Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 12th Fail shows love doesn't come in the way of ambition, lack of self-love does

Vikrant Massey's character Manoj in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 12th Fail and Rajkummar Rao's titular character in Amit V Masurkar's Newton (2017) may suffer from the same issue: Imaandari pe ghamand (being proud of their integrity). But Manoj has more chinks in his armour: an inconsistency in his integrity that stems from a lack of self-love.

(Also Read: 12th Fail Review: Vikrant Massey delivers a superlative act in this pure and honest tale of success and failure)

There's a scene in the film where Manoj snaps at his employer on being accused of swindling office funds, and even threatens to hit him with a slipper when he's called “chor ki aulaad,” He screams, “Mera baap chor nahi hai,” as an impulsive reaction to the accusation. But the irony is that this happens moments after he lies to his girlfriend Shraddha (Medha Shankr).

It's not love vs ambition

Manoj has been leading Shraddha on to believe that he's an aeronautics engineer because the aspiring Chambal 12th fail guy in him wants to appear at par with the more educated well-off Mussoorie girl that he's fallen for. When Shraddha discovers he's a BA graduate instead, she recedes into her shell despite Manoj's insistence that he was about to tell her.

Manoj then turns away his attention from the love life he screwed up to prepare for the IAS Mains exam, only to screw it up after a silly mistake. After that setback, he decides to pursue his love life again, dropping by at the door of Shraddha's Mussoorie home to say ‘I love you.’ However, she doesn't take the abrupt resurfacing too kindly, and shoos him away through her house help.

When Shraddha returns to their coaching centre in Delhi to apologise to Manoj, he asks her to wait till his IAS Prelims. She's taken aback by the reluctance, but wishes him luck. She realises that her dismissal of him the last time may have given him the impression that she doesn't want to commit to him because he's a failure. But the truth is that she distanced herself from him because he compromised on the primary quality that attracted her to him: integrity.

Shraddha wishes him luck, because she believes if the IAS Prelims qualification can help him embolden his self-love, then she must give him the space he's asked for. When he qualifies for the Mains, she gets behind him and supports him through the grill, while preparing for her own exam.

In one of the key scenes of the film, she holds his hands on the day he fails to qualify, while she does. When his best friend provokes him by saying that a rich girl like her will abandon him if he fails to move ahead in life, she says, ‘I love you’ to Manoj, giving him the much-needed ego boost to nail the next attempt.

Restart in ambition isn't game over in love

A true partner's role in the other's growth isn't a linear one. They need to gauge when they are required to offer tangible help (lending money), silent support (holding hands in crisis), space (saying good luck and maintaining a distance) just a friendly gesture (gifting a stopwatch for preparation), pep talk (telling him he can do it), and unconditional support (telling him it's okay if doesn't).

Shraddha writes him a love letter that says she'd be by his side whether he succeeds or fails, but asks him to read it after his interview, so that it serves as a shoulder to cry on, and not as a sign of lack of belief in him. He reads it in the middle of an interview, where he's assessing whether he should be honest or manipulative. It reminds him of the time he was dishonest in love and what it cost him. He loosens up his tie, removes his shoes, and decides to be himself.

The only reason one has to be dishonest, in love or in ambition, is because one seeks validation from those deemed to be at a higher pedestal. But Manoj realises he never had to be the conventionally successful man he assumed he had to be in order to deserve Shraddha. Shraddha, like any good partner, just wanted him to himself. She never proved to be a hindrance in his quest. Love never came in his way, only the lack of self-love did.

Entertainment! Entertainment! Entertainment! 🎞️🍿💃 Click to follow our Whatsapp Channel 📲 Your daily dose of gossip, films, shows, celebrities updates all in one place.