12th Fail, TVF Aspirants & UPSC dream: Dangers of appropriating coaching subcultures

Vikrant Massey in a still from Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 12th Fail, releasing in theatres on Friday.

No one sells optimism like TVF shows — Pitchers, Kota Factory, Laakhon Mein Ek, Aspirants — The Viral Fever team knows a thing or two about creating shows that make one dream of reaching the stars, no matter how unrealistic the dream may be. Even if the odds are stacked against the favour of a TVF protagonist, they somehow make the impossible possible. This magical optimism and hoping against hope made TVF shows standout when OTT was still in its nascent stages in India.

Dancing with the devil

A still from 12th Fail.

Besides appropriating most coaching subcultures in a densely populated country where seats in reputed institutions are few but candidates are many, TVF is also guilty of romanticising the middle class struggle. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination, arguably one of the toughest entrance examinations in India (if not the most) with an acceptance rate of 0.011 per cent in 2023, is likely to be a hot topic of discussion this week. In addition to Vidhu Vinod Chopra directorial and Vikrant Massey-starrer 12th Fail which hit the theatres today, the second season of the cult show Aspirants, based on the same theme, premiered on Amazon Prime Video recently.

In 2023, a large number of UPSC aspirants took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared horror stories of how they themselves lost and jaded having exhausted all their attempts—a reality that is depicted in both 12th Fail and Aspirants — but is it enough? Both the movie and the show romance the idea of cracking an examination, the odds of qualifying which are slim even for the best of the best — this without as much showing the dangers of harbouring optimism which isn’t rooted in practicality or considering the most obvious outcomes of giving one’s prime years to clear a difficult exam.

Deconstructing a TVF protagonist

A still from TVF 'Aspirants'.

The second season of Aspirants follows Abhilash (Naveen Kasturia) as he navigates the personal and the professional: politicians pressure him to compromise on labour rights, his past with an ex-flame troubles him and his bond with Guri (Shivankit Singh Parihar), SK (Abhilash Thapliyal) and Dhairya (Namita Dubey) is in jeopardy again.

In one scene in Aspirants season 2, Abhilash questions Radha Rajesh, a teacher whose course he joined at the last minute (she wasn’t even willing to take him mid-session) about her teaching strategy that she wants to use for her students. Why, you may ask? Because Abhilash is special. That is the thing with all TVF protagonists. Naveen (Naveen Bansal) in Pitchers is special. Abhilash (Bansal) in Aspirants is special. They are blinded by optimism and self-importance. They are entitled, they feel like they can conquer the world and the problem is that they do, without the story giving them a crude reality-check but encouraging delusions of self-importance.

Not everyone is an Abhilash who can give his teacher the signed letter from the President of India because of a silly bet. In the real world, there are many people like Abhilash who have exhausted all six of their UPSC attempts and they now regret the decisions they made. Encouraging aspirants of any competitive exam to be optimistic isn't a problem as long as you do it responsibly and keep ample room to show stories of failure because they are just as important as stories of success.

Dangerous optimism, borderline delusion

The blinding optimism in TVF shows does not show the lives that are often ruined while preparing for competitive exams. Granted, Abhilash is on his fifth attempt but not once do we see him doubt himself or feel low — negative emotions, especially self-doubt are a part of preparing for any entrance exam. To gloss over them and be all hunky-dory while keeping up the high spirits is disingenuous at best, irresponsible at worst.

Quotes by boxer-activist Muhammad Ali used in conversations seem like Post-Its on a Pinterest board without a hint of a crude, brutal reality check — similar to the one we saw Sandeep bhaiya get in Episode 4 of the show. Even then it doesn't really show what becomes of Sandeep — is he insecure of Abhilash? Is he comfortable being his subordinate even though he is much senior to him? Even then not everyone is as self-confident and reliant as Sandeep or as proud as Guri so as to not ask for help from their District Magistrate friend.

TVF characters and women written by men

A still from TVF 'Aspirants'.

Abhilash, having distanced himself from Guri, SK and Dhairya, befriends Surya and Deepa Nabam (Tengam Celine) who wishes to go back to Arunachal, her hometown, and prepare for UPSC from her home state. Not only does Deepa lack depth as a character but her entire life revolves around Abhilash. In one scene, Abhilash mansplains the most basic cigarette analogy to urge Deepa to stop smoking, accompanied by a Bhagavad Gita shloka. In the end, I was thankful for the fact that they don't do this at de-addiction centres.

Another common thread that ties most TVF protagonists is that they are all young men who are self-absorbed, have heightened self-importance and firmly believe they are Laakhon Mein Ek (pun intended). Again, being optimistic is good as long as you are not blinded to very practical realities of life like the acceptance rate for UPSC exams which is 0.011 per cent.

If one wants to see women written by men, they should look at TVF shows. No woman character in Aspirants has any agency whatsoever, including Dhairya, former IRS, who sacrifices an award from the UN so that her husband, Guri, can get...a fire tender from Rampur DM. The entire exercise where Abhilash challenges his tutor, Radha’s approach to UPSC preparation in exchange for a letter from the President of India is literally a flexing exercise, one that is rigged to make Abhilash win.

After all, TVF knows its target audience is middle-class men preparing for entrance exams. But must they be fed such blinding optimism and entitlement? TVF has paved the way for the OTT space in India with Pitchers (2015) and Permanent Roommates (2014). Perhaps, it is time they stepped back and reflected on the dangers of selling optimism and false hopes.

12th Fail and hoping against hope

With 12th Fail all set to release this Friday, all eyes are on Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s retelling of the stories of thousands, if not lakhs, of UPSC aspirants in Old Rajendra Nagar. From the looks of it, Chopra’s protagonist comes from a humble background and is seen fighting tooth and nail to make his UPSC dream a reality. While it is yet to be seen how the film does at the box office, one must, by all means, approach the competitive examination beast with caution, if at all.