 "IPS Officer Manoj Sharma, whose life inspired Vikrant Massey's '12th Fail', promoted to Inspector General")
Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s momentous success ’12th Fail’ was based on the life of the IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma. As per the recent reports, the IPS officer has been promoted to the rank of Inspector General (IG) from Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in the Maharashtra Police. This significant milestone in Manoj Kumar’s career came following the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)’s approval. The committee approved the promotions for IPS officers from the 2003, 2004, and 2005 batches. Sharma shared the news on his X handle expressing his “heartfelt gratitude” for people who supported him.
Reflecting on his remarkable journey within the Indian Police Service, Sharma wrote, “The journey that started from ASP has reached today to become IG by the order of the Government of India. Heartfelt gratitude to everyone for supporting me in this long journey.”
Adapted from Anurag Pathak’s bestseller, ’ 12th Fail ’ starred Vikrant Massey and Medha Shankr. The real life hero’s story not showcased his achievement to become an IPS officer but also highlighted his personal and financial struggles. Sharma, as depicted in the film, took the UPSC civil service exam four times. He failed in the first three attempts and managed to crack the exam with an All India Rank (AIR) of 121 in the fourth attempt. Sharma was previously posted as an Additional Commissioner in Mumbai Police.
A resident of Morena district of Madhya Pradesh, IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma was born in a very poor family. He passed class 9 and class 10 with a third division but failed in all the subjects except Hindi in the class 12th board examination. During his preparation for the civil services examination, he fell in love with Shraddha Joshi and after giving it a lot of thought, he proposed to her.
Manoj Sharma, in his initial days, drove a tempo to earn some money and even slept on the pavement. Later, he also worked at a library in Delhi which helped him with his UPSC preparation. The struggles of Sharma to becoming an IPS officer is a testament to perseverance and resilience.