Chetan Bhagat

Chetan Bhagat
Born Occupation Nationality Alma mater Genres Notable work(s) Spouse(s) Children Shyam Bhagat chetanbhagat.com Chetan Bhagat (Hindi: ) (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. 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 22 April 1974 (age 37) New Delhi, India Novelist, columnist, script writer, former banker, motivational speaker Indian IIT Delhi IIM Ahmedabad Fiction, management, humour Five Point Someone 2 States Anusha Bhagat Ishaan Bhagat

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 and issues based on national development.[6][7] Bhagat is also a motivational speaker and has given talks in leading multinational corporations and other institutions.[8][9][10] He quit his international investment banking career in 2009, to devote his entire time to writing.

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 (19781991), Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi and then studied Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute Of Technology (IIT) Delhi (19911994). He graduated from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad (19951997), 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.[11]

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..

List of works
Books

Five Point Someone (May, 2004) One Night @ the Call Center (October, 2005) The 3 Mistakes of My Life (May, 2008) 2 States: The Story of My Marriage (October, 2009) Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition (October, 2011)

Television
Bhagat was a judge on the Star News TV reality show Star Anchor Hunt.[12]

Speeches

"SPARK" speech given at the orientation program for the new group of MBA students at Symbiosis, Pune.[13] "Becoming One With the World" speech given at the HT Leadership Summit Delhi.[14]

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.[15]

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.[16] Hirani also said to take a legal action against Bhagat. Bhagat also accused Hirani of not showing him final script as per contract, but Hirani denied that.[17] Protagonist of the film Aamir Khan initially said that the screenplay was original,[18] but later he kept himself away from this controversy.[19]

Movie adaptions
Year Title of book Five Point 2009 Someone 2008 Film adaptation 3 Idiots Cast Production Director Rajkumar Hirani Atul Agnihotri

One Night @ Hello the Call Center

Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Vidhu Vinod Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor, Chopra Sharman Joshi Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Gul Atul Agnihotri Panag, Sharman Joshi

Interviews

Bhagat speaks to Brunch, Hindustan Times[20] "The Pied Piper of Indian fiction Chetan Bhagat" interview with Headlines India[21] "I could be working in a call centre" - With Rediff News Senior Features Editor Lindsay[22] "All you ever wanted to ask him" Forbes[23] "Chetan Bhagat intends to impact young people" - Spicezee[24]

Awards and recognition

Society Young Achiever's award in 2004[25] Publishers Recognition award in 2005[25] Bhagat in Time magazine's list of World's 100 Most Influential People 2010