Chetan Bhagat interview

I did the interview on October 6, 2009, just before Chetan Bhagat's '2 States' was released.

He started writing in class five, but only because his school didn't leave him much of a choice. When his class teacher announced that they were starting a school magazine in which everyone had to write, Chetan Bhagat came up with a joke. "I was forced to write! It was an assignment. But when the magazine was published and I saw my name in print, I thought, this is something man!" Thus, the class five boy felt the excitement of writing and Chetan, even after doing what a "good, Indian, middle-class boy does -- go to IIT and IIM", took up the pen, with the joke transforming into a streak of humour and enjoyable light-heartedness that charecterise all his books.
This popular and prolific writer's fourth books, '2 States: The Story of My Marriage' will be on the stands this week. This story is a page out of the author's life -- about a Punjabi man marrying a Tamil girl, about the hurdles, about how marriage, especially in India is a wedding of families. Chetan says, "Indians love stories about love and marriage, they never get bored with them. But you know what, I am scared. The question is how well have I disguised things, since the book is about people who are so close to me. The feelings are honest, of course, as always." He did drop a few things on the insistence of his wife and hopes his in-laws don't disown him after reading it. "My life is about to change for sure after this," he adds with a chuckle.
His candidness, ease, and an honest perception about who he is would warm anyone towards him. He calls himself an entertainer and feels that through books like his, reading has become entertainment, and books are making a comeback like the way radio was reinvented. But there is genuine amazement on his face when he ponders over how he has shot up the popularity curve. Four books and three movies based on the first three -- 'Hello' (released), 'Three Idiots' (with Aamir Khan, to be released shortly) and one based on 'Three Mistakes of My Life' is being directed by Rock On! director Abhishek Kapoor. "I never pictured myself here," says Chetan with disbelief still in his voice, "Only after Five Point... was published did I realise I have become this pop culture and youth icon, as people put it. Yes, aftter the book though, I felt if its simplicity and my fun style of liking has been liked by X number of people, then it can reach out to more and more."
While there pre-bookings for '2 States' is reaching frenzied levels, Chetan is contemplating taking a break from books to write a film script. He also wants to have more control over the movies based on his books from now on. "I have a mixed reaction towards Hello. thatI appreciate the fact that it was made, but I felt it seemed fake on many levels. On the other hand, I visited IIMB for the shooting of Three Idiots and saw Aamir doing ten takes for that one perfect shot."
He quickly adds, "I am nowhere close to being a perfectionist though. I feel nature made everything a little flawed, and I like it that way. I don't even like working super-hard." This from a man who was balancing a high-paying corporate job and his writing career till a few months ago. He regrets that it cost him a bit of his life and health, but feels that his education and corporate training gave made him a true professional.
Now, this full-time writer and house husband is just glad to be home and writing, and hoping that '2 States' will be the biggest one till now.