Films honored at the 71st National Film Awards: 12th Fail by Vidhu Vinod Chopra earns Best Film accolade, Vikrant Massey declared Best Actor recipient
Vikrant Massey has clinched the Best Actor award at the 71st National Film Awards, held in 2025, for his performance in the biographical drama "12th Fail". The film, directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, also took home the Best Film award, making it a double victory for the team behind this inspiring movie.
"12th Fail" is based on the true story of Manoj Kumar Sharma, an aspiring IPS officer who failed in all subjects except for Hindi in the 12th standard. The film follows Sharma's journey from despair to triumph as he manages to crack the UPSC civil services exam in his last attempt.
The movie, released in theaters on October 27, 2023, stars Vikrant Massey as Manoj Sharma, with Medha Shankar as his wife and IRS Shraddha Joshi in a supporting role. Anant V Joshi, Anshumaan Pushkar, and Priyanshu Chatterjee also lend their talents to the film.
Vikrant Massey expressed his gratitude towards the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the NFDC, the jury members, and filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra for the opportunity to be part of "12th Fail". He described the award as a dream come true after 20 years in the industry.
Interestingly, Shah Rukh Khan also won the Best Actor award at the same ceremony for his performance in "Jawan". However, the awards were for different movies, making it a historic moment for Indian cinema with two leading actors winning the coveted award in the same year.
The National Film Awards, a prestigious award ceremony for Indian cinema, recognizes films certified by the censor board from January 1 to December 31 of the previous year. The 71st edition of the awards took place in 2025, and "12th Fail" was one of the films that were recognised.
If you missed the movie in theaters, you can now catch "12th Fail" on JioHotstar for an inspiring cinematic experience.
The biographical drama "12th Fail," set in India, was released in 2023 and can be seen on JioHotstar. Vikrant Massey, who plays the lead role in this movie about Manoj Kumar Sharma, won the Best Actor award at the 71st National Film Awards, held in 2025, alongside Shah Rukh Khan who won for his performance in "Jawan."
