The HR lessons from 12th Fail

Bollywood is big in Nepal as in the rest of the world. Language, culture, social composition, values, and norms are more or less the same so it’s natural for Nepalis to enjoy Indian cinema. However, in recent years, I’ve watched less Indian than Nepali as I thought the quality of Indian movies was going down. Maybe I wasn’t watching the right movies as the ones I watched glamorized violence and unrealistic male machismo. On the internet, I came across a word called hyper-masculinity which has been defined as ‘a psychological and sociological term for the exaggeration of male stereotypical behavior, such as an emphasis on physical strength, aggression, and human male sexuality.’

Animal was one such movie that I despised. I should have watched the trailer before making it to the cinema hall but since I read some reviews that spoke highly of Ranbir Kapoor’s acting and Bobby Deol’s comeback, I went in. In the movie, women were portrayed as submissive, lacking a voice and opinion of their own while men succeeded at the regular money-making business or the business of breaking bones. It contradicts with the vision of the world we aspire to live in. The world has seen enough violence and endless cases of gender-based violence, yet this movie tried to validate all the wrongs in the quest of producing a big Box Office collector.

However, amidst all these movies where men are portrayed larger than life—sometimes even stronger than Marvel Superheroes—I watched a simple but powerful movie that reinforces the message of not giving up and restarting until you get the desired results. The story revolves around a poor man who wants to live a dignified life, supporting his family members without being corrupt, and dreams of serving his country as a civil servant. The hurdles he faces in the process to buy his two meals and send some money home and prepare for the civil service exam is so realistically presented. It could be relatable with those who sit for Loksewa exams in Nepal who spend years preparing for and excelling at the exam.

While every aspect of the movie is really well done, a lot can be said particularly about how the lead character is selected by the interview panel. He does not have strong English language or a foreign degree to flash on the CV; he does not tell impromptu stories to impress the interview panel either. The hiring team consists of a mix of people with an openly critical hiring manager who sums up the interview as a ‘waste of time.’

How often do the HR teams consider giving a chance to someone who admits not having good command of the English language and other shortcomings, and dares to challenge the interviewers? From a pool of shortlisted candidates who pass the same tough written exams and who present themselves in a likable manner, what is the probability of someone like Manoj from the movie being selected as the finalist?

In my professional life, I have played the role of both the interviewer and the interviewee. In my experience, mostly the hiring managers make the final call. The other members of the hiring team seldom give a special chance to express their views like Manoj gets in the movie. This could be seen as ‘overstepping’ in real life scenarios. The general tendency is to select the one who is better suited for the job than others.

The movie 12th Fail has done a great job at giving hope to people who do not give up on their dreams and see failures as a new way of restarting.  Organizations can draw some lessons from the movie to give hardworking people like Manoj a chance.