Let me just say something first up. I was quite surprised when I didn't see Chetan Bhagat's name appear in the opening credits of 3 Idiots. It did at the end in the rolling credits, but I felt he deserved his name to be put in the opening reels. However, after reading his shamelessly manipulative and petty blog post, I feel no empathy for him whatsoever.
In what is one of the most blatant attempts at gathering publicity in recent times, Bhagat has reached new lows for an author of such repute. Many have taken his 'side' during this whole fracas, and although some are right in saying that a spot in the rolling credits isn't enough for the man who wrote Five Point Someone, the delightful book on which 3i is based, Bhagat had negotiated for nothing more. All in all, it is a case of a man trying to stir and manipulate emotions of the public, only to veil his shortcomings as a businessman.
Three things.
First, Bhagat has accused VVC and his production house of copying, or literally stealing his story. Nothing could be more inaccurate than that. The rights of the book were bought well in advance by the makers of 3i, with them being free to twist, turn, deform, expand, or even annihilate the original story in the book thereafter, and they did change the book as much as they retained certain bits of it. There is no denying that 3 Idiots is certainly inspired by Five Point Someone. But they had the right to do it, as they'd procured the rights, paying a good Rs.11 Lakhs to Bhagat for it, although the sum now seems dwarfed by the movie's collections.
Second, Bhagat feels that due credit was not given to him in the film. Due credit? The only credit that was 'due' to the millionaire writer, was the obligation that his name was to appear in the rolling credits of the movie, saying:
Based On The Novel
FIVE POINT SOMEONE
By Chetan Bhagat
And that's what I, and the rest of the world saw at the end of the movie. And if you missed it, then it's just Bhagat's bad luck-cum-stupidity, isn't it? He signed the contract which explicitly mentioned how credit was to be given to him, and the makers did what they had to according to it. What does Bhagat want? Does he want VVC and Hirani to go to town singing his name in each interview? They're smarter than that.
Third, Bhagat, in very clear terms, says that he asked to be shown the script, but wasn't. He's dug himself a hole here, as a month or so earlier, in an interview, he said, and I quote, "Raju narrated the script to me 2-3 times, and I said it is nice". Hirani too, has come out and stated that he narrated the script to Bhagat, after which he was made to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which interestingly, has Bhagat's signature on it. Is he lying now? Memory loss? Selective memory loss? Memory loss as per convenience? Take your pick.
I loved Five Point Someone, and Bhagat's right when he calls it a cult book. I loved 3 Idiots too, but the movie had Raju Hirani's stamp all over it, not Chetan Bhagat. Even though quite a few bits of the book were unchanged in the movie, Hirani altered the story as much as was required, and has created a pan-Indian, memorable film, whose flaws are heavily and easily overshadowed by the sheer joy one experiences during those three hours.
The Producer of 3 Idiots, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, is as mentioned, a producer at the end of the day. Both him and Hirani realized that they had to distance the movie from the book as much as they could, so that people don't compare it with the novel, and they did just that. They wanted the best for their movie, and they've gotten it, as 3 Idiots has now become the biggest grosser in the history of Bollywood.
As for Bhagat, he realized, after witnessing the popularity of the film, that 11 Lakhs and a spot in the rolling credits was way too little, something I would agree with, by the way. Which is why, even though throughout the making of this movie it had been touted as a motion picture based on 3 Idiots, Bhagat felt that his name had been missed out somewhere. Being a writer, I know that credit is important, but there's a fine line between credit and publicity, and it's the latter which he's missing. He wanted to be paraded along with the makers and the cast of 3 Idiots all over the country on their 'victory lap', but alas, that ain't going to happen.
So instead, he goes and posts a soppy, whiny post on his blog for the public to see, and begins a war of words with VVC and co, in order to become a household name. And he has succeeded, too. He knows now, that there will be even more curiosity for every book of his hereafter, for which he will, maybe not in print, but in his mind, credit 3 Idiots. At least he should.
Many are seeing through his pathetic charade, and rightly so, although this public mudslinging is taking away a lot of the positive energy this movie and the book had emanated, and must come to a stop. Chetan Bhagat tried to turn the tables on the makers of 3 Idiots, who got away with a very good deal, but has failed miserably.
Or I'd rather say, iska toh 'chamatkar' ho gaya.
P.S. CB claims to be a big 'bhakt' of Lord Krishna. In fact, during recent interviews, he couldn't answer even one question without referring to him. So, just for him, here's one of the Bhagwad Gita's most famous teachings:
FIVE POINT SOMEONE
By Chetan Bhagat
And that's what I, and the rest of the world saw at the end of the movie. And if you missed it, then it's just Bhagat's bad luck-cum-stupidity, isn't it? He signed the contract which explicitly mentioned how credit was to be given to him, and the makers did what they had to according to it. What does Bhagat want? Does he want VVC and Hirani to go to town singing his name in each interview? They're smarter than that.
Third, Bhagat, in very clear terms, says that he asked to be shown the script, but wasn't. He's dug himself a hole here, as a month or so earlier, in an interview, he said, and I quote, "Raju narrated the script to me 2-3 times, and I said it is nice". Hirani too, has come out and stated that he narrated the script to Bhagat, after which he was made to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which interestingly, has Bhagat's signature on it. Is he lying now? Memory loss? Selective memory loss? Memory loss as per convenience? Take your pick.
I loved Five Point Someone, and Bhagat's right when he calls it a cult book. I loved 3 Idiots too, but the movie had Raju Hirani's stamp all over it, not Chetan Bhagat. Even though quite a few bits of the book were unchanged in the movie, Hirani altered the story as much as was required, and has created a pan-Indian, memorable film, whose flaws are heavily and easily overshadowed by the sheer joy one experiences during those three hours.
The Producer of 3 Idiots, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, is as mentioned, a producer at the end of the day. Both him and Hirani realized that they had to distance the movie from the book as much as they could, so that people don't compare it with the novel, and they did just that. They wanted the best for their movie, and they've gotten it, as 3 Idiots has now become the biggest grosser in the history of Bollywood.
As for Bhagat, he realized, after witnessing the popularity of the film, that 11 Lakhs and a spot in the rolling credits was way too little, something I would agree with, by the way. Which is why, even though throughout the making of this movie it had been touted as a motion picture based on 3 Idiots, Bhagat felt that his name had been missed out somewhere. Being a writer, I know that credit is important, but there's a fine line between credit and publicity, and it's the latter which he's missing. He wanted to be paraded along with the makers and the cast of 3 Idiots all over the country on their 'victory lap', but alas, that ain't going to happen.
So instead, he goes and posts a soppy, whiny post on his blog for the public to see, and begins a war of words with VVC and co, in order to become a household name. And he has succeeded, too. He knows now, that there will be even more curiosity for every book of his hereafter, for which he will, maybe not in print, but in his mind, credit 3 Idiots. At least he should.
Many are seeing through his pathetic charade, and rightly so, although this public mudslinging is taking away a lot of the positive energy this movie and the book had emanated, and must come to a stop. Chetan Bhagat tried to turn the tables on the makers of 3 Idiots, who got away with a very good deal, but has failed miserably.
Or I'd rather say, iska toh 'chamatkar' ho gaya.
P.S. CB claims to be a big 'bhakt' of Lord Krishna. In fact, during recent interviews, he couldn't answer even one question without referring to him. So, just for him, here's one of the Bhagwad Gita's most famous teachings:
"Karm kar, phal ki chinta mat kar."
Just to throw another point of view...What if this is a staged publicity stunt by both parties involved. Like they say, "In Show Biz No publicity is bad publicity". The controversy has only created more hype around 3i and FPS which obviously means more money to all involved. There are reams of newsprint that discuss who is right and then there are discussions, blogs, twitters all of which only promote the commercial interests of Chetan Bhagat and VVC.
ReplyDeleteIt's a point of view many people share with you. But frankly, 3 Idiots needed absolutely no publicity post-release, when word was spreading like wild fire that it was one of the finest movies of the year/decade. Many people are talking about the movie now, after the controversy, but are there any of us who are going to watch it because of this? The only guy who needed publicity was Chetan Bhagat, who despite being a known name to lakhs of people, wanted more, and now he has succeeded. People who didn't know him, will buy his next book.
ReplyDeleteNice read. I kind of agree with you on this matter, but seeing the T.V. interviews across various channels, even I feel this whole matter was pretty much stage. The kind of reactions and tone of the everyone involved just showed how badly they were pretending. The best thing is about to happen for these guys; those who have not read the book as yet after seeing the film would go ahead and buy it, to find out the differences between the two, and those who have read the book but did not intend to watch the film would hit the theaters to find out the difference. Its a win-win situation for both the parties involved. Its not only the future books but also 5 point someone itself that is going to enjoy some good revenue.
ReplyDelete