Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail, the sleeper hit of 2023, continues to make waves. The film, which is now available to stream on Disney+Hotstar, rests on the central performance of Vikrant Massey, based on the real-life character of Manoj Sharma, who put failure behind him and rose from poverty to ace the country’s civil service exams. Giving him unconditional support was his then-girlfriend and now wife Shraddha. In the film, the character is played by the fresh-faced Medha Shankr who is grabbing a lot of eyeballs with her simple but sublime act. That was reason enough for t2 to catch up with Medha.

12th Fail has been the big success story of 2023 and now that the film is available on streaming, I am sure that the volume and frequency of the feedback from viewers has gone up. What are you hearing afresh?

It still is pretty overwhelming at times. When it was released in theatres, it did very well. It gained the commercial success that nobody expected. It got critical acclaim in terms of our acting, the direction and the film in general. It also got a lot of praise from within the industry and from audiences.

But once it released on OTT, it just absolutely blew up! My social media is buzzing. Everything on my Twitter and Instagram is about 12th Fail. Everyone is dissecting scenes from the film. The love is pouring in from everywhere and I am just so grateful.

With every passing day, the love is just a little more, then a little more and then a little more. Someone said something very beautiful. They said that this is the first time that a lead actress’ acting, especially that of a new actress, is being praised more than her beauty. That is something I will always cherish. Everybody knows Vikrant (Massey), he is already a phenomenon. But the fact that they are also noticing me is really special.

How did 12th Fail happen to you?

I got a call from a casting agency. I was like: ‘I am going to do this.’ And I tested with them. After a week or so, they called up saying: ‘Vidhu sir (Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the film’s director) wants to screen-test you.’ I went and screen-tested at his office with Vidhu sir and his whole team present, as well as Vikrant. We did two long scenes.

As a person, Vidhu sir is very transparent. If he is happy, you can see it on his face. Even though I was meeting him for the first time, I felt that I had done a great job. Everybody looked very happy and sir told me I had done very well. He told me that he was travelling for a month and would come back and do another screen test. He said: ‘ For Vidya Balan, we took 26 tests (for her debut Hindi film Parineeta). I told him: ‘Sir, you take 26,000 tests if you want! I am ready’ (smiles). A legendary actor like Vidya ma’am had to take 26 tests. So I was like: ‘Please take however many you want.’

Also, I was aware that it is a big film and that Vidhu sir is not easy to please. I was expecting many screen tests. There was another test two months later and after 10 days, I was told: ‘You are the leading lady in this film.’

When you were making the film, did you have the gut feeling that it would make this kind of an impact?

About 10-15 days into filming, I had a very strong intuition that this film was going to be magic. I knew how much honesty and soul was being put into making this film and I could tell that every single person involved, whether it was my co-actors or Vidhu sir or his crew, was putting in so much honesty.

Also, 12th Fail is about two incredible human beings (Manoj and Shraddha) who are all about honesty. I believe that when you do something with so much heart it does resonate with people. Today, it has surpassed so many iconic global films. It is the highest-rated Indian film on IMDb.

It is always said that it is difficult to be simple. Your performance in 12th Fail is simplicity personified. What were the challenges and what kind of a mind space did you have to get into to play Shraddha?

You are right. It is always more difficult to play a very internal character, someone who is not in your face, who is not loud with her emotions and expressions.

I always knew that this was an emotionally challenging role. I met Shraddha ma’am quite a bit, I would take down notes because I
wanted to know who Shraddha was beyond the script, beyond the book (12th Fail) and beyond what Vidhu sir had told me about her. Eventually, I created my own Shraddha because I was told that I didn’t have to imitate Shraddha ma’am, I had to take inspiration from her. So, there is a lot of Medha Shankr in the Shraddha that you see on screen.

What was it like being directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra?

He is a legend and when I worked with him, I realised what exactly makes him such a genius. When you work with somebody like that, he expects a certain standard of work from you and you can’t just go in and do an average scene and leave. He will not let you do it, you have to perform very well and you have to be on your toes. He pushes your boundaries and he brings out the best in you. Everybody has done such a good job because Vidhu sir is the director and all the actors have been cast just perfectly. Working with Vidhu sir was like going to a film institute for a year or two.

Which moments in 12th Fail pushed you the most as an actor?

As I said, Shraddha is an internal person. If she is angry, she does not yell. If she is sad, she doesn’t cry. There were some intense emotional scenes which were difficult. Like the last scene, which is the result scene, which has kind of become synonymous with the film now. It is my favourite scene, and filming it was just magical. It was also very tough because we had to do this intensely emotional scene in the middle of a huge swarm of people. To focus on what was happening in the middle of all of that was emotionally challenging.

What were your biggest learnings from sharing screen space with Vikrant Massey and the film’s strong ensemble cast?

Every single actor in the film is very good. When you work alongside great actors, especially someone like Vikrant, the scenes become something else together. For example, if I improvised in a scene, Vikrant would know what exactly to do because he has that presence of mind as an actor. When you work with good actors, they bring out something magical in you.

Was acting always the goal?

The keeda was always there. As a child, I was into the performing arts. I am a trained singer and I used to dance a lot. But I was also very shy and so acting felt like a distant dream. Also, I am not from Bombay and coming from another city, I didn’t even feel that it was possible to become an actor. It felt like an impossible dream because I was so far away from this world.

I was a very studious kid. I did my graduation and Masters. During college, I had started to model a little and then I did a short film and when I first faced the camera, I just knew that there was something about it that I loved. I just knew that I had a deep connection to the camera. I said to myself: ‘I have to do this, I cannot not try this.’

I came to Bombay and it was a difficult journey because there were a lot of rejections. But because I was so deeply in love with the craft of acting, nothing bogged me down. My love for acting has grown exponentially since I have come to Bombay.

Whose craft do you admire?

Sanjay Leela Bhansali sir. He is magic and I love the detailing he does in his films, whether it is music or art, the look of his characters or the writing. There are many people that I look up to, there are so many directors that I would love to work with. I like Alia (Bhatt), I think she is a really good actor and so is Ranveer (Singh).

What is the way forward for you?

I do not plan too much ahead. I do know roughly what I want to do and where I want to be in the next five years, in terms of my career and Inshallah, it shall happen. I am hoping and praying that I get to do great work, great films, and great characters with the kind of directors I have always dreamed of working with.

What is your message for Medha Shankr after watching 12th Fail? Tell t2@abp.in