Anand Mahindra Meets Couple That Inspired '12th Fail', Takes Autograph

The Chairman of Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra, today met Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Manoj Kumar Sharma and his wife Shraddha Joshi, an Indian Revenue Service officer and took their autographs.

The life of Manoj Sharma and Shraddha Joshi inspired the film, '12th Fail', which was a big success at the box office and gave the lead actor Vikrant Massey the Best Actor (Critics) Filmfare Award.

Mr Mahindra met the couple over lunch, calling them, "true real-life heroes" and said, "They continue practising their philosophy of living a life of scrupulous integrity." The Mahindra Group chairman shared a picture on X (formerly Twitter) with Mr Sharma and Ms Joshi, holding a paper on which he took their autograph and said, "If India is to become a global power, it will happen more rapidly if more people adopt their way of life."

Anand Mahindra said they are the real celebrities of the country and their autographs are "heirlooms" for him, adding that he is a "Wealthier man now after meeting the extraordinary couple".

Mr Mahindra was impressed after watching '12th Fail' and said, "If you see only one film this year, make it this one."

"This story is based on real-life heroes of the country. Not just the protagonist, but the millions of youth, hungry for success, who struggle against extraordinary odds to pass what is arguably one of the most competitive exams in the world," he said in a post on X.

Directed by veteran filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra, '12th Fail', not only earned critical acclaim from the film industry but also performed exceptionally well at the Box Office.

'12th Fail' is based on Anurag Pathak's bestselling novel about the journey of Mr Sharma and his wife, Shraddha Joshi, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer. Mr Sharma became an IPS officer after cleaning the toilet, working in the library, and toiling hard to overcome every obstacle that came his way.

Manoj Kumar Sharma is on deputation to the Central Industrial Security Force and posted with the force's Aviation Security Wing.