This long weekend in India gave me an opportunity to watch a highly acclaimed movie of recent times, 12^th Fail starring Vikrant Massey in the lead role. I had heard a lot of praise of this movie and all of that is well deserved. Vikrant Massey has played the role of Manoj Kumar Sharma to perfection. His “manage kar lenge” in itself is a testament to his self belief and indomitable spirit. The movie is both feel-good and thought provoking at the same time. And while I was thinking after the movie was over, I realized that even though the story is of Manoj Kumar Sharma, the real hero of the movie for me is Gauri Bhaiya (portrayed by Anshuman Pushkar).

Not because he comes out triumphant at the end of the movie. Far from it. The story is about Manoj’s triumph but I had a distinct feeling that the “Hero” is Gauri Bhaiya.

Copyright – Vinod Chopra Films. Credit – By Twitter, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75021782

I am generally not moved by sadness or deprivation – but give me a story of triumph against all odds, or where a boundary is pushed, a shackle is broken and I am all emotional. 12^th Fail is that kind of story. I have written about the Hero’s journey in my post on The Alchemist. This movie ticks almost all the boxes on that journey.

When we are introduced to the protagonist, his highest aspiration in life is to pass the 12^th exam through cheating and become a peon to support his family. Then he meets DSP Dushyant Singh and his aspiration changes. There are elements of hero worship, but then in my experience almost everyone who has done something worthwhile with his/her life has had someone they look up to. This encounter triggers the long journey of Manoj.

A series of mishaps follow – he loses his grandmother’s entire savings, MPPSC is put on hold for 3 years and then a ray of hope descends. He meets Pritam Pandey who tells Manoj that IPS is bigger than being a DSP. Manoj pleads with Pritam and comes to Delhi and there he meets Gauri Bhaiya. Gauri Bhaiya explains the reality of UPSC to Manoj and Pritam.

In Gauri Bhaiya’s paraphrased words –

“UPSC for Hindi medium students is a game of snakes and ladders. Two hundred thousand aspirants start at zero every year and only 20-25 make it through.”

1/100^th of a percent. That’s how difficult is this entrance exam. To the credit of Manoj, this nugget of statistics doesn’t break his resolve. His determination is unshaken. He then asks for a way to make enough money to sustain himself during the preparation. Gauri Bhaiya helps him find a job and then the story of Manoj’s preparation starts.

If you have seen the movie, you know the journey of Manoj over all the four attempts that he takes. If you haven’t then you should watch the movie, it is really good.

But, as I said at the start of the post – for me the real hero of the movie was Gauri Bhaiya. Let us talk about him for a bit.

He also knows the statistics of 1/100^th of a percent. When we meet him, he is at his sixth and final attempt and he believes that he has given the best interview of his life. And then it all comes crashing down for him. He has devoted his life’s six prime years to a goal. And as he tells us, he worked as a cleaner in order to sustain himself for the first three years. His father is a farmer who can’t afford to give him the means to support during his journey. And from what you can see immediately – Gauri Bhaiya doesn’t have a mentor. And he doesn’t get through in his sixth and final attempt.

So, when it all comes crashing down for him he decides to open up a tea stall for free mentorship. As he says – “guidance free hai, chai ka paisa lagega.”

Meanwhile, we see the journey of Manoj. First attempt – couldn’t clear prelims. Second attempt – prelims cleared, then he falls in love and fails in the qualifying English paper.

That actually brings me to one of my most favorite topics. The power of love, that creates heroes out of ordinary men and women. And if that love is gone or taken from us, not much remains. Manoj actually gives up. The movie doesn’t say it outright, but when Shraddha (brilliantly played by Medha Shankar) doesn’t reciprocate his love – He gives up and goes back to his village. For that moment his spirit is broken. I wrote about the importance of spirit in this post on one of the most celebrated horse races. Once the spirit is gone – everything turns to ash.

However, Manoj is lucky that his mother still has enough belief and conviction to tell him – “When you come the next time, you will come in the uniform na?” Without this nudge, Manoj would’ve stayed in the village. With this nudge he comes back to Delhi and gives it his all – working 12-14 hour shifts, studying 8 hours and sleeping 3 hours.

And he fails his mains exam in his penultimate attempt to the UPSC.

Let us take a look at what do you need to get through an examination of the caliber of UPSC and where does Manoj stand –

1. Intent – Manoj has plenty of that
2. Motivation – Manoj has motivation
3. Intellect – He has gone through prelims twice and the place where he takes his coaching considers him to be quite good
4. Perseverance – “Haar nahin manunga”, how else to put it
5. Mentorship – From Gauri Bhaiya and his coaching institute

Manoj has all of this and still he hadn’t been able to get through in three attempts. He needed something else as well. Shraddha recognizes that, Gauri Bhaiya recognizes that, but Manoj is ready to compromise on his goal with his righteousness.

There is a sequence in the movie before Manoj’s third attempt at mains. Shraddha meets him in the hole in the wall flour mill where he lives and prepares for the exam. She pleads with him to get to a place where he can study undisturbed, and he chooses the path of righteousness.

All of us would’ve seen the below cartoon image –

I felt the same when Manoj decided to stay in that hole in the wall and continue on his path of righteousness. “I have responsibilities”. Indeed.

Anyway, the one guy who could make a dent in this folly finally decides to take matters in his hands. And that’s Gauri Bhaiya. In the words of Pritam Pandey – “and for the first time in his life Manoj had a room, a study table, an electronic stove and a bed.” From Shraddha he gets a stop watch to guide his study schedule.

This time Manoj succeeds and becomes an IPS. But one sentence that he says during his interview stayed with me –

“If I cannot become the sun that lights up the earth, I can still be the lamp that lights up my street.”

Gauri Bhaiya is the embodiment of that lamp. He will keep lighting that street of Hindi Medium UPSC aspirants. That is a worthy cause. Someday, maybe I will also become the lamp that lights up my street in whatever way I can.