Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail is an inspiring movie that shows the ups and downs of real life. It takes us close to someone who wants to succeed in competitive exams. The movie is full of interesting people, has an uplifting story, and evokes lots of emotions. Through its protagonist, it tells us one thing very clearly: “Haar nahi manunga”. Just like numerous UPSC aspirants who don’t accept defeat.
But beneath this dream story lies a complex reality. This article will delve into the privileges that shaped the Vikrant Massey’s character Manoj Sharma’s journey, which the film conveniently ignores. I am to explore how his unique circumstances, support system, and resources contributed to the perseverance and resilience powerfully portrayed in the film.
A privileged character
Here are some of the events in Sharma’s life that deconstruct the popular myth that anyone can achieve success with persistence and hard labour alone. While this might be true in some cases, a basic understanding of sociological imagination can show that Sharma’s story is not one of those. 12th Fail is a film that quietly slides the privileges under the rug.
1. Sharma runs straight to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)—just after a clash with goons backed by a local MLA—to loudly criticise the system. In an unexpected turn, the DSP goes to the police station with Sharma and saves the day. Usually, in India, challenging the authority doesn’t end so well, certainly not for the oppressed caste groups. Either Sharma was exceptionally lucky or some sort of underlying privilege was playing a role beneath the surface.
2. The character belongs to a quite comfortable background. He is not a regular Indian living below the below poverty line (BPL). Government jobs are the norm in his family, with steady incomes from pensions, land, and livestock. His grandfather was a Junior Commissioned Officer (Subedar) in the Indian Army. His father was a government employee, though dismissed from his job due to some allegations. This doesn’t quite fit the typical ‘rags to riches’ narrative, does it?
3. In the Sharma household, there’s an odd certainty that passing the 12th standard will lead to a job—a belief that’s strangely confident given the tough job market of the early 1990s in India. It makes you wonder where such optimism stems from. At the time, not everyone was so hopeful about getting a job after school.
4. When Sharma is left without money in Gwalior, he not only gets a free meal but also meets Pritam Pandey, his friend, who helps him travel to New Delhi. Good Samaritans are rare to find. Is Sharma exceptionally fortunate?
5. Gauri Bhaiya enters Sharma’s life as his mentor in New Delhi, offering him a place to stay, which even has an attendant. Gauri makes sacrifices for Sharma and gives his residence to him so that he can study and succeed. Hardly anyone is so lucky. This aspect of the story is especially intriguing because it addresses the issue of caste. Gauri Bhaiya, an OBC, attempted UPSC exams six times. Interestingly, the narrative frames this situation as a type of privilege. However, despite this, Gauri ultimately fails and ends up opening a tea shop.
6. Sharma’s love story with Shraddha Joshi plays out like a typical Bollywood romance—there are no caste barriers. Even the initial objections from Joshi’s father turn into acceptance. This familiar storyline of arranged love marriage is nothing exceptional.
7. Enrolling in a well-known coaching institute in New Delhi was just another stroke of luck in Sharma’s journey, rather than a hard-earned achievement.
8. One night, Sharma boldly seeks advice from a high-ranking government official, a civil service stopper. This kind of guidance is typically out of reach for most. Does Sharma have access to advantages others do not?
9. Sharma performs poorly at the interview stage of the competitive exams. But he is still given another chance. Does that happen? And to whom? It makes you question the motives and biases of the members on the interview board. The film doesn’t talk about the social composition of the board, but I am curious. This kind of favour is not easy to get. As a third-generation individual, Sharma struggled to comprehend simple English. Despite this, the interview board was sympathetic to him. All India civil services officers are not selected like that. This was the biggest miracle that happened in the movie.
10. The film overlooks the potential advantage of being a Hindi speaker compared to other UPSC candidates with diverse linguistic backgrounds. For Sharma, speaking Hindi likely eased his interview, a privilege not afforded to everyone. Just put a Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, or Oriya-speaking individual in Sharma’s place and the entire story crumbles. Who would have even heard him inside Dholpur house, where UPSC interviews take place?
Also read: Ava Duvernay’s ‘Origin’ wants us to question our role in caste system. Will we make amends?
Secret recipe for success
In Sharma’s story, the line between hard work and privilege is blurred. While his determination is evident, the numerous instances of extraordinary luck and hidden advantages also play a significant role in his journey to success.
It’s not easy to notice privileges, especially if they are generational and have become part of the common sense of society at large. Underlining White privilege, American activist and scholar Peggy McIntosh noted, “I have come to see White privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was ‘meant’ to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.”
Sharma’s case is similar. He might not even know why all the doors are opening so easily for him. It’s easy for him and others to think that he was smart and worked hard. But we all know that’s not the entire story.
“Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both,” wrote C Wright Mills, who is revered as the pioneer of sociological imagination.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)