Abhishek Bachchan reacts as 12 Agra Jail inmates, inspired by Dasvi, clear UP Board exams: ‘Bigger than any award’

Twelve inmates from Agra Central Jail, who were inspired by Abhishek Bachchan's Dasvi, have cleared their class 10 and 12 UP Board exams, prompting a reaction from the actor himself.

It has been over two months since the release of Abhishek Bachchan’s film Dasvi but it continues to have an impact on people’s lives. In the film, Abhishek played a politician who sits for his class 10 exam and clears it in his 40s. In April, it was reported that several inmates of Agra Central Jail, where the film was shot, had been inspired by the film to sit for their exams. Now, as the results of UP Board’s Class 10 exams are out, a dozen inmates have passed with flying colours.

Abhishek Bachchan plays a stained politician who wishes to complete his high school diploma from jail in Dasvi.

The Tushar Jalota film was shot on location at Agra Central jail over several months in 2021 and 2022. In March, it was also screened for the inmates on the jail premises itself. In April, some of the inmates reportedly took the film’s message to heart and decided to sit for their Class 10 and 12 exams. As the results were declared a few days ago, it emerged that nine of the prisoners passed the 10th exam, and three passed the intermediate class 12 exam.

Reacting to the news, Abhishek Bachchan calls it ‘bigger than any award’ the film’s team could have hoped for. He said in a statement, “It feels wonderful when you see the positive effect a film you’ve been a part of make in real life. Credit has to go to the students and to my director, Tushar. His belief in the film and the story he wanted to tell. This news is bigger than any award or accolade we as a team could have received”

Sharing his elation about the news, director Tushar Jalota said, “I’m really happy to hear such heartwarming news. With Dasvi, we always wanted to make a mainstream, entertaining film where we spoke about the importance of education. But the most important thing was that we all had very honest intentions while making it. The fact that we could manage to inspire and impact so many lives for the good has truly made it a very fulfilling experience.”

Dasvi, produced by Jio Studios and Maddock, also starred Yami Gautam and Nimrat Kaur in pivotal roles. It released on Netflix and Jio Cinema on April 7.