Real Story and Characters Behind 12th Fail Movie
Based on Anurag Pathak’s namesake novel, directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and starring Vikrant Massey, 12th Fail is a biographical drama that portrays the true story of IPS Officer Manoj Kumar Sharma. As the title suggests, the man failed in Class 12, yet went on to become one of our nation’s honest and hardworking police officers. Read on to find out how!
Early Life and Schooling
Manoj Kumar Sharma, born in 1977, hails from a small village in Morena district, Madhya Pradesh. Coming from a poor family – his father worked in the agriculture department – Manoj always struggled academically. Dishonesty and corruption were a part of people’s lives here and he had resorted to cheating for all his exams – passing class 9th and 10th exams with a third division. So when an honest police officer (named Dushyant in the film) banned cheating in examinations, he failed his 12th board exam passing in only one subject – Hindi. From this, comes the namesake of our movie.
Turning Point
Inspired by the honest DSP, Dushyant, Manoj aimed to become a police officer like him, and passed his 12th board examinations in the next attempt without cheating. He moved to Delhi and devoted his life to sincerely preparing for UPSC. Here, he met the love of his life – Shraddha Joshi – who stood by him like a rock through the storms in his life, becoming his biggest supporter and motivator. She had been his north star since and, would one day, become his wife!
Struggles and Challenges
Nothing worthy in life comes easy, it has to be earned! The journey of Manoj was definitely not an easy one, it was more than gruelling, as is the case with thousands of UPSC aspirants in our country. His financial crisis being one of the biggest obstacles, he didn’t even have enough money to pay the coaching fees. To solve this, he took up odd jobs such as driving a tempo and walking dogs. Sometimes, he even slept outside with beggars. However, the job that proved in his favour was when he worked at a library, getting exposure to books of famous personalities like – Maxim Gorky, Muktibodh, and Abraham Lincoln. This inspired him and helped him understand life and his purpose.
Failed thrice in UPSC, but finally… Success!
Despite all his preparation and hard work, Sharma failed the UPSC exams thrice. Nonetheless, each time he failed, he didn’t give up, he “restarted” everything all over again, stronger than before. His sense of will and perseverance bore its fruit in his 4th attempt, where he passed the UPSC exams, one of the toughest and most prestigious examinations in the country, achieving an all-India rank of 121. Overcoming all the struggles, societal criticism, and humiliation, IPS Manoj Kumar Sharma won in every aspect of life.
Where is IPS Manoj Kumar Sharma now?
IPS Manoj Kumar Sharma currently resides in Mumbai, where he is posted as an Additional Commissioner in Mumbai Police. He lives with his wife, Shraddha Joshi, who is an IRS (Indian Revenue Service) Officer, and their two children. He is popularly and lovingly known as ‘Singham’ and ‘Simba’ for his domineering style at work.
