ALL IZZ WELL..!!!!!

I haven't been in a state of writing anything recently. But I really wanted to. thats when Chetan bhagat started a whole new news headlines with Infosys and hence this started in my mind. This is my take on Chetan bhagats works...a long post but I had to cover all his works. I had it within me until Chintan fueled it for me with her blog. I have just mentioned a few details I came across about our loved author.. you might still love him for his books. 

THREE DAYS TO THE REVOLUTION.

No no no.. Please don’t panic or run around or start losing your calm. It’s not an actual revolution. It’s the name of Cheatan Chetan bhagats next novel. REVOLUTION 2020.

Having said that I wonder if you have started to panic more..!!!

I once read him answer to a question "why does all his book titles have numbers in them??" that "numbers always fascinated him." and attribute it to his engineering days and etc etc etc..

Unfortunately I have read all of his works. Unlike many who believe that am a very sadistic person, I think of myself as a very optimistic person. And in my eternally optimistic view I did buy all of Mr. Bhagat’s works hoping that he would write something nice but alas..!!

I loved his first work. In fact we all did. But let me share a few details that you might have not known. Before I start, let me refresh a few things about Mr. bhagat that we all know. He is the most popular author and columnist of our time. Even the new york times declared him the best. He was working as an investment banker before he quit his job to dedicate full time writing and inspiring the youth. The IITian and IIM alumni is popular in twitter and in facebook where he constantly talks to his loved followers.

Anything more you wanna add..??? if no.. then now read to what the Devil has to say.. *ahem..clears throat*…  it’s all a lovely gamble.

Chetan bhagat wrote his first and the (only) best while he was still working as an investment banker. I heard that he did most of his writing while at office which am sure is quite motivating for all the youngsters in office to actually make good use of their work time, I mean look where he ended up. But consider that as a totally false statement, nobody can strip him of his success that his maiden venture had brought. Even his now dear publishers Rupa never thought that it would make it. In fact as far as what I have heard, they agreed to print the book if he could promise a really good amount of buy to which he instantly agreed. Now that coming from a publishers who then rated the book at a bare 90 rupees showed the trust in the new authors skills as a writer.( which now they say was to curb piracy..!!!) But our guy was no less. He was after all an IIT and IIM grad. When would those degrees come into use..???

The IIT and IIM connections did do the magic. That is.. if you have had friends from IITs or IIMs, then you would know the kind of bonding they share with each other irrespective of which other IITs/IIMs they come from or which batch they belong. They always stand up for each other and when a guy/girl from the top instis of the country is carrying or recommending a book, you too would love to do that in order to stay in the cool zone. Especially, when the price of the book was within 100 bucks where everybody could buy one. And I must say that the dark humor plot was interesting enough. I liked it as a time pass read.

The gamble paid and the book started getting recognition. By then, chetan had already written his second book as well. ONE NIGHT AT @ CALL CENTER. If you were one of those readers who picked up the copy of the book before it became a motion picture, then you would have seen that both the books carried an outline of the other one it.

Now, one night @ call center had chetan bhagat as well in it and had a small advertisement of the five point someone in it as he mentions he had been to deliver a talk on one of the IITs. The second book states that it addresses the more important issue relating to Indian youth which according Mr bhagat were in call centers but sadly I still wonder what the message was as the characters in the book struggle their way out of a collapsing process of a home appliance company. I found the plot very funny towards the end as the call center agents try to fool the home appliance calling Americans saying that there is a terrorist attack and they were trying to help.(terrorist and home appliances wasnt silly enough..?? he introduces the MS word bug to sound geeky) The second book almost releasing while the first one was gaining momentum in sales did boost the sales of both the books. And the author had become a national best seller in both the works although his second venture dint sell as like his first attempt. Clearly his first work was liked more than his second. In fact the sales of the both the books rose after the movies released.

With two attempts crossing the national best-selling numbers, chetan bhagat became a house hold name for anybody who wanted to read. There were people who never tried reading any books so far were buying, reading and suggesting his books due to the simplicity of his language. in fact it was the biggest literary revolution of their life. no wonder they idolized him.

Then came the big moment in his life. When New york times declared him as the best-selling author of our times who was making the Indian youths read. I still wonder if anybody did get the pun that the times pulled on us. I felt it was their revenge for making them look stupid falling for that MS document bug as a terrorist attack.

The pressure and expectation on chetan bhagat was huge as he had announced the title of his third work.  3 mistakes of my life which was covering 3 major aspects of Indian lives. Cricket, religion and love.

Chetan bhagat once said that none of his works had received a published advertisements where as I happened to have read the announcement of 3 mistakes on an edition of Hindu paper. But do not take that into consideration. He must have meant something else clearly. I, still a big fan of his first novel anxiously waited for his third attempt expecting it to be clear my doubts of him as a good writer.

Then when the book was released, I bought my copy and started to read it. It was going in a okay pace when he went ahead and destroyed it for me. There was a point when I asked myself why the hell was I still reading this ??? but I completed it as I never leave a book at half. I was quite confident that this wouldn’t be received well and contrary to what the sale statistics might say I am sure even chetan bhagat knows it. His most awaited book was slammed big time and criticized heavily. If you happened to have read his blogs then you would have seen the response Chetan bhagat typed to all those who said that it was a waste of money and time. He actually dint type much of a response but instead goes ahead and pastes the last climax dialog of the movie ratatouille. I mean, the best-selling author of our times couldn’t find original words to support his work that he copies a movie dialog??? I felt that quite strange. But shocking was the news that Farhan akhtar bought the movie rights for that book. 

By now, One night @ call center and five point someone were supposed to be made into movies. Boosting up his publicity and broadening his career options. (oh, his blogs were at all time praise for how the movie is being shot.. but the viewers sadly dint see what he was looking at :p ) He did write the screenplay for the movie Hello and we all know how that movie bombed. He was quite unhappy with him not being involved in the story of 3 idiots that he in many talks went ahead making sarcastic comments about it.

With Hello crashing the box office so terribly that it actually made uday chopra feel that he could write a better script than that,( now you know whom to blame for Pyaar impossible.) chetan decided that he will stick on too basics. he decided that the only way he could ever get his now slowly losing winning streak was by writing a sequel to his so far only good and most appreciated works, five point someone. And lo behold, the inception of 2 states happened.

This time he was careful. He dint want any of the producers to take his work and not involve him in the movie scripting process so he devised a fool proof plan. He first wrote the screen play of the story and then made it into a book. 2 states begins where five point someone ends. No honestly.. read the book and you will get a total feeling of a bollywood masala minus the songs...!!! The IITian goes to IIM and the ordeal starts convincing the parents of two states. Though he mentions that the book is dedicated to his in laws, and that he intends to pull the pun of Punjabis as good as the madarasi families, I wonder why he never wrote the small details like the pet names every kid in Punjabi household tends to have. But leave those small details aside. Focus on the plot. The same old tried and tested formula that we had seen in Bollywood movies now in paper was quite enough for loyal chetan bhagat fans to proclaim him the best.

In fact he proudly announced that all housewives and older generations connected and shared his views. (????)

He goes ahead and says that his works may not be literary reads but he is loved because his language is simple and that’s what communicates well among his readers. His readers swear by that statement as well. Not their fault as they might have missed reading the simple yet immensely pleasurable reads by R.K Narayan which though being simple has a lovely plot and has been acclaimed as literary works.

With the rise of Chetan bhagat, there are only a few good things that happened according to me and none were his books. It was a surge in youths to actually pick up a book to read. Many young writer found publishers willing to look at their works and that a movie called 3 idiots was released for which my mom sponsored the ticket and interval popcorns at PVR J

I do have read all his works so far and I personally wouldn’t suggest any of his books. I might buy Revolution 2020 as well not because I am a fan, but because I wonder if he has tried to actually write something nice.  

Honestly speaking, he can write a book called "how to sell  book as best sellers for dummies." you never know it might actually be the next chapter added in the economics text books :P

You might feel this as a total waste of time read. worse than Chetan Bhagat's books. I just pointed out some facts here.. to know the pun.. connect the dots.. and if any of you could really hear any bells ringing after reading this...all I have to say :

ALL IZZ WELL..!!!!!