New Delhi: Chetan Bhagat, born on 22 April 1974, is a well-known Indian author, columnist, Influencer, screenwriter, and YouTuber. In 2010, Bhagat’s novels focused on youth and urban India, making him particularly popular among younger audiences. Many of his works have been adapted into successful films, further cementing his place in modern Indian literature. Chetan Bhagat was raised in a traditional Punjabi Hindu family. His father was a lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army, and his mother worked as a scientist at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi.
He completed his schooling at the Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan, where he developed a love for writing. He began by writing articles for the school’s literary magazine. Bhagat went on to earn a B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, in 1995. Later, he pursued an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, graduating in 1997. In 2018, IIM Ahmedabad honored him with the “Young Alumni Achiever’s Award” in the Art & Entertainment category. After his MBA, Bhagat started his career at Peregrine Investments Holdings in Canada but lost his job within six months due to the company’s closure.
He then moved to Hong Kong to work as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs. It was during this time that he began writing his first novel, Five Point Someone. In 2006, he became the vice president of Deutsche Bank’s Strategic Investment Group in Hong Kong. In 2008, Bhagat returned to India with his family and joined Deutsche Bank in Mumbai. That same year, he published his third novel, The 3 Mistakes of My Life, which became a bestseller. Chetan Bhagat’s debut novel, Five Point Someone, published in 2004, tells the story of three underachieving IIT students.
The book was a huge success and was later adapted into the blockbuster Bollywood film 3 Idiots. Bhagat’s second novel, One Night @ the Call Center, released in 2005, became India’s fastest-selling book at the time. It was later adapted into the film Hello. His third novel, The 3 Mistakes of My Life, was published in 2008 and adapted into the film Kai Po Che. His fourth novel, 2 States, published in 2009, was based on his own love story with his South Indian wife and was turned into a successful film starring Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. Other bestselling novels by Bhagat include Revolution 2020, Half Girlfriend, One Indian Girl, The Girl in Room 105, One Arranged Murder, and 400 Days.
Five of Bhagat’s novels have been adapted into films, including:
- Hello (2008), based on One Night @ 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.
Apart from writing novels, Bhagat has ventured into screenwriting. He co-wrote the screenplay for Kai Po Che, which won the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay in 2013.
