The Week India – July 21, 2019

68 THE WEEK • JULY 21, 2019

CINEMA

@LEISURE

nand Kumar, the mathematics

wiz from Bihar, sits with his

younger brother Pranav in one of

Mumbai’s five-star hotels. They

talk to me about the film Super 30, starring

Hrithik Roshan, which is based on Anand’s

inspirational life. In the early 1990s, Anand

had turned to the Bihar government for help

when he could not cough up enough money

to go to Cambridge, where he had got admis-

sion. He not only failed to get assistance from

the government, but he was also mocked for

having a “vilayat” (western) dream.

Although it was a setback, he rose phoe-

nix-like to start the Ramanujan School of

Mathematics—a coaching centre for IIT aspir-

ants. In 2002, he and IPS officer Abhayanand

started Super 30, through which they would

help 30 underprivileged students prepare for

the IIT entrance examination.

Anand says he has had a fulfilling journey,

but one with many ups and downs. There

were moments of extreme satisfaction and

deep disappointment. “When we started

Super 30, it was a time of great struggle,”

he says. “We had to raise the money to

educate 30 students. My brother Pranav

helped a lot. My mother agreed to cook for

the students. We started with an aim and

was delighted when those [underprivileged]

students not only got enrolled in IITs, but also

got offers from renowned companies in the

US and the UK.”

According to him, Bihar is not a very

conducive state for struggling students. “Not

everyone in the state supports youngsters

who need it the most,” he says. “Some are

jealous and some act against [them] because

they cannot bear to see the downtrodden

rise. I have been attacked many times,

even when this film was announced. People

started spreading negative stories about the

institute and about me.”

Mathematical genius Anand Kumar says he

is happy with the way Hrithik Roshan has

portrayed him in the film Super 30

BY PRIYANKA BHADANI

Sum of a life

A

PHOENIX RISES:

Anand Kumar