Soon after seeing the worst movies of the year I made one more mistake.
Before going to the details, just a preview of the story. Soon after the movie ‘3 idiots’ was released, Hindi movie industry was taken by storm on the controversy involving the credits for the story. The hero/villain behind the controversy was a man named Chetan Baghat.
Chetan claimed he was told the story of the film is just ‘inspired’ from his first book ‘3 point someone’. After watching the movie he now felt that movie was entirely based on his novel and so he should have been given the credits of the story.
Rather unusually the fans of Chetan started fighting in their own way through blogs, debates, boycotts etc. I was rather amused. Is this guy as good as his fans claim him to be? And as his books weren’t costly I picked up one-‘One night at call centre’, equally best seller as the first one. My good friends had warned that the book is not as good as the hype.
I have finished half the book. I am planning to sue the publishing house for misleading the customers with those ‘New York Times review’. Chetan Baghat claims the book to be realistic view on new generation youngster’s life. It seems Indian youngsters are only bothered to find a girl, date, screw, dump and marry someone else. Are dating and marriage the only things that we bother about. I don’t know. No Comments.
The book is no literary piece. It has a dull flow and the events are arranged in the wrong sequence. I guess CB wanted it to be made into a film and kept it in mind when he wrote it.
In Kerala there is a terminology ‘sparrow-stories’. It’s cheap novel with sex, fights, tears mixed into masala proportions so that the reader gets 100% entertainment at a cheap cost. I felt the same about the ‘best selling’ book. It’s not worth the hype.
Well I am not so cruel. Here are the good points:
CB made the Indian youths to read SOMETHING. 2 out of 5 young people will swear by CB. It gives some form of consolation that we haven’t lost the habit of reading.
Indians are the greatest voyeurs. We love sting operations and secretly enjoy the sex scenes shot secretly. The book fulfills our voyeuristic pleasure when we are given a peek into the lives of BPO employees- their uncertainties, worries and egos. You get a peek into the lives at the other end of phone.
He does not over dramatize things. In fact the entire book is under dramatized to point of boredom.
2 comments:
I totally agree. One night at a call centre is so not a reflection of Indian youth. It is too shallow and altogether disgusting. I would say the same about one of his other books,"The three mistakes of my life",it was a mistake writing that book.
But the other two are actually good,"five point someone" and "two states". They are realistic,smart and witty. And as far as the hype regarding the movie is concerned, I strongly feel CB has a point. Agreed that the movie is only "loosely" based on the book, but they have copied all the major instances word-by-word from the book..well...
Sparrow-stories for painkilikatha...!!! hilarious :D
Three Idiots had very less originality.. most of the incidents in the movies were sort of jokes which I have used while communicating for years. The Russians used the pencil, the elaborate explanation of book etc have been doing rounds on net for many years... Is CB's book based on internet jokes too?
Post a Comment