What Young India Wants, the latest book by Chetan Bhagat, may not be very precise for many of the older generation, but the author definitely seems to know what young readers of India would be thrilled reading. There are several books, articles and even tweets by Bhagat, which have touched the hearts of people. No wonder, most of these are bestsellers and many of them have been made into blockbuster Bollywood movies. The author has received much appreciation and his books have been read both by avid readers and also by people who typically don’t pick up a book to read.

 

Top 5 Must-Read Books By Chetan Bhagat

 

 

 

 

Three Mistakes of My Life – This story is based on friendship and has been made into the movie Kai Po Che. However, it is a totally different experience reading the book, which described locations, feelings and mental turmoil in great detail. Three mistakes of my life is all about coming-of-age of three friends who have big dreams. Of course, the mistakes come too, with great elaboration that can be related to by a lot of men today and maybe for generations to come. It does relate to all the challenges that a person in India faces. The characters Ish, Omi and Govind come to life in Chetan Bhagat’s casual narrative.

 

 

Five Point Someone – This is the book that started it all. It is the story of three friends who have always thought of themselves as being academically at the top all their lives. But when they end up in the engineering institute of their dreams, they find themselves being only the average among the best. One is never prepared for life at the IITs. Five point someone is the story of the survival of the fittest, with some hiccups and survival strategies explained to the youth. The story is based on college life and is an interesting read. Even if you’ve watched Three Idiots, you would not have gained the insight that this book would give you.

 

 

2 States – India is a mix of different cultures that somehow manage to coexist. This is a book that describes the contrasts in cultures and how people who are in love are able to overcome cultural differences. 2 States is funny and the writing style makes it a pleasurable read. Many couples who have had mixed marriages would be able to relate to this book. 2 States was made into a movie by the same name in 2014. People have enjoyed the book even after watching the movie.

 

 

One Night at the Call Center – If you believe in spirituality as well as the hectic lifestyle of today, you would not be disappointed with this book. Do not judge the book by the movie, which is unable to convey the essence of the story. One Night at call center is a story of employees at a call center and how they confront their shadows and get a call from God. There have been books where the devil has tried to teach a lesson as an avatar. However, God taking the shape of a caller at a call center was unheard off. This is one of the strong points of the story.

 

 

Revolution 2020 – It is a beautiful take on corruption, with a youthful angle. This is one of Chetan Bhagat’s serious works. You might find it running a little low on the fun factor but it has its moments. The story of Gopal, Ragav and Aarthi narrated by the protagonist sounds realistic. The best part about the Revolution 2020 is the confrontation with the thin line between what is good for everyone and what is good for one. Everyday youngsters deal with this dilemma and sometimes a book like this just might be able to make them realize it.

 

When you name your novel Revolution 2020, one expects a kind of soul searching, revolutionary story about a country that needs a change more than ever. But, Revolution 2020 never even comes close to that. Instead, it becomes a highly clichéd love story which has nothing to do with revolution whatsoever. You almost feel that Bhagat wanted to cash in on the Anna Hazare movement against corruption. To say that the story is extremely shallow might be the understatement of the year.

Two boys try to get into IIT/NIT in order to become engineers. Bhagat implies it on every page that it’s either IIT/NIT or bust. If you cannot get into IIT/NITs, the only option left is private colleges or to become a watchman (Seriously, he wrote that). Does Bhagat even know the admission procedure in engineering colleges of India? There are engineering colleges in India which even though are not NIT/IITs are government funded and quiet reputable (In some cases, even as good as the NIT/IITs). And the admission procedures are centralized state wise. If you cannot even crack that, then and then only private colleges come into the picture. He seemed to brag about himself in the first couple of pages by listing his achievements in the dragged form of a story if ever there was one. He even tells that, in general, if someone does Btech in India, he/she compulsorily wants to do an MBA too. Why Mr. Bhagat? No Mtech? Not anything else? Oh we get it. Because you did the same. And that is the only option, right? Chetan Bhagat might be the least knowledgeable author this country has ever produced. I wonder if he has even read more than 10 good books in his life. Because his stories do implicate that these are the most under researched works of literature ever to come out of India.

To sum up the story, the main character Gopal loves his childhood friend Aarti who in fact loves their common friend Raghav. As we are in Bhagat’s universe, Gopal becomes a major failure just because he couldn’t crack the IIT/ NIT entrance examinations. So he naturally turns corrupt and becomes successful. On the other hand, Raghav starts dating Aarti and gets his engineering degree and turns a reporter, because hey, it is mandatory that you need to be a reporter to change the world, right? And Aarti might be one of the silliest characters ever to come out of fiction in recent times. Her character has even lesser depth and understanding than a 10 year old; that is, if a 10 year old is mentally challenged. What will become of them in the end? Believe me, you wouldn’t care. There is no depth to the story. Chetan Bhagat has sleep walked through the entire story and I guess it’s only fair if you would do the same. As I said earlier, he is the least knowledgeable published author to come out of India in the recent past. His books about his own life, “Five Point Someone” and “2 States” were good, but when he tries his hand at a total fictional work, which requires total imagination, he fails drastically, which alas, I am sorry to say, is not a good thing for a writer of fiction.

this was a very strong book ! and made a really powerful point !
it starts of by introducing us to the lives of two best friends , Gopal and Raghav who strive for a bright future filled with great achievements.

both want a taste of success ,but their way of reaching to the top is different ! while both want to make a difference , one deters from the way and takes up the road of corruption , while one leads a life-changing revolution :)

among all this , both fall in love with the same girl , Aarti .
who i absolutely disliked ! i mean how bitchy and 'changing boys again and Again' cheap could she be . :P i hate her .

though , i did like raghav , a lot ! he was strong and even after his downfalls . he didnt lose hope ! yes , he's the one who leads the movement against corruption . though , he wasn't the one who made the difference , it was Gopal . :)

though , the ending was fairly predictable , i couldn't stop crying !
its a breath of fresh air .
usually no offence , but Indian authors start their novels beautifully but end up making them 'bollywood-ish' ! :P and thats a big no-no from me !

though , this was nonetheless of that sort , the idea of a fight against corruption and also the last part which is EPIC , was really appealing to me ! :D

Chetan bhagat i applaud you for THAT ! because the idea of having the author itself in the book as a character is genius ! :)

i loved the book :)