12th Fail and Aspirants season 2 : ‘Real’ aspirants tell us what others may not

ARUNIKA MATHUR, BHOPAL, MADHYA PRADESH

“Aspirants Season 2 no longer feels an honest show about ‘aspirants’.”

Speaking specifically about the Aspirants series, the first season felt very relatable as various aspects of being an aspirant were acknowledged. However, it was also a 4-hour-long commercial for the sponsors.

Season 2 is up on a big OTT platform and the way it’s being promoted in such a gimmicky way has taken away its charm of being an honest show about aspirants.

As an aspirant myself, I can say that these movies or shows are just meant for entertainment and making money out of the most talked about service and its preparation, but making a series or a movie is easier than actually preparing for this service, for sure. At the end of the day, it does nothing but glorify the exam more and more in this era of effervescent social media where clips from the show will turn into viral reels and so forth.

SHIRISH KISHORE SURYAVANSHI, NASIK, MAHARASHTRA

“What makes me nostalgic is the Old Rajinder Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar ‘Darshan’ which these stories show.”

The UPSC universe is not just made up of aspirants and coaching institutes. Some aspirants have dreamt of UPSC since their childhood and it is even a dream for several parents to see their child clear the civil services, and then there is a big number of those who failed to clear this exam. Looking at this growing industry, there are several edtech platforms who have upscaled their business in this industry. The entertainment industry noticed this and  they are all earning, cashing on the dreams of the aspirants. Are we getting inspired and motivated? Well everyone will have their perspective. A serious candidate doesn’t have time to ponder. Will there be more shows and films on this subject? Of course, check YouTube and Instagram, UPSC always trends.

These days books on the life of a civil servant or a success mantra by civil servants are among the bestsellers. The film industry is just adapting an easy script. And if it is by a famous director, it is ‘soney pe suhaaga’.

But what makes me nostalgic is the Old Rajinder Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar ‘Darshan’ which these stories show. It reminds me of a fact that whether the aspirants from the streets of these two hubs of UPSC convert into UPSC rank holders or not, it doesn’t matter a lot. What matters more is the contribution of the struggle which adds up in our personalities to help us carve out our bright futures. How many more will get inspired to leave their jobs, and hometowns and join these factories — the already ‘overpopulated’ ones? One can’t give the numbers. But certainly the competition is tougher than these films show.

DIPENDRA CHETRY, DIGBOI, ASSAM

“Get inspired, but just to get entertained.”

In a country, where lakhs of aspirants prepare and aspire to crack one of the world’s toughest examinations, a show like “Aspirants” hits the right chord of profit-making and capitalising on dreams for the entertainment industry.

The show seems problematic and curiously unambitious for a real-world aspirant.

It doesn’t investigate the real-world implications of the culture it (problematically) romanticises, and ends up glamourising the competitive examination and coaching institutes.

Speaking of 12th Fail, I am sure film critics will be better judges as they are already all in praise for Vidhu Vinod Chopra but purely from the point of view of an aspirant I have a serious point to ponder — IPS Manoj Sharma is a 2005 batch officer. It has been 18-19 years since his selection. His story may be an important story to be told, many will relate to it and will rise from their twitter accounts to agree with it, but Mukherjee Nagar aspirants and the problems that the Hindi-medium students are facing remain the same even after 2005. Shouldn’t that worry us? I am not a film critic but as a member of the community on whom the subject of the film is based, I believe that it can inspire someone but only for entertainment purposes.

PRATYUSH MANI TRIPATHI, GORAKHPUR, UTTAR PRADESH

“Movies and series will come and go. The challenges of Hindi medium students remain the same.”

There are three words that UPSC Aspirants must know: Information, Entertainment and Infotainment. Information is something that you acquire from good books, gurus, and educational institutions which help you crack the exam or achieve great heights in whatever you do. Entertainment is something that an aspirant needs as short breaks in this rigorous examination cycle. Sports, movies, hobbies of different kinds are a part of it. Films and OTT series ideally are a part of this package. Then there is infotainment. This kind of misleading information is sold on social media platforms in the name of UPSC compulsory course as an important important information for clearing the exam but in reality it is only entertainment — an unnecessary one. So, in any case, entertainment products are way better than infotainment products, but only if they are seen as entertainment.

Aspirant Season 2 has nothing to offer. One may get inspired by 12th Fail though, but again it is an individual’s story, and the UPSC journey is not the same for everyone.

Not everyone may connect with these stories. While we congratulate everyone who cleared this examination, we also make them celebrities too early.

Anyway, movies and series will come and go, but the challenges of Hindi medium students represented by Mukherji Nagar, Ber Sarai of Delhi, and many parts of UP and Bihar will remain the same. Lack of quality study material and editorial content, and badly translated notes are some of the major factors that Hindi medium aspirants have to either switch to attempting the exam in the English language or spend an enormous amount of time translating the notes and important books. The problem seems to aggravate in the evaluation of Hindi medium scripts by people who are more comfortable with English as a medium. Hindi medium students have to put in extra effort in preparation and understanding of concepts. These problems are also reflected in the struggles of aspirants of other non-English languages.

These problems are always present at the back of the mind in our aspirant phase even when we are watching these purely entertaining, commercial films.

SAIRAM B KALAL, DELHI COLLEGE OF ARTS AND COMMERCE, DELHI UNIVERSITY 

“With a lack of good content for films, UPSC is an easy script.”

There are many reasons why the entertainment industry is much focused on UPSC Aspirants. A decade ago, entertainment industry would not focus on such subjects, but now the industry is a bigger market. You serve anything in the name of UPSC, it will mint money for sure. And with a lack of good content for films anyway, UPSC is an easy script. With more than 10 lakh aspirants appearing every year and many more preparing for UPSC CSE, the producers and directors know that they have a definite audience which is very large.

Also, the aspirants nowadays are more connected to this sort of ‘entertainment’, such as the UPSC based content among YouTubers, stand-up comedians, Instagram influencers, etc.

One should not forget that the civil servants themselves have so much time out of their busy schedules to make reels and shorts of themselves displaying their social media love.

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There is another important aspect — the distracted minds of aspirants. Aspirants, especially those who run after every coaching centre’s notes thinking everything under the sun is important, feel that watching the movie or series can give them cues, motivate them and help them in clearing the exam. They even try to copy the strategy showed in the movie, and try to compare their lifestyle with the characters of the series, which is impractical.

To some extent we do relate to things shown in movies, but not fully. For example, many scenes in Aspirants season 1 are relatable like the early struggle in Old Rajinder Nagar and all. But on the other hand, a film like Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana shows a person getting into services in a fraction of a second, without showing his struggles. The entertainment industry has many things to show about the exam, but we as aspirants must be selective on what to agree to and what not to.

The above ‘real’ aspirants, may differ in their views from many film journalists. But as members of the UPSC aspirants community (the same community which forms the subject of Aspirants Season 2 and 12th Fail), have messages for the larger UPSC universe and claim the first stake to express their views on the subject so close to their hearts. What do you have to say? Comment in the box below and keep following UPSC Essentials.

Share your views, answers and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com. 

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