He came. he saw, he conquered…Manoj Sharma of 12th Fail not only ruled the screen, but he has started living inside the hearts of all those who witnessed his journey unfold onscreen. Here’s why this real and reel life hero has won over audiences the world over.
Was it in his ability to “restart” every time he failed, or his winning smile, his tenacity to keep going despite all the hurdles in the world, or his ability to never give up. Manoj Kumar Sharma had a glint in his eyes even before he met DSP Dushyant Singh, it just needed to be channeled and channeled it was – one encounter (not chance), because Manoj made it happen, is all he needed to find his calling in life!
But there’s something about Manoj that hits different. Perhaps it was this quality that appealed to Vikrant Massey when he took on the role, perhaps that’s what made Vidhu Vinod Chopra take on the telling of the story and perhaps that’s why, Shraddha came all the way from Mussouri to be with him for his big day!
12th Fail is, no doubt, a great story to tell onscreen, and the fact that it’s a true to life narrative makes it all the more epic to watch. But beyond the story, the lens, and the screen, rises a man who can teach us a whole lot more. And that’s precisely why audiences fell for this hero as if, oh well, as if, this was the man they’d been waiting for all along to show them why they must still believe!
So onwards and upwards to Manoj Sharma aka Mr. Wonderful’s claim to fame and fan love!
1. Poverty – not an excuse to be selfish
We often hear stories of relentless ambition, hard work, a hero who pursues his dream as if digging inside a deep, dark tunnel, desperate to cross over to the other side, see the light, but … he does it all alone. He forgets his family, friends, relationships and the calling of his dream rings so loud in his ears, that we hear ourselves say, oh well, his dream is bigger than ours, so it’s okay for him to be a bit selfish, to feel entitled.
But not our Manoj. Manoj Kumar Sharma’s win was in freeing his brother from prison, working day and night to send money home while studying for his exam, making a journey to Mussouri to see his beloved and … not compromising on his self respect even when he really needed the help. From serving tables at Gauri bhaiya’s to cleaning up at the library to earn his room and board, Manoj paid up and did not expect others to be kind to his plight just because – well, just because he was poor?
2. Giving up – not in his dictionary!
Not in his dictionary. Manoj doesn’t give up. But that doesn’t mean he needs a reality check or believes in miracles. Manoj works hard, very hard at what he wants, and then, he has a plan. When in his interview, he was asked what he’d do if he failed, he responded instantly that he’d go back and teach in his village. What better way to serve his community than to give back. And not just that, but Manoj also had a way of not being bitter or cynical about loss. Regardless of how badly he wanted to pass the exam that he’d studied for tirelessly, and sacrificed his sleep, peace of mind, time from his loved ones; he was realistic and practical about the end result. Rather than blame the system or become hopeless, Manoj had a backup plan!
Restart.
And in this restart plan, many viewers saw themselves. While they loved the guy who battled the system to get what he wanted, they also wanted to witness a story that would make sense to them. What if he wouldn’t make it? Would he give up? Many people watching 12th Fail might not have made it through a tough exam in life, or met their dreams like Manoj did, but what did they do then? That’s what they wanted to know. Their hope was not just the Manoj who passed the exam but also the one who failed.
And in revealing that backup plan, he already became a hero!
3. Manoj – not your bitter hero & minus the drama
A long, painful speech on the unfairness of the “system” is so yesterday. Manoj didn’t have any of that to give us. His arguments were short, to the point, factual – just like him. When he asked the examiner to check what’s inside the glass, not what the glass was made of, when he revealed he had failed 12th grade because, well, he couldn’t cheat, one wondered how many of us would speak the truth so simply, fearlessly, unafraid of the consequences, yet knowing the consequences could cost us our dream.
Just outside the panel’s office, the guard advised him to do quite the opposite. But Manoj persisted in being Manoj and did and said exactly what Manoj did best – the truth. No drama or heroism there. Manoj was all there, 100% himself. It takes a lot of courage to speak the truth when it’s your last chance at a win, and Manoj chose the truth. The fact that his story is a real life one, ironically made it all the more extra ordinary and beyond the (super) heroics – just plain, simple, human.
4. He called in his favours at the right time and the right place
Despite not being a superhero and hence, relatable to the average person watching him, Manoj impressed by being smart and thinking on his feet. How many of us have done that or wished we did. Manoj made it look real when he sprinted to DSP Dushyant’s home late night and convinced him to come out and save his brother. He was a good listener, and picked up on what the DSP had said earlier in the college. His earnestness spoke to Dushyant’s conscience. It was the same when he approached the English medium Deep Mohan to teach him exam hacks – calling in a favour, Manoj reached out to the right people at the right time. So, along with grit, hard work and self respect, our hero was smart too. And this smartness had nothing to do with the books he read or did not read, but rather, the ability to think on his feet and let his intuition guide him.
Manoj was selfish here in asking for favours but only because he knew the other person was in a position to help. And so he persisted, and it all worked out too, eventually … a little bit of magic and fairy dust is fair game in real life stories too!
5. A love story so simple, yet so sublime
12th Fail is a story that fills your heart till it’s about to overflow with the simplicity and respect of the feelings both Shraddha and Manoj shared for each other. He’s in love and she asks him to hold on, work hard to achieve his dream, not to be distracted by her presence, but to keep going till he’s won. Manoj, ready to give up everything for his love, is snapped back to reality and therein lies the beauty and message of this couple. Where Shraddha waits for him Manoj labours on, but he does not want to take a penny from her to make it easy for himself. He owns his struggle, his family’s poverty and his responsibility to help them even as he lives a pathetic existence in a cave like dark, gloomy attic, grinding flour to send money home, even as he studies for exams.
The frugal living conditions, the determination to wage his battles all by himself yet keep going are perhaps, the hallmark of Manoj’s war against a system that gives preference to language, privilege and social background even as it sets out to eliminate the same through the candidates it selects for its final interview.
And thus, the man who confused tourism with terrorism, and struggled to wear a suit and tie as he walked in for an interview, took on the elite of the country to pass the most competitive exam, and in doing so, he sent out a message loud and clear – it is the people who have grown up in the system who must, at the end of the day, be a part of the system to rid it of all its troubles.
Manoj knew what those troubles were; from rampant cheating in exams to ruling the bus routes in his area by an influential few and Manoj would know how to fix them because, he was a product of the system itself – albeit, one who chose to aim for the stars!
And that, my dear folks, is why Manoj Sharma’s story is so very lovable, endearing and real. He did what many dream of doing but at the same time, he remained as one of them. He was a hero, yet, every man who has experienced poverty or seen it up close could relate to him.
Vikrant Massey has essayed the role of Manoj Kumar in 12th Fail with sincerity, honesty and great commitment to retain its essence. And Vidhu Vinod Chopra must be applauded for bringing it so sensitively to our screens to give us a superhero story that’s as real as it gets!
12th Fail is at good as it gets in 2024, and the year has just begun!
Movie Credits
12th Fail, a cinematic masterpiece brought to you by Vinod Chopra Films in association with Zee Studios. Inspired by a million true stories, this compelling film is written, produced, and directed by the visionary Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The stellar cast, including Vikrant Massey, Medha Shankar, Anshuman Pushkar, Anant Vijay Joshi, Geeta Agarwal, Harish Khanna, Priyanshu Chatterjee, and Vikas Divyakirti, brings these stories to life on the big screen. With Yogesh Dhabuwala as the Co-Producer & Associate Director, Jaskunwar Kohli as the Co-Writer & Associate Director, and Aayush Saxena as the Associate Writer & Associate Director Anurag Pathak also contributes as an Associate Writer.
