2023 · Film
12th Fail
Vidhu Vinod Chopra's biographical drama stars Vikrant Massey as a poor boy from Chambal who struggles through setbacks to pursue becoming an IPS officer.
Reviewed by Movie Mandala, Sun, 18 Oct, 2026
Where to watch
IndiaAs of 24 October 2026, 12th Fail is streaming in India on JioHotstar with a subscription.
With subscription
Checked Sat, 24 Oct, 2026 via Airtel Xstream listing
The story
Manoj Kumar Sharma grows up in a poor village in the Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh, where cheating in school exams is the norm. After an honest police officer stops the cheating and Manoj fails Class 12, he decides to follow that officer's example. With little money and few connections, he sets out from home to prepare for the civil services, hoping to become an IPS officer, and meets people who shape his path along the way.
Spoiler-free: only the set-up.
Who it suits
Students preparing for competitive exams, and families who like true underdog stories about honesty and perseverance, will find a lot to relate to in this account of the civil-services grind.
Genres:DramaTrue stories
Curation to help you choose, not a review.
Background
12th Fail is adapted from Anurag Pathak's 2019 non-fiction book of the same name, which tells the real story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma and his journey through the UPSC civil-services exam. Shraddha Joshi, the IRS officer Sharma later married, is also a character, and the friend Pritam Pandey is loosely based on Pathak himself.
The film opened in cinemas on 27 October 2023, with Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions following on 3 November 2023. It began streaming on Disney+ Hotstar on 29 December 2023. Made on a reported budget of ₹20 crore, it grossed over ₹69 crore worldwide, according to Wikipedia. At the 69th Filmfare Awards it won five trophies, including Best Film and Best Director, and at the 71st National Film Awards it won Best Feature Film, with Vikrant Massey named Best Actor.
The facts
- Language
- Hindi
- Hindi
- Hindi original
- Genre
- Biographical drama
- Runtime
- 146 min
- Director
- Vidhu Vinod Chopra
- Cast
- Vikrant Massey, Medha Shankr, Anant Joshi, Anshumaan Pushkar, Priyanshu Chatterjee
Questions people ask
- Where can I watch 12th Fail in India?
- As of 24 October 2026, 12th Fail is streaming in India on JioHotstar with a subscription.
- Is 12th Fail in Hindi?
- Yes. 12th Fail is a Hindi-language film.
- How long is 12th Fail?
- 12th Fail runs for 2 hours 26 minutes (146 minutes).