Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Vikrant Massey ‘s ‘12th Fail’ was a smash hit at the box office and based on the life of IPS Manoj Kumar Sharma. At ABP’s Idea of India summit, Sharma made some revelations. He said, “ If you ask me what I got personally, then I didn’t get anything, because I don’t take money from anyone or go in expecting any monetary benefits from people.”
He added, “At the time when my wife and I were preparing for the exams, we had decided that we’ll not wear diamonds and jewellery. She still doesn’t wear it so we don’t have that expense. We don’t even have a gift system, we don’t give each other gifts on anniversaries and birthdays. If we want to give gifts we write letters to each other. So we don’t need to go shopping."
On the impact of 12th Fail
The only benefit that I have got is that the things that I wanted to tell the people of our country have come out through the film and the book, and if you want to take something from it then you can. What makes me happy is that school students are sending me letters and saying that they want to be like me, and to be honest, that is my reward. There was a guy who said that his father used to tell him about his struggles, but he never understood what his father meant.
Sharma continued, “But after watching the movie, he went and hugged his father. This is what I have gained. Through this movie, thanks to Vidhu Vinod Chopra, people came to know about my story, otherwise there are so many stories but no one cares. How do you find someone like him to tell a story like this? This story is not special, it is about a kid who you’ll find in every nook and corner and streets in our country.”