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Simply saleable

A peek at Chetan Bhagat, the man, the banker, the author

PHOTO: R.V. MOORTHY

SPEAKING THE COMMON MAN'S LANGUAGE Author Chetan Bhagat

A phenomenon of sorts, with a staggering sale of over four lakh copies of his first two novels, Chetan Bhagat has left everybody guessing what is so special about his writings that made him a best-selling writer out of the blue. There have been novelists who have struggled for years to attain moderate success but for Bhagat it has been more than an easy ride. "It's not high literature," admits Bhagat, "both of my novels portray the aspirations, mind-set and problems of the present generation in a very simple language. And since I belong to the young generation, I feel I have been able to strike a right chord with my readers. When they read my books they are able to relate themselves to the characters and the plots." Bhagat, an alumnus of the prestigious IIT and IIM institutions, works in the Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong. When you inquire about the oddity between the two contrasting tasks he is involved with he explains, "Ever since I can recall I was keen to amuse people. This desire in me was so strong that one fine morning, I decided to write a novel about my days at the IIT. It took me about two years to finish it. The manuscript was rejected by several publishers until Rupa brought it out."

Chetan is ecstatic about the fact that both his books shall soon be turned into movies. While Rohan Sippy would be making a film on his second novel, "One Night@ The Call Centre", with Priyanka Chopra and Abhishek Bachchan in the lead; the cast for his first novel, `Five Point Someone' is not yet decided.

ADITYA SHARMA

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