NEW DELHI: Vidhu Vinod Chopra is currently gearing up for the release of his much-awaited film ’12th Fail’, starring Vikrant Massey in the lead. Recently, Vidhu Vinod Chopra Films celebrated 45 years in the industry. To commemorate this special day, the cast and crew of his cult classic film ‘Khamosh’, including Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Soni Razdan, and other Bollywood celebrities, reunited to mark the opening day of the film festival.
During the film festival, Vidhu Vinod Chopra was asked about the best compliment he had ever received in his career spanning over 45 years. In response to the question, the filmmaker shared an interesting anecdote. The best compliment he received was from Naseeruddin Shah, not for his previously released films but for the soon-to-be-released ’12th Fail’.
Sharing the compliment, Vidhu Vinod Chopra said, “Since the beginning, Naseeruddin used to tell me that I didn’t know how to direct movies, but after watching ’12th Fail,’ he said, ‘Yeah, you have learned direction.'”
12th FAIL
Speaking about ’12th Fail’, the film revolves around UPSC aspirants and is based on real-life experiences. Headlined by Vikrant Massey, the film is directed and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra under his banner Vidhu Vinod Chopra Films. It will be released in cinemas on October 27, 2023 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada.
The film also stars Pallak Lalwani, Sanjay Bishnoi and Harish Khanna in key roles, and was announced in November 2022. As per reports, it is inspired by the real life story of IPS Officer Manoj Kumar Sharma and IRS Officer Shraddha Joshi. Many real life UPSC aspirants have been cast in various roles. According to Massey, it added “authenticity” to the film.
The film is shot mainly at various locations in Agra Chambal, Delhi, Mussoorie and Mumbai. A major portion of the film was shot in the two education hubs for government job aspirants, Rajendra Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar. The shooting was wrapped up in December 2022.