Chetan Bhagat's "Revolution 2020" On Corruption

Mr. Bhagat’s new book “Revolution 2020” addresses the hot topic of corruption and is set to release in October.

Seven years ago an Indian investment banker penned a story of three friends at the Indian Institute of Technology, one of the country’s top schools. Soon after, the book became a best seller, hugely popular among India’s college crowd. Same thing happened a year later, when he published his second novel, this time on the life of call center employees .

The books were “Five Point Someone” (2004) and “One Night @ the Call Center (2005).” The former banker is Chetan Bhagat, an author credited with having helped extend the reach of literature to a broader audience in India. While some critics initially brushed off his success as mere fluke, his lasting popularity proved them wrong. Among the country’s teenagers and twenty-somethings, he is little short of a youth icon. Last year, he even made it in Time magazine’s list of “100 Most Influential People in the World.”

His books have gone on to become Bollywood hits, the most successful of which has been “3 Idiots,” a blockbuster inspired by his first novel starring Aamir Khan.

After tackling the sensitive topic of the Gujarat riots in “The 3 Mistakes of My Life,” (2008) and inter-communal marriages in his “2 States,” Mr. Bhagat’s fifth book is set for release in October.

Chetan Bhagat: A former banker turned author,
Chetan Bhagat is credited with having helped
extend the reach of literature to a broader audience in India.

The book, “Revolution 2020,” addresses the hot topic of corruption, a theme that resonates loudly in India in the aftermath of the mass anticorruption protests led by social activist Anna Hazare.

Q&A: Chetan Bhagat on His New Book

Mr. Bhagat spoke to India Real Time about his new book, corruption and why his novels are like ketchup. Edited excerpts:

IRT: After “Five Point Someone,” many authors wrote novels based on similar experiences at IIT. None had your same success. Why do you think your novels got such an overwhelming response from India’s youth?



Mr. Bhagat: I think original voices get noticed. But most importantly, I think you should have a story to tell. The setting is only incidental. A lot of people believed that the story worked because of the setting or the pricing and they tried to crack the formula. While a formula can work to an extent, for a book to become very popular it has to connect with the reader. It has to have a soul. Whenever a book, and not just mine, was popular, it was very original for its time. In case of “Five Point Someone,” even though it was about IIT, after reading the book what you remember are the characters – that’s what a book needs to have: a very independent connection with the readers.

IRT: Is your experience at IIT still an important influence in your work?



Mr. Bhagat: I think not. But what it does do is that when I was at IIT, there were students from all over India. So I have a good sense of what people from different parts of India are like. Secondly, I used to write a lot of plays there and it’s a demanding audience because they are super smart and it’s very hard to get their attention. So whenever we used to make something, our idea was that even the most hostile audience is spellbound. I think those learnings are still there in me. Even now I try to make each page compelling for the readers to get absorbed in the book.

IRT: Do you ever regret having quit banking?



Mr. Bhagat: Let’s be honest: the trappings of investment banking are quite tempting. I do miss it sometimes. And to be honest, there was a time I’d read the WSJ in the morning and for years I have done that. So reading it does make me nostalgic! The day I miss banking the most is the bonus day! And the day I don’t miss it at all is when my wife, who works with a bank, has to work until late at night. But I think of the platform that I’ve got in India, I feel it’s very rare that a writer gets that.

IRT: Tell us about your upcoming novel. What is the significance of the title “Revolution 2020?”



Mr. Bhagat: This time, the title isn’t giving away the story. For example, the title “One Night @ the Call Center” is essentially what the book is about. This time it’s a little more serious. It’s really a love story in the backdrop of corruption in the education sector in India.

When I traveled for my talks as a speaker, I got a chance to see what’s happening at the private colleges in the country. I saw corruption at almost every level. While I am a capitalist at heart and I have no problems with commercialization as such, I believe that while it’s okay if education becomes a profitable business, it’s not okay if it becomes corrupt. You can make money…everybody makes money, but the moment you enter into a corrupt mindset, it has dangerous consequences – especially in education. If you have corruption in education, you end up with a whole generation that is not trained properly.

So I felt that it was the need of the hour. I wanted to bring the issue out but in a very accessible way. So I had to overlay a very exciting love story on it. That’s what led to “Revolution 2020.”

IRT: What are the main themes you have tackled in your new book?

Mr. Bhagat: I wanted to bring out small town India and their aspirations. I thought I would choose a town like Varanasi, which is the oldest city in India. But even there, children want a good career. While they are proud of their heritage, they are also looking at the future. So I thought it will make an interesting contrast. The moment you think Varanasi, you think burning ghats and sadhus [steps leading to the river Ganges and Hindu holy men.] But that’s not how I have written it. I have tried to make it a contemporary take on Varanasi.

The theme of the book is a love story. But even in that it’s different since this time I write about a love triangle. Here the girl knows both guys like her and she likes both of them. But it’s different from the way our Hindi movies treat a love triangle, where the foundation is usually miscommunication. I think love has become very practical and “Revolution 2020” will show that. If you look at my first book, I now find Hari and Neha [two of the book’s main characters] too sugary for me. But love can create so much heartache, so much competition and insecurity. That I felt I hadn’t done in any of my books. But I wouldn’t like to reveal much since the book isn’t out. I want the surprise to be there.

IRT: How have the recent political upheavals influenced your work in this novel?



Mr. Bhagat: It’s quite fortunate that the book is coming out at a time when corruption is at the top of mind. But it’s just luck since I started writing it almost two years back. You can’t just produce a book. I felt that there was a disconnect between the youth’s aspirations and their opportunities. When aspirations don’t meet opportunity it mounts to frustration. I felt I should give a voice to all those fans who read my books. We keep reading about IITs and IIMs [Indian Institute of Management] in the mainstream, but very rarely we talk of the youth that reside in the small towns – their aspirations and their struggles. But something like this is very hard to explain in an article. So I felt I needed a full-blown story, a creation of a world and it became the inspiration for my book.

Anna’s movement kind of tells that the time is right for this. But it happened when most of the book was done. But it’s a sign that it’s the right book for the country at the right time. But, frankly, when you read the book you see it’s not so political. It’s still 80% love story and the rest is about the issues I am talking about. “Revolution 2020” is something that is very close to my heart and I am very confident that it would do well.

IRT: What did you think of the way India’s youth responded to the Hazare movement?



Mr. Bhagat: I think it’s been fantastic. It’s everything I wanted to happen. In fact it’s happened a little sooner than I expected. At the same time, I think it’s not exactly a “revolution.” It was only a successful protest since the former goes on for a while. Two years back when I started writing columns, I would have been considered a lunatic for imagining the India I would like to see. But when I see a movement like this, I think there are plenty of people who want an equal society based on excellence. It’s very nice that the youth lent their time and energy to the cause. But you can’t fix a nation in 10 days. The youth has to be prepared to sacrifice more if they want to see a better nation.

IRT: When you write, what kind of reader do you have in mind?



Mr. Bhagat: That’s tough… because between “2 States” and this book almost two years have passed and a lot has happened in this time. One is that “3 idiots” came out. The other is that I’ve been writing columns in both Hindi and English newspapers for two years now. I’m guessing that it will be a very generic readership now. Those who had never picked up my books might pick it up now because they have read my columns. So I think it’s pretty broad. But for sure the young generation relates more to my work.

Many years ago, someone from WSJ said something to me that may have offended other writers. But I thought it was a very nice observation and I took it as one of my best compliments. He said, “Chetan your books are like ketchup.” It has been proven that everyone like the taste of ketchup and it goes with everything. So it may not win the prize for being the most gourmet dish, but it works for everyone.