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Tag: Chetan Bhagat

  • 2 States

    Krish Malhotra and Ananya Swaminathan meet in the mess at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and fall in love over study sessions and late-night conversations. By graduation they want to marry, but they decide to do it properly: both families must agree, which proves harder than any entrance exam.

    Krish takes a bank job in Chennai to charm Ananya's reserved, conservative parents, tutoring her brother and arranging a concert for her father's company. Ananya, in turn, faces Krish's loud Punjabi relatives and his mother's open suspicion of South Indians, while Krish deals with his strained relationship with his father.

    Partly based on Chetan Bhagat's own marriage, the novel is a light comedy about regional stereotypes, food, language and family politics in modern India. It became a 2014 Hindi film starring Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. Short chapters, wisecracking narration and family set pieces keep it moving, making it an easy holiday read.

    Book details

    AuthorChetan Bhagat
    First published2009
    Original languageEnglish
    GenreRomance
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)269
    SettingIIM Ahmedabad, Chennai and Delhi, 2000s

    Themes

    • Inter-community marriage
    • Cultural stereotypes
    • Family approval
    • Parents and children

    Who should read it

    Readers wanting a breezy romantic comedy about a north-south Indian love story.

  • The 3 Mistakes of My Life

    Govind Patel, a maths-loving young man from a modest Ahmedabad family, dreams of running a business. With his friends Ishaan, a cricket fanatic whose own playing career stalled, and Omi, the son of a temple priest, he opens a small cricket-goods shop in the temple compound, and the three begin coaching boys in the neighbourhood.

    They discover Ali, a Muslim boy with an extraordinary batting talent, and Ishaan becomes determined to help him reach the national team. Meanwhile Govind tutors Ishaan's sister Vidya in maths, and a secret romance begins. The 2001 Gujarat earthquake, rising political tension and the Godhra train burning of 2002 push the friends into situations that test their loyalty.

    Framed as a story Govind tells the author after a suicide attempt, the novel mixes business ambition, cricket and romance with communal violence. It was adapted into the acclaimed 2013 film Kai Po Che! It is among Bhagat's darker books, and its treatment of the riots gives it more weight than his campus comedies.

    Book details

    AuthorChetan Bhagat
    First published2008
    Original languageEnglish
    GenreLiterary fiction
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)258
    SettingAhmedabad, Gujarat, 2000 to 2002

    Themes

    • Friendship
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Communal violence
    • Cricket
    • Secret romance

    Who should read it

    Young readers who like fast, accessible fiction about friendship and ambition against a real backdrop.

  • Five Point Someone

    Hari, the narrator, and his friends Ryan and Alok enter the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi expecting success, but they quickly sink to the bottom of the class with grade averages around five out of ten. Ryan, a confident rebel, argues that the system rewards rote learning over ideas, and the three spend more time on experiments, drinking and schemes than on assignments.

    Hari falls secretly for Neha, the daughter of the strict mechanical engineering head, Professor Cherian. Alok carries the weight of a poor family relying on him, and the trio's attempts to beat the system, including a dangerous plan involving a stolen exam paper, bring consequences that test their friendship.

    Chetan Bhagat's debut, written in simple conversational English, became a best-seller among young Indian readers who rarely bought novels. It loosely inspired the 2009 film 3 Idiots and turned its author into one of the most widely read and debated writers in India. Critics often dismissed it, which only fuelled its popularity.

    Book details

    AuthorChetan Bhagat
    First published2004
    Original languageEnglish
    GenreHumour
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)270
    SettingIIT Delhi campus, late 1990s

    Themes

    • Academic pressure
    • Friendship
    • Education system
    • First love
    • Family expectations

    Who should read it

    Students and young readers who want an easy, funny campus story about surviving exam culture.