Real Life Story Of Manoj Kumar Sharma And Shraddha Joshi Who’ve Inspired ’12th Fail’

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s latest film 12th Fail starring Vikrant Massey and Medha Shankar has secured a place in the audience’s heart. It is doing well at the box office and also on OTT platform Disney+Hotstar. The movie is an adaptation of Anurag Pathak’s bestselling novel of the same name.

The movie is inspired by the real-life story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma and his wife IRS officer Shraddha Joshi. The couple also shared their real-life love story, which will give you couple goals. In this article, we will talk about IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma and his wife whose UPSC success story is very inspiring.

12th Fail is based on real-life experiences and revolves around UPSC aspirants. The movie is based on the life story of IPS officer, Manoj Kumar Sharma who put up a brave fight and overcame poverty to be where he is today. Vikrant plays the role of Manoj in the movie who aspires to be an IPS officer to eliminate corruption and misuse of power.

The film puts forward the struggles of millions of students, who attempt the UPSC (The Union Public Service Commission) entrance exam. UPSC is considered one of the toughest exams in India and lakhs of Indians appear in the UPSC exam every year intending to become IAS officers and IPS officers but only a fraction of them manage to crack the competitive exam.

Here is all about the real Manoj Kumar Sharma:

Did Manoj Sharma fail his class XII exam?

Manoj hails from Morena in the Chambal region once infamous for dacoits in Madhya Pradesh. He belonged to a family with poor financial condition. Manoj was a victim of a flawed education system in his village that encouraged students to cheat during crucial examinations. Manoj received a third division in his 9th and 10th grades and failed in all subjects except for Hindi in the 12th grade. IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma had no interest in academics in his school days.

Manoj Kumar’s journey from failing in Class XII to becoming an IPS officer

Coming from a family that was struggling financially Manoj faced numerous obstructions.
Manoj Sharma is now a CISF officer and lives a respectable life with his family. In Class XII, he failed the Board exams. He cleared his Class XII exam in the second attempt, then he went on to complete his higher studies.

He aspired to be an IPS officer for which he had to clear the UPSC exam. As the UPSC exam is considered one of the toughest exams to clear and lakhs of students prepare for it, there are numerous coaching centers that provide proper training. But for a student coming from a poor financial background, paying the hefty fees of the coaching classes becomes difficult.

Manoj had to work odd jobs in Delhi to continue with his UPSC preparation and support his family financially. Manoj Sharma even slept on the road, had no food for days, worked as a tempo driver, worked in a library, and as a dog walker to pay the coaching fees and buy books to prepare for the UPSC exam. His struggle knew no bounds.

He cleared the UPSC exam on his fourth and final attempt. UPSC exams are quite challenging, it is very rare that someone clears it in their first attempt. Though Manoj managed to clear the preliminary stage, he failed to pass the mains in his first three attempts. But he did not give up and continued to hustle refusing to abandon his aspiration of passing the exam.

Manoj Kumar Sharma eventually succeeded in becoming an IPS officer bagging the rank of 121 in the country

Every year, the Union Public Service conducts the country’s most sought-after examination (Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)). Manoj Kumar Sharma became an IPS officer in the Maharashtra cadre, clearing all the rounds of the examination in his fourth attempt after three unsuccessful attempts at passing the UPSC exam. In 2005, he joined the Maharashtra cadre as an IPS and is currently serving as the Additional Commissioner of the West Region in Mumbai.

Manoj Kumar Sharma and Shraddha Joshi love story

Sharma met his soulmate, Shraddha Joshi, during his days of struggle. She supported him a lot during those tough days. While taking UPSC coaching in New Delhi, Manoj Kumar Sharma met Shraddha Joshi and fell in love with her. Shraddha was a resident of Uttarakhand who aspired to be a collector. They met at a UPSC coaching center in Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar. Shraddha was interested in Hindi literature, so a teacher recommended her to meet Manoj.

Speaking to Lallantop, Manoj even shared that he always believed that one “cannot live without love”. When he fell for his now wife, Shraddha, he assured her that he presented himself as her ideal life partner.

Besides focusing on his studies, Manoj also made an effort to get Shraddha to fall in love with him. When Manoj was asked to describe the moment when he met Shraddha Joshi, Manoj Kumar Sharma disclosed that when she introduced herself, he was fascinated by her name only.

Manoj said,

“Ek toh naam Shraddha, uppar se sheher Almora (One she is Shraddha, and second, she comes from a city called Almora). That day only I felt that there is something special about her.”

Eventually, he fell in love with her and also expressed his feelings to her. But Shraddha declined his advances. She told him,

“Are you mad?”

But Manoj didn’t give up. He made up his mind to make Shraddha believe that he was the ‘best’ partner for her. Manoj shared,

“When Shraddha refused to even think about it, I asked her, ‘Can we be friends at least?’”

He also explained that the idea of becoming friends with her was,

“Keep meeting her and proving that you are the best. She will get married someday, till that day keep assuring you are the best, and hone your cooking skills.”

Manoj learned how to make tea to impress Shraddha, as she was from the mountains, and he believed that the mountain people are fond of tea.

He shared,

“Shraddha’s life depends on tea, pahaadi aadmi ko sote samay bhi chai chahiye aur uthte samay bhi (A person who belongs to the mountains wants tea when he sleeps and wakes up). So, I was like let’s learn how to make tea,”

Despite his struggles, Manoj took good care of Shraddha, he used to take food to the coaching classes for her as she stayed far away from the institute. The IPS officer shared,

“I used to make two rotis for her and pack them with achaar and her favourite ‘makka’ namkeen. My first concern was Shraddha should believe that I am a good man”

Manoj Kumar Sharma’s close friend Anurag Pathak, who is the author of the book 12th Fail, warned him to focus on his studies instead of going after a girl.

But Manoj told him,

“Padd toh lenge baad mein bhi par ye ladki nikal jaayegi haath se (I can study later, but I should not let this girl go).”

However, when others thought Shraddha would be a distraction for Manoj, Shraddha stayed beside him as a guiding force and helped him ace his writing skills. She made notes for him and even brought him empty registers and asked him to fill them with whatever knowledge he had to hone his writing skills.

Manoj also added,

“My friends were also scared of her. They knew at what time she would come, so they used to leave before that. I had to give her a full report card about what I did in the entire day”

In the movie, 12th pass the real-life couple, Manoj and Shraddha made an appearance in a scene

Actor Vikrant Massey confirmed the cameo of the real-life inspirations to be present in the movie. When a user at social media platform X talked about spotting them in a scene from the movie, the actor replied back with a tweet confirming their presence. Vikrant tweeted,

Haha!!! So I finally found someone who noticed this. True, it’s them. A small @VVCFilms tribute to them.
Another trivia, it happened at the same place, which is Delhi Haat. 🫡🤗

— Vikrant Massey (@VikrantMassey) January 1, 2024

Manoj Sharma is now married to his love, Shraddha Joshi, and the duo also have two kids

Both Manoj and Shraddha managed to clear the UPSC exams eventually. While Manoj became an IPS officer, Shraddha is an IRS officer. Despite the struggles, they managed to stay together and got married after getting settled in their respective careers. The strong couple is active on social media where they share glimpses of their life. They have a son and a daughter together.