MUMBAI: Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s latest film 12th Fail is doing well at the box office. Starring Vikrant Massey in the lead role, the film has also been receiving appreciation from different sections of society.
Adapted from Anurag Pathak’s bestselling novel of the same name, the movie is inspired by the life story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma and his wife IRS officer Shraddha Joshi. Recently, the couple shared their real-life love story, which is nothing short of a Bollywood romance.
Speaking to Lallantop, Manoj shared that he always believed that one “cannot live without love”. So, when he fell in love with his now wife, Shraddha, he ensured that he presented himself as her ideal life partner.
Even when he was required to focus on his studies, Manoj focused on how to get Shraddha to fall in love with him. The duo met at a UPSC coaching centre in Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar. She was recommended to meet Manoj by a teacher at the coaching institute as she was interested in Hindi literature.
Describing the moment when he met Shraddha Joshi, Manoj Kumar Sharma shared that as she introduced herself, he was mesmerised by her name only.
He 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 even expressed his feelings to her. But she refused to accept his feelings. She told him, “Are you mad?”
But Manoj didn’t give up. He was determined to make Shraddha believe that he was the ‘best’ partner for her. “When Shraddha refused to even think about it, I asked her, ‘Can we be friends at least?'” shared Manoj.
He explained that the thought behind 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.”
To impress Shraddha, Manoj learnt how to make tea as she hailed from the mountains, and people who live in the mountains have a fondness for tea.
“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,” shared Manoj.
Another thing that he did for her was take food to the coaching classes as she stayed far away from the institute. “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,” the IPS officer added.
Seeing his dedication to woo Shraddha Joshi, Manoj Kumar Sharma’s close friend Anurag Pathak, who also wrote 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, instead of being a distraction for him, Shraddha became a guiding force for Manoj and helped him ace his writing skills. She made notes for him and even got him empty registers and asked him to fill them with whatever knowledge he had to improve his writing.
She was a strict taskmaster and Manoj’s friends were scared of her. “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,” Manoj narrated.
Eventually, the couple managed to clear their UPSC exam and they married each other. They are parents to a son.
For more news and updates from the world of television, OTT and movies, stay tuned to TellyChakkar.
Credits - The Indian Express
Add new comment