“Keep learning new things to be successful in life,” was the message of Anand Kumar, Founder of Super30, while speaking on Friday at ‘Zero Mile Literature Festival’ organised as part of Nagpur Book Festival - 2025. Anand Kumar is famous for his talented students from low income groups achieving high success in IIT entrance exams, and was also a subject of the movie ‘Super 30’ featuring Hritik Roshan. The session was packed with students from various colleges, making it one of the most vibrant sessions of the literature festival so far. Anand Kumar, in his address, emphasised the importance of books in his life.

 

“My journey started with book festival organised in Patna where I got whole lot of books to read. Later, I used to travel to Varanasi where my brother studied in Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and I got a chance to read books in library of various kinds,” informed Kumar. He stated that the new things he learnt from the books helped him gather knowledge and polish his skills that helped him achieve success in his life. Looking back at his journey, Anand Kumar said that, the days of commercialisation of education are numbered. “The education has become commercial for a long time in India, but the days of tuition marker of education are numbered and will end in next 10 to 15 years,” said Kumar. He emphasised that students are running behind marks but real success is in understanding the concepts and realising the theories instead of memorising them.

 

Kumar credited his guide late D P Varma for his persistence even during hard times. “Many people, including mafia and goons, threatened me to close Super 30. Verma sir asked me to always remember that I opened Super 30 for betterment of society and ignore all other things, that kept me going,” he added. Anand Kumar, who worked closely with Hritik Roshan for ‘Super 30’ and Amitabh Bachchan for his movie ‘Aarakshan’, shared he couldn’t be on the sets of ‘Super 30’ much as Hritik Roshan would get cautious of his presence. He also shared how Amitabh Bachchan, very kindly, helped him win Rs 25 lakh on ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’. The session also featured books authored by Jui Pandharipande, and Dr Manasi Sagdeo-Moharil. Dr Samay Bansod, Chancellor Nominee Management Council Member, RTMNU Nagpur; and Dr Ravishankar Mor, Director, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar School of Law, were prominently present for the programme.