In the mad boil down to the CBSE and ICSE board examination results, Never Give Up comes as a refreshing inspiration. Never Give Up is a short film featuring Rajkumar Rao is an original production of the website for viral content Rajnikanth Vs CID Jokes. Produced by the RVCJ Digital Media Pvt Ltd, this short film throws light on the growing concerns regarding suicide among adolescents in India. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people aged 25 to 34 and the third-leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 24. The cases of depression and even suicide amongst students rise during this time of the year as they await the dreadful exam results.
‘Never Give Up’ is a great example of how the children today are afraid to fail. With a maddening pace of competitions and entrance exams ready to collapse on them, the board exam results are like a dormant volcano waiting to erupt. Directed by Sahdev Gholap this film shows how the ones who don’t score well are discouraged and mocked.
This film shows a young boy, Vishal (Vishu), who is distressed over the fact that he has failed in his exams. He calls up his mother and we can see him contemplating suicide when his mum swoops into the conversation, telling him he is not the first person to fail.
Vishu is inconsolable and the fear of his father scolding him for this poor performance has led him to believe that his life is no longer worth living. He confides in his mother that he won’t be able to cope up with studying science.
All his friends are joking about him and calling him a “Loser” or a “Failure”. He storms off to the cricket pitch where he bowls one of the bullies but the boy hits a six and this gives the bullies another reason to mock him. The story throws light on how failure can at times become society’s weapon to bring you down and often times, kids who fail are laughed at and even bullied in their neighbourhood. The words of his mother ring in his ears and Vishu wants to give it another shot. He clean-bowled his bully and that shuts them all up real nice.
At the end of the short film, a small public service message comes from the critically acclaimed Bollywood actor Rajkumar Rao who calls out to all those who are struggling with failure, mental disorders or any other societal pressures. Rao urges all of them to hang in there and be patient because success may take time, but it will definitely come to you. This message comes at a relevant hour as the number of suicide rates among adolescents has gone up in India and the competition levels have made it harder for the students to compete.
