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Chetan Bhagat
Bhagat in 2012
Born	Chetan Prakash Bhagat (1974-04-22) 22 April 1974 (age 50) Delhi, India
Language	English, Hindi
Education	Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (B.Tech) Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (PGP)
Period	2004–present
Genre	Romance, realistic fiction, non-fiction, suspense, thriller
Notable works	Five Point Someone, 2 States: The Story of My Marriage, The 3 Mistakes of My Life, Half Girlfriend, One Indian Girl
Website
www.chetanbhagat.com

Chetan Bhagat (born 22 April 1974) is an Indian author, columnist and YouTuber. He was included in Time magazine's list of World's 100 Most Influential People in 2010.

He is one of the most successful Indian authors who has penned several novels that hit the market with massive success. He is considered a youth icon rather than just a novelist or writer. He is also a popular newspaper columnistand writes columns for many leading newspapers. For him, novels are entertainment tools through which he expresses his opinions and views about the youth and the society in general. Chetan is also a motivational speaker and has given many speeches at various organizations and institutes.

In 2008, The New York Times published an article on him with the headline Chetan Bhagat: An Investment Banker Finds Fame Off the Books. His books have been bestsellers since their date of release. Several novels of his have been adapted into successful Bollywood films. He is also known as a celebrity author.

Family

Chetan Bhagat was born in New Delhi in a middle-class family. His father worked in the Indian Army and his mother was a government employee in the agricultural department. He has one younger brother, Ketan Bhagat.

Chetan married Anusha Suryanarayan in 1998. He met her during their college days at IIM. One of his novels, “2 States” was inspired by his real-life love story. They have two twin sons named Shyam Bhagat and Ishaan Bhagat.

Childhood

Chetan was raised in Naraina Vihar, West Delhi, and the major part of his education was done in Delhi. He studied in local Delhi schools and later joined the Army Public School in Dhaula Kuan, Delhi. He was a bright and intelligent student and scored high grades consistently. His love for writing began during his school years. He used to write articles for the literary magazine of his school and seeing his name printed on the magazine as a writer gave him intense pleasure. This encouraged him to write more in the coming years.

Education

Chetan Bhagat graduated in mechanical engineering from IIT Delhi and then pursued PGP from IIM Ahmedabad. He started his career as an investment banker but left it after a few years to pursue writing. He has written ten novels and three non-fiction books. His first novel, Five Point Someone, was published in 2004.

Early Life

Chetan Bhagat grew up in a traditional Punjabi Hindu family. His father served as a lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army and his mother worked as a scientist in Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. He was schooled at the Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan. He claims to have been an average student at 15.

Bhagat graduated with a B.Tech. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1995 as a 9+ pointer.

Bhagat then went on to pursue an Masters of Business Administration degree in marketing from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) and graduated in 1997. In June 2018, IIMA awarded him the "Young Alumni Achiever's Awards 2018" in the Art & Entertainment category.

Career

Five of Chetan Bhagat's novels have been adapted into Bollywood films like Hello in 2008 (based on One Night @ the Call Center), 3 Idiots in 2009 (based on Five Point Someone), Kai Po Che! in 2013 (based on The 3 Mistakes of My Life); 2 States in 2014 (based on his novel of the same name) and Half Girlfriend in 2017 (based on his novel of the same name). Chetan has also written the scripts for Bollywood films like Kick in 2014 and adapted his stories for the movies Kai Po Che! and Half Girlfriend. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay for Kai Po Che! at the 59th Filmfare Awards in 2014. His latest novel 400 Days which is based on a missing child and forbidden love was released on 8 October 2021.

After graduating with a masters of business administration degree in 1998, Chetan was placed through his campus at Peregrine Investments Holdings in Canada. However, he lost this job within six months as the company closed its operations in 1998. His next job was as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs at their Hong Kong office. Despite being unhappy with his boss, he stayed on and kept this boss in mind when he characterised the villain in his second novel One Night @ the Call Center. He spent most of his time at the Goldman Sachs office in writing, completing and revising drafts of his first novel, Five Point Someone. After two years, Rupa Publications accepted his manuscript and offered to publish it.

Bhagat joined Goldman Sachs and quit Bank of England. By 2006, he was vice-president, Strategic Investment Group, Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong. His second novel, One Night @ the Call Center, was published in 2005 and became a best-seller. In March 2008, Bhagat moved back to India with his wife and three-year-old twin sons. He joined as a director in Deutsche Bank's distressed-assets team in Kodak House, Mumbai. The same year his third novel, The 3 Mistakes of My Life, was published and sold seven lakh (700,000) copies in three months.

In 2009, he quit his banking career to write full-time.

Bhagat is also a popular motivational speaker and has spoken at more than 800 organizations in 1000 cities around the world.

Author

Chetan Bhagat started writing his very first novel “Five Point Someone” when he was working at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong in the early 2000s. He wrote and polished the draft for many years to make his debut novel way more than perfect. In an interview, he said he wrote about 15 drafts of the novel and also sent the final manuscripts to several publishers. The manuscript was finally accepted by a publishing house named Rupa Publications in Delhi and was published in the year 2004. This very first venture took him to peaks of fame and popularity. This novel narrated the story of three IIT students who consider themselves to be below average students among other students at IIT. The story was adopted by film director Rajkumar Hirani into a film named “3 Idiots” starring famous Indian stars Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi and Kareena Kapoor. The movie turned out to be one of the most successful Bollywoodmovies of all time.

After the huge success of his first novel, he started working on his second book “One Night At The Call Centre” which was published in the year 2005. The novel went on to become yet another major success. In the first 3 days of its release, almost 50,000 copies were sold. This novel became India's fastest selling book of its time. The book was also adapted into a movie named “Hello” and Chetan along with Atul Agnihotri wrote the script for the movie.

Chetan then decided to make writing a full-time career. His third novel “The 3 Mistakes of my life” published in 2008 also became a huge success. This novel became a bestseller and Chetan also became the most successful English-Language writer in India. The Bollywood hit movie “Kai Po Che” is based on this novel.

Chetan's fourth novel “2 States”, published in the year 2009 was inspired by his real-life love story. The story is about how he fell in love with a South Indian girl and the troubles he faced in his love life. The book was adapted into a movie with the same name starring Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt and became a massive success.

Chetan's later novels named “Revolution 2020”, “Half Girlfriend” and “One Indian Girl” gained a lot of appreciation and commercial success.

His novels, “The Girl in Room 105”, published in 2018, “One Arranged Murder”, published in 2020 and his latest novel “400 days”, published in 2021 turned out to be bestsellers.

Screen presence

Chetan was a celebrity judge along with Marzi Pestonji and Preity Zinta on the dance reality show named “Nach Baliye” season 7 that aired on the Indian television channel Star Plus.

Chetan was also seen in Netflix’s series Decoupled, which stars R. Madhavan in the lead role. In the show, Madhavan plays the second bestselling author in India, while Chetan plays himself as India's bestselling author and Madhavan's rival.

Screenwriting

Five of his novels have been adapted into movies. The film 3 Idiots released in 2009 (based on his novel Five Point Someone), was a major success. For Kai Po Che (2013) based on his novel The 3 Mistakes of My Life, Bhagat was one of the four screenplay writers. The film was a commercial success and Bhagat, along with Pubali Chaudri, Supratik Sen and Abhishek Kapoor won the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay for Kai Po Che! at the 68th Filmfare Awards.

Writing style

Chetan Bhagat's writing style is very different from other authors. He is known for making books readable for the average Indian. He has constantly been an inspiration to aspiring writers.

He believes in keeping it simple which helps him engage with the audience, who don't really want to refer to a dictionary while reading books. The audience also find it easier to relate to his books as the context of his books are usually based on actual events from their lives.

Bhagat also invests a lot of time in creating the characters of his books so that his target audience can relate to them in a better way. His stories usually have an Indian touch in them which make them even more interesting. With his vivid and humorous way of depicting stories, he has inspired reading habits in many young Indians.

Columns

Chetan Bhagat is a popular newspaper columnist. He writes op-ed columns for English and Hindi newspapers, including Times of India and Dainik Bhaskar, focusing on youth and issues based on national development ranging from education, society and economy. With his background in investment banking, he provides information to his audience about the financial status and presents impeccable ideas to eradicate risks. Some of the topics that he has written about in the past are mentioned below:

·       Youth and Indian development issues

·       India's socio-cultural evolution

·       Motivation and inspiration

·       Investment banking as a side business

·       Risk assessment

Motivational Talks

Bhagat is also an enthusiastic and powerful motivational speaker and has given talks in leading MNCs and other institutions. His talks are thought provoking and focused on youth and national development issues. He has spoken at over 300+ corporates across the world and has covered 100+ cities while doing so.

His highly inspirational presentations make him a sought-after speaker at corporate and educational events. He is also invited to speak at events like Student orientations, Dealer meets, Annual meets, Sales force motivation, etc. Some of the topics that he has done in the past are mentioned below:

·       Leadership

·       Motivation

·       Values

·       Passion

·       Six points for achieving success

·       Innovation

·       Creativity

·       Changing the game

Youtube

Chetan is a YouTuber along with being an author and motivational speaker. His YouTube channel is all about providing motivation tips to the young Indians. He has many subscribers and the same has been increasing with every passing day.

He has recently launched his podcast show Deeptalk with Chetan Bhagat where he invites a list of accomplished guests for a heart-to-heart conversation about how they made it big in life. The podcast show has gained a lot of appreciation from his target audience. Chetan believes that it is their journey that would inspire and motivate today's youth.

Some of the guests that have been a part of the podcast show were Ritesh Agarwal (founder and Group CEO of OYO), Nikhil Kamath (co-founder and CFO at Zerodha), Vineeta Singh (CEO, and co-founder of SUGAR Cosmetics), etc.

Filmography

Chetan's novels have inspired some of the greatest Bollywood movies with the best of actors starring in the main roles. His stories are top-notch in making everyone reminisce their young days and old friendships. Five of his ten [novels have been adapted into successful Bollywood films and here is the list:

·       Hello (2008) – Based on the book “One Night at the Call Center”

A tale about the events that happen one night at a call center, told through the views of the protagonist, Shyam. A story of almost lost love, thwarted ambitions, absence, etc.

·       3 Idiots (2009) – Based on the book “Five Point Someone”

A story about two friends who are searching for their long lost companion. They revisit their college days and recall the memories of their friend who inspired them to think differently, even as the rest of the world called them “idiots”.

·       Kai po che! (2013) – Based on the book “The 3 mistakes of my life”

A story of three friends growing up in India at the turn of the millennium set out to open a training academy to produce the country's next cricket stars.

·       2 States (2014) – Based on the book “2 States”

A story about a romantic journey of a culturally opposite couple – Krish Malhotra and Ananya Swaminathan. They meet at the IIM-Ahmedabad College and during the program they fall in love.

·       Half Girlfriend (2017) – Based on the book “Half Girlfriend”

A story about the relationship between a village boy who comes from Bihar and a high class girl from Delhi.

Web Series

Chetan has been a part of the popular Netflix show named Decoupled which stars R Madhavan and Surveen Chawla in the lead role.The show was premiered on the OTT platform on 17 December 2021. In the show, Madhavan plays the role of Arya Iyer, a writer. His marriage with his estranged wife, played by Surveen Chawla of the ‘Sacred Games’ fame is on the rocks, but the couple has to keep up the facade of a happy family for the sake of their daughter who is terrified of her parents divorcing. Bhagat makes a cameo in the show, as India's bestselling author. To sum up, ‘Decoupled’ is an interesting take on separating couples while also touching upon today's trending topics on social media.

The show has been created by Manu Joseph and directed by Hardik Mehta and it turned out to be the No. 1 Indian series on Netflix in less than 72 hours after its release and the second most watched Netflix show in India.

Chetan Bhagat's Books

Five Point Someone (2004)

It is a narrative of three IIT students who are buddies and are struggling to adjust to their new lifestyle. They try to make apologies for their mistakes, but all they get is more difficult. They fail to achieve a higher GPA and are still at the bottom of the IIT class. The book teaches students how to deal with stress during college years.

Rated: 4.4/5

One Night at The Call Center (2005)

During a night train ride in the winter of 2004, the author spotted a young girl. She volunteered to narrate a story to kill time and agreed to hear if the author would include it in his second novel. The author was astounded yet intrigued by the story. The girl told him of an evening when six folks working in a call centre got a phone call from God. The novel is both gloomy and humorous.

Rated: 4.3/5

The Three Mistakes Of My Life (2008)

It is a novel based in Ahmedabad that talks about cricket, business, and religion. The book revolves around three young boys, Omi, Ishaan, and Govind. Govind and his mistakes overthrow the dream of his life.

Rated: 4.3/5

2 States (2009)

Weddings all around the world are simple: a guy meets a woman, and a woman meets a guy, and they fall madly in love and marry, but in India, things are a bit different. In addition to the two previously mentioned criteria, the boy's family must adore the woman, and the woman's parents must love the boy. Likewise, the woman's family must adore the guy's family, and vice versa; after all, if there is any remaining love, the boy and girl marry. The story is about a boy and a girl from different states and castes. It chronicles their romantic adventure and the difficulties they confront in trying to convince their families.

Rated: 4.4/5

Revolution 2020 (2011)

The story is about three childhood friends, Gopal, Raghav, and Aarti who are looking for love and success in their small town. While Gopal gives in to the corrupt world for success, Raghav aims to revolutionise it.

Rated: 4.4/5

What Young India Wants (2012)

The book is a compilation of speeches and essays that focus on Indian society and its politics. Explaining the desires and issues faced by the youth in India, it provokes thoughts and innovative ideas to improve the Indian economy through social reforms.

Rated: 4.2/5

Half Girlfriend (2014)

The plot revolves around rural-urban love, with the guy from a poor background and unable to communicate well in English, and the woman from a modern background. The guy falls in love and wishes to be in a relationship, while the girl only wishes to be buddies. Finally, the girl accepts to be his half-girlfriend to demonstrate that love can thrive between classes.

Rated: 4.2/5

Making India Awesome (2015)

The book talks about the intractable problems of poverty, unemployment, corruption, discrimination, illiteracy, violence and more. The book helps the reader understand the most complex issues prevailing in India in the simplest language.

Rated: 4.1/5

One Indian Girl (2016)

Pressuring the issue of feminism, One Indian Girl is a story about Radhika, who is a successful investment banker and is about to get married. Written in the first-person perspective, the story talks about the inequalities faced by women in urban India in different aspects of life, work, society, and love.

Rated: 5/5

The Girl in Room 105 (2018)

The plot revolves around a boy whose life was turned upside down when his ex-girlfriend welcomed him to her hostel room number 105 as if it were the good old days. It also reflects brown parents’ rigidity when it comes to inter-religious relationships.

Rated: 4.4/5

India Positive (2019)

The book is in the form of a compilation of new essays and selected columns talking about the burning issues of the nation. Issues like, unemployment, higher education, inflation and other recent burning issues which the country has faced like Pulwama attack is included in the book.

Rated: 3/5

One Arranged Murder (2020)

Saurabh Maheshwari is engaged to Prerna Malhotra. His wedding is three months away. On the night of Karva Chauth, however, Prerna is murdered after being pushed from her terrace. With Inspector Vijender Singh and aided by ACP Rana, the case is investigated by Saurabh and Keshav Rajpurohit. It is a story of one arranged marriage that eventually becomes one arranged murder.

Rated: 4.4/5

400 Days (2021)

A mystery and romance story like none other. An unputdownable tale of suspense, human relationships, love, friendship, the crazy world we live in and, above all, a mother's determination to never give up.

Rated: 4.4/5

Bibliography

Novels

• Five Point Someone (2004)
• One Night @ the Call Center (2006)
• The 3 Mistakes of My Life (2008)
• 2 States: The Story of My Marriage (2009)
• Revolution 2020 (2011)
• Half Girlfriend (2014)
• One Indian Girl (2016)
• The Girl in Room 105 (2018)
• One Arranged Murder (2020)
• 400 Days (2021)

Non-fiction

• What Young India Wants (2012)
• Making India Awesome (2015)
• India Positive (2019)

Awards and Accolades

• Bhagat was recognized by IIM Ahmedabad as "The best outgoing student" in 1997.
• Chetan won the Society Young Achiever's Award in 2000.
• He won the Publisher's Recognition Award in 2005.
• Featured on Time magazine's list of World's 100 Most Influential People of 2010 in the Artists category.
• Ranked number 47 on the "100 Most Creative People 2011" by the Fast Company American business magazine and business media brand.
• Won the "CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2014" award in the Entertainment category.
• Ranked No. 82 on the 2017 Forbes India Celebrity 100 list.
• Won the IBN Live Movie Awards in 2014 for Best Screenplay for Kai Po Che.Won the Zee Cine Awards in 2014 for Best Story for Kai Po Che!
• Won the Golden Book Awards 2022 for 400 Days.

References

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14. "Filmfare Awards Winners From 1953 to 2022". filmfare.com. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
15. Ganguly, Dibeyendu (22 August 2008). "Chetan Bhagat: Novelist turn rock star". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
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19. Khan, Ujala Ali (19 February 2013). "Chetan Bhagat talks about Kai Po Che, the film based on his book". The National. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
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21. Abraham, Teena (13 March 2017). "5 Writing Lessons from Chetan Bhagat". Writing Tips Oasis. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
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25. Rawat, Surabhi. "Chetan Bhagat on his new podcast 'DeepTalk', reinventing himself, and his secret to a happy life". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
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28. Decoupled (Comedy, Drama), Andolan Films, Bombay Fables Motion Pictures, Bombay Fables Motion Pictures, 17 December 2021, retrieved 7 February 2023
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External links

• Official website
• Chetan Bhagat at Bollywood Hungama
• Chetan Bhagat at IMDb

• Biography
• India
• Literature
• English language

• 1974 births
• English-language writers from India
• IIT Delhi alumni
• Indian male novelists
• Living people
• Punjabi people
• Indian writers
• Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad alumni
• 21st-century Indian novelists
• Screenwriters from Delhi
• Indian male screenwriters
• 21st-century Indian essayists
• Indian male essayists
• 20th-century Indian journalists
• The Times of India journalists
• Indian male journalists
• 20th-century Indian male writers
• 21st-century Indian male writers
• Novelists from Delhi