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.
3. Actors like Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, and Farhan Akhtar were considered for Dushyant Singh’s role
Several brilliant actors like Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, Jaaved Jaaferi, and Ram Charan were considered for the role of DSP Dushyant Singh. However, it was eventually done by Priyanshu Chatterjee, as the makers thought that a cameo appearance would be too distracting in a film that could be authentic.
Notably, Priyanshu Chatterjee and Vidhu worked together in the 2020 film Shikara.
4. Vikrant Massey didn’t apply make-up to achieve his rural look in the village
One can ascertain Massey’s immense dedication to the film because he didn’t apply any make-up in the film. The actor achieved a perfect village look by spending weeks in the village sunbathing in a vest daily to tan his skin.
In an earlier interview with GQ India, Vikrant shared, “I spent almost a year and a half preparing for the film, and the three months before the shooting were filled with extensive workshops and reading sessions. I had to lose weight and tan my skin. While tanning, my skin actually got burnt, and I freaked out, thinking we’d have to push our shoot by a couple of weeks.”
5. Medha Shankr actually sang in the film
One of the pivotal scenes of Dilli Haat features Shraddha singing a song during a truth and dare game. Interestingly, the actress actually sang the song at the live location. During initial film screenings, a section of the audience thought it was too perfect, like a playback recording. Thus, the sound editors were asked to deliberately change the levels of her singing to make it sound more authentic.
Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more updates.
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