Chetan Bhagat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chetan Bhagat
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Bhagat in 2011
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| Born | Chetan Prakash Bhagat 22 April 1974 New Delhi, India |
| Language | English, Hindi |
| Alma mater |
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| Genre | Romance, realistic fiction, non-fiction, suspense, thriller |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Notable works | Five Point Someone, 2 States: The Story of My Marriage, The 3 Mistakes of My Life |
| Spouse |
Anusha Suryanarayan
(m. 1998) |
| Children | 2 |
Chetan Prakash Bhagat, born on April 22, 1974, is a famous Indian writer. He also works as a columnist, writes movie scripts, and has a YouTube channel. In 2010, Time magazine named him one of the "World's 100 Most Influential People." Many of his books have become popular movies, like One Night @ the Call Center and Half Girlfriend.
Contents
Early Life and School
Chetan grew up in a traditional Punjabi Hindu family. His father was a lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army. His mother was a scientist in New Delhi. Chetan went to the Army Public School in Dhaula Kuan.
He says he was an average student when he was 15 years old. But he loved to write, even in school. He wrote articles for his school's magazine. Seeing his name printed there made him want to keep writing.
College and Higher Studies
Chetan studied Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He earned his degree in 1995.
After that, he went to the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA). He got a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in marketing in 1997. In 2018, IIMA gave him an award for being a successful young former student in Art & Entertainment.
Chetan Bhagat's Career
Working in Banking
After finishing his MBA in 1997, Chetan got a job at Peregrine Investments Holdings in Canada. But the company closed in 1998, so he lost his job. His next job was at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong. He worked there as an investment banker, helping companies with money matters.
While working at Goldman Sachs, Chetan wrote his first novel, Five Point Someone. It was published in 2004. In 2005, he published his second novel, One Night @ the Call Center. In 2008, Chetan moved back to India and worked for Deutsche Bank in Mumbai. That same year, his third novel, The 3 Mistakes of My Life, came out. In 2009, Chetan left his banking job to become a full-time writer.
Becoming a Famous Author
Chetan started writing his first book, Five Point Someone, while he was working in Hong Kong. He said he wrote about 15 different versions of the book before a publisher accepted it. The book was published in 2004.
Five Point Someone is about three students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). They feel like they are not as good as their classmates. This story later became the popular Bollywood movie 3 Idiots.
After his first book was a hit, Chetan wrote his second book, One Night @ the Call Center. It came out in 2005 and was also very successful. About 50,000 copies were sold in just three days! This book was also made into a movie called Hello.
Chetan became a full-time novelist with his third book, The 3 Mistakes of My Life, published in 2008. This book was also very popular and was made into the movie Kai Po Che.
His fourth novel, 2 States, was published in 2009. This book was inspired by his own marriage and wife. It's about a young engineer who falls in love with a girl from South India and the challenges they face. This book also became a successful movie called 2 States.
Chetan's later novels like Revolution 2020, Half Girlfriend, and One Indian Girl were also very popular. He continues to write, with recent books including The Girl in Room 105 (2018), One Arranged Murder (2020), and 400 Days (2021).
On Screen and Behind the Scenes
Chetan Bhagat has also appeared on TV. He was a judge on the dance reality show Nach Baliye season 7. He also appeared in the Netflix series Decoupled, playing himself as a bestselling author.
He has also helped write movie scripts. For the movie Kai Po Che! (2013), which was based on his book The 3 Mistakes of My Life, Chetan was one of the writers for the screenplay. He won an award for Best Screenplay for this movie.
YouTube and Podcasts
Chetan Bhagat also has a YouTube channel. On his channel, he shares motivational tips for young people in India. He also has a podcast called "Deep Talk with Chetan Bhagat." In this show, he talks with successful guests about how they achieved their goals.
Movies Based on His Books
Five of Chetan Bhagat's novels have been made into films:
- Hello (2008) – Based on One Night at the Call Center
- 3 Idiots (2009) and Nanban (2012) – Based on Five Point Someone
- Kai Po Che! (2013) – Based on The 3 Mistakes of My Life
- 2 States (2014) – Based on 2 States
- Half Girlfriend (2017) – Based on Half Girlfriend
Awards and Achievements
- In 1997, Chetan Bhagat was recognized as "The best outgoing student" by IIM Ahmedabad.
- He won the Society Young Achiever's Award in 2000.
- He received the Publisher's Recognition Award in 2005.
- In 2010, Time magazine included him in their list of the World's 100 Most Influential People.
- In 2011, he was listed among the "100 Most Creative People" by Fast Company magazine.
- He won the "CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2014" award in the Entertainment category.
- In 2017, he was ranked No. 82 on the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list.
- He won the IBN Live Movie Award in 2014 for Best Screenplay for Kai Po Che.
- He won the Zee Cine Awards in 2014 for Best Story for Kai Po Che.
- In 2022, he received the Golden Book Awards for his novel 400 Days.
Personal Life
Chetan Bhagat married Anusha Suryanarayan in 1998. They met when they were in college at IIM. His novel, "2 States", was inspired by his real-life love story with Anusha. They have twin sons named Shyam and Ishaan.
