After its release on the big screen, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s biographical drama film 12th Fail didn’t attract the audience on the big screen. But after its OTT debut, it became a sleeper hit and took the box office by storm. In the movie, actor Vikrant Massey played the role of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma. While talking to the audience, the officer shared what he gained from the feature film’s success.
Real-life Manoj Kumar Sharma reveals why he didn’t take money for 12th Fail
12th Fail tells the tale of a poverty-struck Manoj Kumar Sharma from Chambal who ended up becoming an IPS officer with his determination and hard work. While the film did big business, the man on whose life the film was based didn’t take a dime from it.
Sharing the reason behind it, Sharma said at the ABP Ideas of India summit, “If you ask me personally, I didn’t receive anything. It is so because I don’t take money from anyone or go in expecting any monetary benefits from anyone. I am a totally honest person about these matters, and I am as I was at the time of selection. My wife is also like that.”
Hindustan Times quoted him saying further that when school students send him letters saying that they want to be like him and to be honest like him, that makes him happy. “That is my reward.” He also thanked director Vidhu Vinod Chopra for sharing his story with the world so beautifully. “Through this movie, thanks to the director, people came to know about my story, otherwise there are so many stories but no one really cares. How do you find someone like him to tell a story like this?”
According to him, the story is not special but it’s a simple story about a kid that we will find in every nook and corner of our country. “In the future, even if a few people feel that they should work hard and be honest and not take shortcuts or become dishonest in their ways, then I don’t feel there can be a bigger reward than that,” he concluded. In the film, Vikrant Massey plays the role of Manoj Kumar Sharma while Medha Shankr can be seen as his wife Shraddha Joshi.
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