Twinterview
Chetan Bhagat
Chetan Bhagat
In the Indian Writing in English market, 5,000 copies sold makes for a bestseller; his first three books sold over 700,000. Each. To people intimidated by literary novels, who dream and swear in other languages, who prefer TV or the movies. Rupa & Co aim to sell 1,000,000 copies of his latest work. In 12 weeks.
Books, Bestsellers and (Writing) Blocks
- Forbes India : mic testing - are you around, @chetan_bhagat ?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india yes i am. shd i send a tweet as resp or only reply to u?
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat just keep replying to @forbes_india and our page will pick it up
- Chetan Bhagat : ok guys am responding to @forbes_india on their q's. u'll hv to follow them to listen to twinterview
- Forbes India : All right. we'll start in a minute. Apologies in advance for any typos. This is live; we don't have our vigilant copy desk to bail us out!
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat formally, hi, and thanks for making the time for this interview
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india my pleasure. the first for me on this medium
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat you have a movie premier to go to. so we'll be quick and try and keep the questions short!
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat looking forward to the 3 idiots opening today?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india totally, seldom has a indian movie had so much buzz!
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat you mine your life quite a bit for your books. are your friends wary of what they do / say around you?
- Chetan Bhagat : sometimes. friends admit to doing smthg silly and say, hey dont put it in ur books. however, i never use stuff without telling ppl first.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat what does your extended family think of your books?
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat Anyoen on your family not talking to you as a result of your books?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india I think my family is q amused by all my books.inlaws were esp nerv abt 2states. but my mil got invites to sing she's happy now
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat and your wife? does she get people thinking it's 100% her in your stories?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india no, everyone still talks to me. i never have been mean or evil to any of my characters.
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india my wife is compared to Ananya a lot! A few times her office ppl have called her that. sorry!
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat there's been a lot of buzz among your followers about this interview. how much time do you devote to your online community?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india i like being online as it connects me to my readers. tho when i am writing a book, i disconnect too. will do so w time comes
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india but the buzz abt this interview is also cos its kind of a first. and its ur idea. so cool!
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat how much of your day is online now, between books?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india maybe 1-2hrs a day, in 30min intervals. when i went to hk for a break, was free, so was online a lot more..not a good thing!
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat ah yes. that was when the (in)famous #chetanblocks incident happened. in hindsight..
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat ..do you think you overreacted?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india won't ever see the end of that one, isn't it :). Yeah, that and even otherwise. online world is fun, but unreal. limit it.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat we were just talking about your wife.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat when we met, you said her being successful actually added to the pressure on you to succeed.
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india well if the people think i overreacted, then i did. i'm human, sensitive, neurotic and sometimes silly. but ho gaya ab. sorry.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat isn't that being a bit old-fashioned? chauvinist even?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india it is old-fashioned,but r in an oldfashioned country. men have the pressure to be more succ than their wife. unfair, but true.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat sure. agreed. but many young people look to you as a role model. what would you say to them?
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat (and yes, i know it's unfair to throw 'role model' at a writer! :)
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india and it is one of the reasons married men find it harder to quit the rat race to follow their passions.
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india i think if being a role model means telling ppl not to drink or not to have sex pre=marriage, then i am a terrible role model
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india but if it is abt believing in urself and going for it despite the lo odds india offers, then maybe u've found the right guy.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat let's move to politcs, briefly, before i switch to audience questions
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat what are the odds you faced?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india india is tough on new talent. publishing or films, i've faced my share of slaps (and continue to)
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat speaking of slaps:
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat .. lit critics love to hate you. do you take them seriously? do they have a point when they diss your writing?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india there is no human being in the world who doesn't get hurt by criticism. I'm extra sensitive anyway.
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india yes, sometimes they do have a point. but sometimes they make it in such a mean way that it hurts more than it teaches.
- Forbes India : to all who want a #tag - sorry. takes up too much room. instead, see feed on http://business.in.com/conversation/twinterview/chetanbhagat
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india And because of that, I have to ignore a lot of it. It's ok if i don't write well. It's not ok if they destroy my spirit.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat let's switch - briefly - to politics
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india sure
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat have you had any pol party contacting since your Forbes India profile? :)
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat related question: what party's ideology / actions are closest to your heart?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india if our politicians were the forbes reading types, india wud be a better place!
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat heh! well, we have reason to believe that a few do read the mag. :)
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india that's the problem. I like BJP's free-market pro-biz part and the Congress' secular part. We need a right wing-secular party
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india maybe they will contact me..but i'll tell them i'm too busy on twitter.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat :)
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat in 5, 10 years... would you consider contesting for an MLA / MP seat? or would you work locally? or...
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat ..would you seek a specific assignment, like Nandan Nilekani? (let's assume you're given a choice)
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india maybe the latter, as there is a specific, actionable job to be done. a title is useless if u don't hv the power to chg things
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india but then maybe (and this stays in twitter family), maybe we can do a revolution and change everything. who knows.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat you have to leave soon for 3 Idiots opening, we know. some quick audience questions before that? say around 15 minutes total?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india sure no probs
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat RT @skeetara At Chennai, C.Bhagat said Tamil Girls r better than Punjabi Girls..Wd he stand by this statmnt in Punjab?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india actually, i like all girls. not that choosy. just wanted to woo the chennai crowd a bit more! :)
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat RT @GunjanChauhan does he look back at his work critically and feel he could have written something better or differently?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india i do try to improve, and in some ways, i have. but i have limits to my talent, and there r no limits to ppl expectations.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat RT @Swaty_Shah U have written all about ur life frm college to marriage... what would be the next?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india next book wont be abt my life most probably. but have not decided what it will be yet.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat RT @mjpandya What differences do you see in the India he left few years back and the India he got after returning to Mumbai?
- Chetan Bhagat : the metros are different, and there r more opp here. in smaller cities, not much has changed. genx ambitions are v high everywhere tho
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat RT @pryankaa Is Chetan's wife on twitter ?
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat RT @gouthamanka Who is chetan bhagat's favourite novelist apart from himself?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india no anusha is not on twitter yet. how do u think i am alive after all those tweets?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india lots of fav writers. from george orwell to many of the new indian ones..many good ones.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat name one. or two. or ten. :)
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat RT @shoOOonya Did you enjoy the #chetanblocks tweets? they sure were funny!!
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india anyone from adavita kala to samit basu to anuja c - so many more, cant name due to space.see jaipur litfest lineup-all good.
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india i enjoyed some of them, like the hitler video. tho pl don't create such enjoyment again!
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat RT @quasarabhishek Chetan Suicide is a prominent theme in your books. Any particular reason?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india suicide is the most extreme step a young person can take. a way to show how messed up life has become. plus i hv a dark side.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat Okay. almost 10 minutes over the agreed time. so just one more question.
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india ok
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat we've had a FLOOD of questions for you and have only been able to use a few
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat RT @ntezza What do you think makes you phenomenally popular with the young readers?
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india god's grace. and with that, lemme go to the ISKCON temple before the premiere. thanks so much!
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat thanks for your time! good luck with the movie. and don't step on Anusha's new shoes.
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india was my pleasure. and i think this twinterview falls in the category of things we call awesome.
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india and i've figured out what to say to wife - 'amazing how a new pair of shoes makes u look totally different'. works no?
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat we'll send you all the questions we received. answer if and when you can.
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat thank you. glad you liked it. we had fun. hopefully all the followers did too.
- Chetan Bhagat : @forbes_india sure!
- Forbes India : @chetan_bhagat fans: see http://business.in.com/conversation/twinterview/chetanbhagat for the full transcript of the twinterview