- Chetan Bhagat
-
Chetan Bhagat 
Born 22 April 1974
New Delhi, IndiaOccupation Novelist, columnist, script writer, former banker, motivational speaker Nationality Indian Alma mater IIT Delhi
IIM AhmedabadGenres Fiction, management, humour Notable work(s) Five Point Someone
2 StatesSpouse(s) Anusha Bhagat Children Ishaan Bhagat
Shyam Bhagat
chetanbhagat.comChetan Bhagat (Hindi: चेतन भगत) (born 22 April 1974), is an Indian author, columnist, and speaker. Bhagat is the author of five bestselling novels, Five Point Someone (2004), One Night @ the Call Center (2005), The 3 Mistakes of My Life (2008), 2 States (2009) & Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition (2011). All five books have remained bestsellers since their release and two have inspired Bollywood films (including the hit film 3 Idiots). In 2008, The New York Times called Bhagat "the biggest selling English language novelist in India's history".[1][2] Bhagat, a graduate of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad, is seen more as a youth icon than as an author.[3] Time magazine named him as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.[4] Bhagat also favoured the forming of a system similar to the Lokpal as early as January 2011 through his articles.[5]
Bhagat writes op-ed columns for English and Hindi newspapers, including The Guardian, The Times of India and Dainik Bhaskar, focusing on youth, career[6] and issues based on national development.[7][8] Bhagat is also a motivational speaker and has given talks in leading multinational corporations and other institutions.[9][10][11] He quit his international investment banking career in 2009, to devote his entire time to writing.
Contents
Early life
Background
Bhagat was born in New Delhi to a middle class Punjabi family. His father was in the army and his mother was a government employee in the agricultural department.
Bhagat's education was mostly in Delhi. He attended the Army Public School (1978–1991), Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi and then studied Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute Of Technology (IIT) Delhi (1991–1994). He graduated from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad (1995–1997), where he was named "The Best Outgoing Student". After graduation he worked as an investment banker in Hong Kong. He had been working in Hong Kong for 11 years before shifting to Mumbai to pursue his passion for writing. He has written five books, all of which are bestsellers. His first three novels were written during his tenure as an investment banker.[12]
Marriage and family
When he was a student at IIM Ahmedabad he fell in love with a fellow student, Anusha Suryanarayan who is a Tamilian. They married in 1998. Later, they moved to Hong Kong and were working there. Now based in Mumbai, Bhagat is focusing on his writing career. Bhagat and Anusha are the parents of twin sons, Shyam and Ishaan. The love story of Chetan Bhagat and Anusha Bhagat is portrayed nicely in Bhagat's book 2 States: The Story of My Marriage.
List of works
Books
Title Year Film Adaptation Five Point Someone 2004 3 Idiots One Night @ the Call Center 2005 Hello The 3 Mistakes of My Life 2008 - 2 States 2009 2 states Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition 2011 - Television
Bhagat was a judge on the Star News TV reality show Star Anchor Hunt.[13]
Speeches
- "SPARK" speech given at the orientation program for the new group of MBA students at Symbiosis, Pune.[14]
- "Becoming One With the World" speech given at the HT Leadership Summit Delhi.[15]
Speaker
Bhagat at Dainik Bhaskar's event
Among his other activities, Bhagat is known to deliver speeches at programs organised by newspapers and media houses like Dainik Bhaskar, The Times of India and at other conclaves apart from writing columns for the same.[16] Apart from these he usually expresses his views on current trendings of the society through micro-blogging site Twitter.[17]
Controversies
3 Idiots versus Five Point Someone
There was controversy when the film 3 Idiots was released in 2009. Bhagat was unhappy over not getting credit for the film's story, which was based upon Five Point Someone – What not to do at IIT!. According to him the film had taken more from the book than the filmmakers had led him to believe. Director Rajkumar Hirani said that Bhagat has been given his due credit according to contract.[18] Hirani threatened to take legal action against Bhagat. Bhagat also accused Hirani of not showing him final script as per contract, but Hirani denied that.[19] Protagonist of the film Aamir Khan initially said that the screenplay was original,[20] but later he kept himself away from this controversy.[21]
Movie adaptions
Year Title of book Film adaptation Cast Production Director 2009 Five Point Someone 3 Idiots Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor, Sharman Joshi Vidhu Vinod Chopra Rajkumar Hirani 2008 One Night @ the Call Center Hello Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Gul Panag, Sharman Joshi Atul Agnihotri Atul Agnihotri Interviews
- Bhagat speaks to Brunch, Hindustan Times[22]
- "The Pied Piper of Indian fiction – Chetan Bhagat" interview with Headlines India[23]
- "I could be working in a call centre" - With Rediff News Senior Features Editor Lindsay[24]
- "All you ever wanted to ask him" – Forbes[25]
- "Chetan Bhagat intends to impact young people" - Spicezee[26]
Awards and recognition
- Society Young Achiever's award in 2004[27]
- Publisher’s Recognition award in 2005[27]
- Bhagat in Time magazine's list of World's 100 Most Influential People 2010[28]
References
- ^ Greenlees, Donald (March 26, 2008). "An Investment Banker Finds Fame Off the Books". The New York Times.
- ^ "Chetan Bhagat's much-anticipated novel will be released this October". Asia Pacific Arts. 2011-09-20. http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?chetan_bhagats_much-anticipated_novel_will_be_released_this_october_17395.aspx.
- ^ "Chetan Bhagat on 2G scam"
- ^ Time 100 most influential people in the world list
- ^ The Times Of India. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-01-29/edit-page/28370196_1_cbi-raid-kings-cbi-officials/2.
- ^ Chetan Bhagat in Kathmandu Rejuvenates Youth Potential
- ^ Bhagat, Chetan (19 August 2011). "Anna Hazare's fight for change has inspired millions of Indians". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/17/anna-hazare-arrest-inspired-indians. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ http://www.chetanbhagat.com/columns/
- ^ http://www.cio.in/idm/8909
- ^ The Times Of India. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-02-13/special-report/28547374_1_corruption-electric-power-political-party.
- ^ http://www.chetanbhagat.com/speeches/becoming-one-with-the-world/
- ^ http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/74010/India/It's+Chetan+Bhagat+versus+the+rest+on+Twitter.html
- ^ "Judges for Anchor hunt: Chetan Bhagat". staranchorhunt.com. 19 March 2010.
- ^ http://www.chetanbhagat.com/speeches/spark/
- ^ http://www.chetanbhagat.com/speeches/becoming-one-with-the-world
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4FX-bxW2kY&feature=related
- ^ http://www.twitter.com/chetan_bhagat
- ^ "Chetan Bhgat unhappy over due credit". Hindustan Times. http://www.hindustantimes.com/Chetan-Bhagat-closes-3-Idiots-controversy/Article1-493968.aspx. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
- ^ "Hirani Planning of legal action against Chetan Bhagat". Times Of India. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-04/news-interviews/28142618_1_chetan-bhagat-due-credit-idiots. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
- ^ "ScreenPlay is original says Aamir". Times Of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/entertainment/bollywood/Script-of-3-Idiots-is-original-Aamir-Khan/videoshow/5396419.cms. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
- ^ "Amir distances himself of controversy". http://movies.rediff.com/report/2010/jan/04/aamir-distances-himself-from-three-iidiots-controversy.htm. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
- ^ http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/authorprofiles/Chetan-Bhagat-speaks-to-Brunch/Article1-436688.aspx
- ^ http://headlinesindia.mapsofindia.com/special-reports/the-pied-piper-of-indian-fiction-chetan-bhagat.html
- ^ http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/feb/08inter.htm
- ^ http://business.in.com/interview/magazine-extra/an-interview-with-chetan-bhagat/8452/1
- ^ Spicezee interview
- ^ a b http://www.delhispider.com/resources/2288-Biodata-Chetan-Bhagat.aspx
- ^ Time. 21 April 2011. http://search.time.com/results.html?N=0&Nty=1&Ntt=chetan+bhagat&x=0&y=0&p=0&cmd=tags&srchCat=Full+Archive.
External links
- A collection of quotes from Chetan Bhagat's Revolution 2020
- Chetan Bhagat's official site
- Chetan Bhagat at the Internet Movie Database
Chetan Bhagat Novels Five Point Someone (2004) · One Night @ the Call Center (2005) · The 3 Mistakes of My Life (2008) · 2 States (2009) · Revolution 2020 (2011)Film adaptations Categories:- 1974 births
- English-language writers from India
- Indian Institute of Technology Delhi alumni
- Indian novelists
- Living people
- Punjabi people
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