Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s directorial 12th Fail Movie, starring Vikrant Massey, Medha Shankar, and Anant V Joshi is now streaming on Disney+Hotstar. The 12th Fail movie was one of the best films of the year 2023 and was hugely recognized for its impeccable writing, heart-wrenching performances, and beautiful songs.
But one aspect that often gets lost in the larger scheme of public film discourse is the dialogue of a film. With time, the audiences are getting more tilted towards the box office revenue of a film and it has sadly become the means to analyze a film’s performance and not much attention is paid to the content or the writing of the film.
Today we are going to look at the best dialogues from the 12th Fail Movie and how they elevated the film’s narrative and packed the punch for the ultimate impact that it had on the audiences. The film boasts of a lot of emotional, funny, and motivating dialogues which we can seldom see in the Hindi Film space.
“Yeh Jo Fine Ke Naam Pe Tu Maang Raha Hai Na? Ghoos Hai Yeh.”
We seldom see people be straightforward, we see even fewer when they have the guts to look at the problem without batting an eyelid. In this particular moment, Manoj Kumar Sharma (Vikrant Massey) does not hesitate to confront the corrupt official and simply refuses to comply. He is completely straightforward and is not afraid to call a spade, a spade. This fearlessness is something we can incorporate in our lives too, as it proves the importance of truth and where it can get you.
“If the citizens were educated, it would be a real problem for the leader”
A philosopher once said, “The truth might not be documented for any regime to survive”. While Manoj Kumar Sharma is being interviewed, he makes this particular statement. Several institutions prepare students for the UPSC Exam and interview, and it is often advised them to avoid topics that may expose the shortcomings that authorities have. Once again, Manoj speaks his heart out, which helps him clear the interview, for he truly understands the predicament faced by the citizens of this nation.
“Manoj, tum chahe IPS officer bano ya aata chakki mein kaam karo, main saari zindagi tumhare saath bitana chahti hu.”
This was one of the most memorable moments of the Disney+Hostar starrer film. It is when Shraddha (Medha Shankar) assures Manoj (Vikrant Massey) that she will always be by his side, no matter what. Sometimes we get really afraid of failure and we assume that our life can never go right again, but it is very wrong to associate failure with life as we have many chances in life and all we need at times is some form of reassurance from our loved ones. Shraddha does exactly that for Manoj.
“Papa kehtey the, bahar ke andhere se nahhi, ander ke andhere se daro.”
12th Fail movie had this beautiful moment as well which talks about the darkness that we carry within ourselves. At times, we may be afraid of the dark and we may begin to doubt ourselves and we may be sensitive to the darkness that lies inside us. Here, Manoj reminisces about his father who had once advised him that one should not be afraid of the darkness that exists outside, but one should be very scared of the darkness that exists within.
“Ye hum sab ki ladai hai, ek ka jeet hoga na toh karodon bhed-bakriyon ka jeet hoga.”
The key to success is perseverance. It is very easy to give up on things that we desire in life because we find many obstacles in our path to success, but this line emphasizes the importance of perseverance, that we must overcome all obstacles and keep going no matter what because the success of one person motivates thousands of people to take the plunge and dive into the unknown.
“Tum jhoot ko bhi sach ki tarah bolte ho, news mein reporter bann jao”
The Disney+Hotstar film also takes a sly dig at the reporters. The state of journalism has always been pitiful because they cook up a lot of things that are untrue and are intended for their benefit even if they malign someone else’s reputation. Here, Manoj sums up what a lot of people feel about lies and the state of Indian Journalism.
“Jiske paas power hai wo kabhi use chordhna hi nahi chahta”
12th Fail Movie is very introspective too at times. Manoj laments about something which is not only common to India, but it also concerns a wider diaspora. He laments that people in power never want to let go of their position, they always want to hold on to it and they want to keep benefitting themselves to live a lavish lifestyle.
“Paani saaf hona chahiye chaahe steel ke glass mein ho ya kaanch ke, waise hi officer saaf hona chahiye chaahe Hindi bole ya Angrezi”
Manoj draws a very nuanced analogy here, reiterating that one should always work with honesty and that language does not matter in defining a person’s character. He talks about how it is important to drink clean water, it doesn’t necessarily have to be in a steel cup or glass, what matters is the fact that it should be clean.
“2 lakh Hindi medium vidhyarthiyo mein kewal 25-30 hi ban pate hain IAS IPS. Baki 199, 970 cut to 0…Fat gaya?”
This dialogue illustrates the unfortunate plight faced by many students in India. The seats are limited and the participation and preparation for those seats are in the thousands. This very fact is enough to demotivate a student to even sit for the exam, but many of them, like Manoj, still take their chances and fight. They break their backs and they work extremely hard to get where they want to be.
“IAS banna badi baat nahi hai, badi baat yeh hai ki jis kursi par aap bethenge naa, usse aapki izzat na ho, balki aap se us kursi ki izzat ho.”
This dialogue truly captures the essence of the 12th Fail Movie as it sums up the entire journey in two simple lines. What ends up happening a lot of times is that people turn corrupt once they have successfully achieved their goals.
Everyone works hard, while some get to sit on the chair. It is very important to acknowledge the position of privilege that one gets when one gets that chair and it is also important to keep oneself clean, one must strive to add value to the chair and not be enamored by it.
Conclusion
The lines from 12th Fail remain significant because they express the difficulties, self-doubt, and social rejection that many 12th-grade failing students still suffer in the Indian educational context. The film was far ahead of its time in questioning the link between academic merit, skills, and exam results. It illustrates how failure has a significant emotional and monetary effect on middle-class Indian families that lack the necessary resources to cope.