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It was back in 2004 when
an investment banker tried to test his luck and take a dip into the
vast sea of creative writing.In a country where one first become an
engineer and then decide what to do next in life,he had never
imagined his past expereince would come out to be so handy for him
and set him on a journey to become India's most profilic English
language novelist.Yes I am talking about India's very own Chetan
Bhagat.
Mr.Bhagat debuted with
Five
Point Someone: What not to do at IIT! in 2004.The book was loosely
based on his experience as an Engineering student and with India
producing nearly 10 lakhs engineer everywhere,it was an instant
success and sold over 700,000 copies.Mr.Bhagat himself being an
alumni of IIT-D was easily able to connect himself with the students
and many were able to relate it with their life.With the success of
his very first book,Chetan Bhagat marked his arrival on the big
stage.In 2005,Mr.Bhagat came out with his second novel One Night @
the Call Center and like its predecessor, it met with largely
positive reviews. In 2008 he published his third book,The 3 Mistakes
of My Life,though critics were not too impressed with the book,but
like his previous two novels,this one was to a best-seller.With three
national best-sellers already in his kitty,Chetan Bhagat was a big
name in India now and he even came to more limelight when his second
novel One Night @ the Call Center was adapted into a bollywood movie
Hello.Though the movie was an below average hit,but what it did was
to pave a way for Bhagat into Bollywood.His fourth book 2 States: The
Story of My Marriage came out in 2009 and was said to be based
largely on his life and it was first of Chetan Bhagat novel after
quiting his job as an investment banker. 2 states was followed by
Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition in 2011,What Young India
Wants(a failed attempt in Non-fiction) in 2012 and more recently the
highly publicised Half Girlfriend in October 2014.
After
10 years from his very 1st release in 2004,Chetan’s books have
remained bestsellers and four out his seven novels have been already
adapted into successful Bollywood films and the others are in process
of being adapted as well.The New
York Times called him the ‘the biggest selling English
language novelist in India’s history. Time
magazine named him amongst the ‘100 most influential people in the
world’ and Fast Company, USA, listed him as one of the world’s
‘100 most creative people in business’.Chetan even writes columns
for leading English and Hindi newspapers.But keeping everything
aside,the main question that arises is that in a country which is
blessed to have the likes of Amitav Ghosh,Vikram Seth,Arundhati
Roy,Naipaul and with such strong Literary background,how come a man
with such aaverage literary skill make such impact.Basically the
success of Mr.Chetan bhagat can be summarised with few points-
1.The ease in his writing
i.e. use of simple words and plain english.Anyone with moderate
english skill who had tried his hand in reading God of Small things
or related stuff will definitely know that,one needs to have a
dictionary by his/her side from the very first page.
2.With all that Chetan
knows to write is about College,Love,Sex,Friendship and all other
stuff that can be easily adapted into a Bollywood flick,he easily
tends to connect with the youth of the country.As every every young
blood has or is going through the situation to an extent.
3.Unlike many established
writer,Mr.Bhagat ceases to end his story within 300 pages and thus
matching the frequency of the impatience generation of the country
and moreover his book are very affordable in terms of pricing when
compared to others.
Personally I am not a Bhagat
fan but it will unfare if I say I didn't enjoy reading Five point
someone and 2 states,rest I felt were more or less written to made
into a flick.Chetan bhagat with his repeatetive and compact style of
writing has limited the literary development of his reader,who now
don't try or want to look beyond him.Like SRK who everytime manages
to pull off a lover boy image,Chetan Bhagat too manages to pull his
novel projecting IIT's and IIM's.Any attempt to write beyond his
comfort leads to a big disappointment and What Young India wants is a
big example of a failed.Like every coin has two sides, similarly no
matter how one rate Chetan Bhagat,but one cannot neglect the fact the
he is fully responsible for making many youth fall in love with
books and take up reading as a hobby.
Lastly I wanna conclude by
saying that hate him or love him,but Chetan bhagat has become a
juggernaut of Indian writing industry and there's no stopping this
guy.
