Vikrant Massey's 12th Fail Reminds IFS Officer Of His UPSC Days: ‘Real Depiction’

Preparing for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination demands immense dedication and patience, a reality known well by aspirants. Similarly, Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Parveen Kaswan recently shared a clip from Vikrant Massey’s latest OTT release 12th Fail, which shows the emotional moments before entering the UPSC building for the final interview. The movie is adapted from Anurag Pathak’s bestselling novel, portraying the real life journey of Manoj Kumar Sharma, who overcame financial hurdles to crack the UPSC exam on his fourth attempt and finally achieved his dream of becoming an IPS officer. Sharing the clip, Parveen felt nostalgic watching the tense situation shown in the movie and disclosed his personal experience of going through the interview process thrice.

One of the important sequences in the movie features Vikrant’s character stepping into the UPSC building for his interview, an impactful moment that resonated with the IFS officer. The officer also offered insights into the atmosphere during the interview process and claimed, candidates weren’t directly escorted in, instead everyone waited in a queue at the entrance. Before entering the interview room, candidates spent a few moments seated outside the boardroom. Sharing the post on X, Parveen wrote, “What a nostalgic feeling. And such a real depiction of what happens in the UPSC building during an interview. Been there three times like this.”

Soon after IFS officer Parveen Kaswan shared the clip from 12th Fail, social media users recounted their own experiences and claimed that the film showed the real scenario.

A user mentioned experiencing the UPSC interview only once and revived the feelings and intensity of that experience from 33 years ago.

Another shared their experience of going through the interview process twice and compared it with pilgrimage for aspirants.

One more mentioned feeling nostalgic seeing the inside of the building after 7 years.

12th Fail, directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, was produced on a minimal budget of Rs 20 crore. Despite a low initial response in theatres, the film managed to cross Rs 66 crore in the worldwide box office. However, the movie received overwhelming response from audiences when it was recently launched on Hotstar. Alongside Vikrant Massey, the film stars Medha Shankar, Anant V Joshi, Anshumaan Pushkar and Priyanshu Chatterjee, in key roles.