12B


12B is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed and written by cinematographer Jeeva in his directional debut. The film featured Shaam in his debut along with Simran and Jyothika in the lead roles. Vivek, Sunil Shetty, Moonmoon Sen and Shanti Williams, and play other important roles in the film which had music composed by Harris Jayaraj. The film released in September 2001 to positive reviews. The plot of the movie is loosely based on the British-American romantic drama film Sliding Doors.

Plot

The film begins with a young man named Shakthivel "Shakti" leaving his house one morning for a job interview, when he spots a beautiful girl Jothika "Jo" walking down the street. He's both attracted to and distracted by her. He begins to follow her, and in the process, accidentally misses his bus and is mugged. The film then pauses at this point as a voice over begins to tell the viewer that we are about to examine how Shakthi's life will be impacted, by missing the bus or by catching the bus.
The Shakthi who makes the bus gets to the job interview on time and gets the job of a bank manager at HSBC, and a beautiful young colleague Priya falls in love with him. The catch there is that this Shakthi is still in love with the same woman who his alternate self loves, but try as he may, something keeps preventing him from getting to her. That thing turns out to be his alternate self. He is well off in life, but miserable because he can't get the girl he loves.
The Shakthi who missed the bus arrives late at the interview and is thrown out. On his way home, he passes by a junkyard where he spots an old friend Madhan, who gives him a job as a mechanic, and life goes on. The next day, while crossing the street, he spots the girl from the day before and begins to follow her again until he is able to get her attention and they begin a relationship. One day, Aravind, Jo's uncle, comes to visit, and it is revealed that he too is in love with her and wants to marry her much to Jo's despise.
Due to some miscommunication, Jo and the Shakthi who missed the bus separate. On the other end, Priya expresses her love for the Shakthi who made it to the bus. In the climax scene, the Shakthi who makes the bus - while reciprocating his love for Priya, meets with an accident. At the same moment, the Shakthi who missed the bus is also grievously hurt in the same freak accident while he tries to patch up with Jo. Shakthi and his alternate self are admitted in the hospital.
The film ends with Priya wailing over the death of her Shakthi while catching a glimpse of the other Shakthi making things right with Jo at the hospital.

Cast

Actor Srikanth was initially considered for the lead role before the role ultimately went to newcomer Shaam. Shaam had modelled for four years in Bengaluru before model coordinator Biju Jayadevan introduced him to director Jeeva, who was auditioning for a debutant for his debut venture, 12B. Shaam recollects that during his first meeting with Jeeva, he handed over his portfolio and introduced himself in English, when Jeeva heard him out, and then said, "Repeat what you just said, in Tamil" and Shaam did, and was subsequently signed on the next day after a meeting with producer Vikram Singh. The promos of the film were critically praised with Shaam signing on to appear on several projects before 12B even released. The film also featured Jeeva's assistant director, Srinath, in a minor supporting role.
Jeeva revealed that the film would be titled 12B after a bus he used to take during his college days. The basic premise of the film was taken from the 1998 English film, Sliding Doors by Peter Howitt, which also follows alternate tracks. A romantic song was shot on Shaam and Simran at picturesque locations in Jordan, and this became the first time that a Tamil film had been shot there, with Rekha Prakash choreographing it. Some sequences needed to be shot in the US with about 300 dancers involved, but the team later recreated the sets in a studio in Chennai.
Hindi actor Sunil Shetty was roped in to play a role in the film. Bengali actress Moon Moon Sen, mother of actress Riya Sen, was signed on to play the role of Jyothika's mother in the film. The appearance of Sunil Shetty in a prominent role led the makers to release the film in Hindi. Shiva, who went on to star in Chennai 600028, made his acting debut with this film.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Harris Jayaraj.

Release

12B opened to above average reviews, with the critic from The Hindu mentioning that the film is like "moving through a maze, because for many it could be confusion confounded, at least for the most part of the first half". About performances, the critic added that "Shyam in the hero's garb is an apt choice and looks more like a Madhavan clone and for a newcomer, Shyam is absolutely at ease in dance and fights", while "Simran does a commendable job in the climax". New Straits wrote "The presence of Jyotika, Simran and Shyam saves this movie from boredom".
Rediff concluded "full marks to the intention - considerably less for the execution" and went on to praise the performances and the technical aspect of the film, while mentioning that a "drawback would be the languid pace -- there is not enough tension built into the film and, for large chunks of time, the story remains static, with the result that you do not empathise with the characters" and specially mentioned Simran's portrayal "continues with her policy of shifting gradually from glam roles to the more sedate, serious ones and proves to have what it takes. Sify wrote that "Ultimately it is very difficult for the audience to understand this superficial tale, as they cannot follow the thin line between reality and imagination. It is total confusion" while praising the film's music by Jayaraj.
The film performed modestly at the box office, with average collections reported. Jeeva later went on record stating that he felt the film had not been promoted properly and could have done better business had it been.
The film was dubbed in Hindi ) and Telugu under the same name. Both versions were released in 2005, respectively. The DVD of the Hindi version marketed Sunil Shetty as the main character albeit he plays a supporting role. The Hindi version was released in Germany with the tagline 'Was Wäre Wenn?' due to the popularity of Bollywood films in the region. Vikram Singh produced the Telugu version and the film was released under the tagline 'One Soul Two Lives'.

Legacy

Jeeva went on to make other films in the romantic genre including Ullam Ketkumae and Unnale Unnale, both of which were successful at the box office. Shaam received further film offers after the release of 12B. After starring alongside Simran and Jyothika in this film, he also starred alongside two leading actresses Ramya and Rakshita in the Kannada film Tananam Tananam. The storyline of the film Oh My Kadavule contains an alternate version of the story truth similar to 12B.
In a scene from Yai! Nee Romba Azhaga Irukke!, Subbu tells Hari to take any bus but the 12B bus route.