe in, but you can't sit disappointed, you have to get up again and work.
When you go from TV to films, you are tagged on TV, and you are judged differently on social media, so have you ever faced such things?
Perhaps the tag was not imposed by the grace of God, if the tag had been imposed then perhaps things would have been a little different. Yes, but it is not so that people do not talk about it. Media also sometimes brackets you, like in many newspapers or magazines even today I am mentioned as a TV actor. This bracketing is unfortunately a part of this system. All this happens, it doesn't matter when you don’t believe in it.
Congratulations, you are going to be a father, what would you like to say, it is such a feeling that you cannot express in words.
You are right, this is such a feeling that you cannot express in words, you can only feel it. You start smiling while thinking something randomly and get excited about every other thing. I hope everything goes very well, I am very excited.
If you want to share some memories related to Mayapuri Magazine.
Of course, you just told me that Mayapuri magazine is completing 50 years, so first of all, many congratulations to the entire team of Mayapuri and all the fans of Mayapuri.
Who does not know about Mayapuri magazine, my mother used to read it, and I still remember it, I have a very clear memory of Mayapuri. Mayapuri magazine used to come to my house, and also to my grandmother's house. The whole country reads Mayapuri.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=LxR-SlVJvCf9Sior&v=oDdz3x_0o_g&feature=youtu.be