Harish Khanna calls his experience of working in 12th Fail ‘liberating’, recalls meeting real life IPS Manoj Sharma

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail is garnering much love from the audience. Apart from Medha Shankr and Vikrant Massey, the film also stars Harish Khanna who plays the protagonist’s father in the movie. He is currently receiving praise and appreciation for his performance in the movie. 

In an exclusive chat with DNA, Harish Khanna opened up on his experience of working with Vidhu Vinod Chopra in 12th Fail. Not only this, but he also shared his meeting with the real-life IPS Manoj Kumar Sharma and Shraddha Joshi. 

When asked about his experience working in 12th Fail, the actor said, “My experience working with Vidhu Vinod Chopra was liberating. His working style is very democratic, he gives a lot of freedom to an actor and his suggestions were really an eye-opener for me. Whenever he has given suggestions, that character comes out of with a different layer. Vikrant Massey himself is a very humble person. He gives a lot of positive energy and I really loved working with him and under the guidance of Vidhu Vinod Chopra. I got to learn a lot from the master of cinema. He is an institution himself.” 

Harish further revealed that though the film is based on a book with the same title, he wasn’t aware of the story until Vidhu Vinod Chopra narrated it to him. He said, “I came to know about it after I had a video conference with Vidhu Vinod sir. That was my first meeting. He relaxed me so much that he didn’t let me feel that I was sitting in front of a great director, the aura that he had, then he told me about the story. Then I met them and got to know about the script.” 

He further recalled his meeting with real-life IPS Manoj Kumar Sharma and Shraddha Joshi and said, “Recently I got to meet them, and they are so humble people, even after sitting at such a good position. Both of them complement each other so beautifully. After that, I started researching about the story, I also saw some of their interviews. This way I could get closer to them.” 

He further said that he could relate to the character. The actor said, “I used to travel a lot and I have also seen such struggles in my life. When I was in 10th standard, my father was staying at home. So, I could completely relate to Ramveer Ji that he is not bowing down to corruption and that’s why he gets suspended. Then when he tries to fight the case, he loses and then his trust in the system is broken. The breakdown that follows after this Infront of his son, but his son supports him. So that’s a beautiful moment for him. I get so overwhelmed; my body keeps shivering when I see the movie in the theatre. By the end of the movie, my tears roll down. I call them dew drops, why I call them dew drops is because these are tears of happiness.” 

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s film delves into the challenges faced by countless students as they strive to crack the UPSC entrance exam. It also gives a powerful message that instead of giving up after falling, restart and work hard till you get success. The movie resonated with the audience and positive word of mouth; the film also saw a significant growth in the box office numbers.