A Night to Remember

The last bus to home had left, now she has to take a rick home. She had finished all her work in time, just to make sure that she gets to the last bus without fail. But that was not to happen. She thought for sometime, 'Should I call Rahul, to pick me up'. But then rejected it, thinking he was an incorigible flirt and might just think otherwise. It’s a Friday night and all her colleagues had left early, so she ahd to get home alone.

Raavya, has been working for Acecom Tele Support for last one year and she has been posted in Delhi all these while. But somehow she has not been able to fall in love, or least like, this city. Every morning when she opens the newspaper, there has been one or more crime against women being reported. She is from a small town in eastern part of the country. Before coming to Delhi, she had never set her foot outside her hometown. Delhi in a way was her first taste of life outside the cocooned world of home, safety and warmth of a family. Her mother had never wanted her to leave home and move into Delhi. Delhi has never portrayed itself as a safe place for females, and nobody has bothered to make it one also.

It was getting late, Raavya checked her watch it said five minutes to eleven, she looked outside at the gate, there were a few autos there. She braced herself, she had to take an auto. All the crime reports that she has read or seen on television played right infront of her eyes. She was a bit scared. But she knew she cannot show it on her face. It was a Friday and she was wearing a Friday casual. She was not prepared for late work. She cursed her client, who had requested her for the last minute data requirement, which took her almost five hours. She could have got a cab from the office but that meant she has to share it with her boss, who is a bigger lech. She decided to find an auto, not very sure of her decision. So she moved towards the main gate, her steps were unsure. As if deciding, contemplating and arguing with herself. She tried to evaluate every possible option. Weighed them and then rejected them. She told herself 'You need to fight your own battles'. Late night in Delhi for a girl-alone, is definitely a fight for safety.

The watchman looked at her, as if questioning 'How are you planning to go, alone?'. She ignored the look, quietly swiped the card at the gate and moved out. The air was balmy, very unlike a winter evening in Delhi. But she didn’t mind. She pulled at the open zips of her jacket. The road was empty but for a few autos, the auto drivers were smoking beedis near a fireplace. She walked upto them, this was the first time she is alone looking for an Auto so late in the night, she didnt know what to say. Rohan has always been her Knight in the shining armour. Her late night movies at Saket or gorging at Comesum in the early hours of the morning. She had Rohan to her aide. But today even he is not there.

She reached the spot where the auto drivers were smoking. She called out "Bhaiya! Malviya Nagar chalogey?" (Will you go to Malviya Nagar?). Everyone moved their stare towards her. One of them stood up, 'He doesn’t look menacing', she thought to herself. "One Fifty", he said in a very accented voice. She didn’t want to get into a bargaining business with an auto driver at this hour of the night, especially when she is alone. 'fifty rupees, max sixty', she thought to herself. "Okay!", she agreed. The guy moved towards the auto and got into it, then he directed her to be seated in the back seat. She moved to the passenger seat.

It was chilly, she wasn’t feeling the chill so far, but when the auto started moving the air rushing against her cheek made her feel the nip in the air. The maze of roads in Chanakyapuri was familiar to her. She knew they were going in the right direction. The auto driver switched on FM, there were some hindi film songs playing on it. She didn’t give much attention to it. She was feeling tired. But she told herself not to fall asleep, she needs to be alert. She moved her hand inside her bag to check for the pepper-spray. It was there. She has never used it, even the seal was not broken. 'How stupid is that' she thought to herself. Then she looked at the auto driver. He was still smoking his beedi. The smoke was irritating Raavya, but she didn’t bother to shout at the auto guy. She was far too scared to do that.

The auto driver was not at all intimidating. Might be into his 30s, not very tall. Wore the khakhi uniform and a jacket. The stickers of various Gods in the auto, surely tells his religious bent. Then of course, the way he touched his forehead with his head and whispered a prayer before starting the vehicle, says that he is not at all a bad person. Raavya was trying to evaluate him. Till now he was scoring well.

Raghav, the auto driver, was lost in his own thoughts. Today he had received the call from his village. His wife has gone into labor. 'A girl again and I will divorce her. If she is unable to give a boy to the family, she doesn't belong to the family, she can take her girls and leave the house', he thought. But this thought had crossed him when they had their third child too. But Baba Ambernath has predicted that it would be a baby boy this time. He is waiting for the call. For a moment he looked into the mirror at his passenger in the back seat. She was looking straight at him. "Kya dekh raho o", she shouted back (what are you looking at?). More out of fear than anything else. He turned away, he didn’t bother to reply. He has got this shouting a lot many time. Many times when there is a couple at the rear seat, he has stolen a few glances to catch them in 'action'. The voyeuristic pleasure is the only good thing about driving at night.

There werent many vehicles moving at that time of the night. Only a few cars or bikes passed them. They crossed the Chanakya theatre, Raavya remembered the first movie that she had seen here. Even those yummy kababs that she and her friends use to enjoy here. Just then the mobile rang. Raavya looked at hers, but it wasn’t her mobile. The auto driver pulled out his. "Hell-ooo" he said in a very anxious voice. She looked into the mirror, to see his reflection. His expression changed from anxious to ecstatic. He seemed to be very happy, he pulled his auto around a corner. It was a dark one. Raavya moved her hand inside her bag. "Why have you stopped the vehicle here?", she asked, trying to feed her voice with enough strength. "Madamji, let me just take this call, something personal, one minute only", he replied. It was dark, the street light was flickering. She sat there thinking she had no other option. Her hand hit something, it was the pepper spray. She thought to herself for a second and then without bringing the bottle outside the bag she removed the cover.

It had already crossed five minutes. She didn’t want to wait for that long, so she decided much against her will, to step out of the auto and try to find an alternate option. She saw the light of an approaching vehicle. But soon realised it to be a private car. She decided not to wave at it. The car passed by her. Then she turned, moment she turned, she saw him coming towards her, infact running. He looked as if a man possessed. She thought of running, but her legs were as if planted to the ground. She didn’t know what to do. Next instant the auto driver was a couple of feets away from her and looked almost menacing with those mad eyes. She turned around and started to run. He called out "madam rok jao". She ignored the call and ran. He didn’t let her go, he too tried to be after her. Even matched her pace. He caught up with her, his hands caught hold of her shoulder. She was ready, she turned around and sprayed the pepper-spray into his eyes. He was caught by surprise, he fell on the ground writhing in pain. She realised the lane led to her house. She ran without stopping straight into her house.

He was still lying there writhing in pain, thinking why did she do this. He re-ran the whole event in his mind. The call was from his mother, she told her wife has delivered a beautiful baby boy. His nose was almost like his and so was his eyes. He was happy and talked a little longer over the phone asking about his wife and son in details. When he was through with his call, he realised it was late. He was happy and wanted to dance, he ran towards her in that frenzy. He saw her looking for another vehicle, that’s why he ran towards her, thinking he might lose his fare. He was right, she was trying to give him a slip. She started running, even when he asked her to stop she didn’t. She kept on running. But he did caught up, she sprayed something into his eyes, probably chilly powder and ran away.

He had calmed a bit. His eyes were hurting a lot, he collected himself up. Searched for some water. A tap was running. He washed his face with water. Then he thought to himself, what an eventful night 'These city girls are so dangerous', he thought to himself and walked away.

She was inside her room. Almost shaken by the night's episode. She was crying uncontrollably. She was thinking about things that could have happened. She thanked God and decided never to take an auto late at night, alone!

The Smile

She passed by me for the second time. Coincidence?? Well could have been, but I have trained my mind to think otherwise, especially when a beautiful girl is involved. She was looking pretty in her tight jeans and cowboy check short shirt. Her hair was tied up in a bun and a pencil was carelessly tucked into it. She was wearing a pair of spectacles, which gave her look of an intellect. Her bag was hanging from one side of her shoulders, left shoulder. 'College going, probably', I thought to myself. "I think she likes me", I whispered into Manish's ear. "And what makes you think so?", he questioned.
"She looked at me and smile"
"There could be a million reasons for her to smile", he tried to reason.
"One of them could be me", i tried to justify.

Manish preferred to remain silent. Being friends for five years with me, had taught him that in cases like such, I am a die-hard fool. And this was not the first time that a girl has passed by me, but I was sure the smile was definitely for me. And to prove this, she returned. She walked towards me. And when I say me, it means 'me only'. She looked into my eyes and smiled. Thats the moment I knew I was the reason. Then she spoke in her sugar coated, honey wrapped voice "Would you mind standing up? This is a lady's seat". Manish burst out laughing. She and the rest of the passengers, just looked at him and then ignored. I stood up and took the position next to the pole. She made herself comfortable next to Manish. The bus was full, but all were seated and the only person standing was me.

Manish kept smiling all through the journey. Thankfully it wasn't long one, the journey. Neither was this love story.... Well its my story and choose to call it a love story!

Yaadein -1

Kal raat purani jeans ke jeb ko tatola
Toh ek adhoora jhumka mila,
Apne saathi ko dhoond raha tha shaayad.
Ek khushbu thi usmein, jaani pehchaani si,
Jaise koi puraani pehchaan thi.
Kucch der baithe, kucch yaadein taaza hui.
Phir rakh diya usi jeb mein,
Dobara milengey isi aash mein....

Ek Bechara Pati

The best part about friends is when you are alone they wont let you feel lonely and the worst part is when you want to be alone they wont let you be.

So this is the happy sad story of two newly wedded couple who happen to be staying together after eight months of their wedding. So when they finally settle down to start their family life, they choose this new city where they have a few friends and which they think is a very nice city to be in. Well, the city part, they were correct. Friends, well they are friends and you dont have much say about them. They choose to be good and bad and you have to accept them. So on their first weekend when they decide to spend some quality time together, they get interrupted by who else but friends. When you have one married friend in your whole bunch of bachelors and bachelorretes your wife is definitely in for some trouble, cooking food and making tea while you entertain your friends. But when your wife is also a part of the group, then you end up spending the time in the kitchen. So thats what happens with an obedient husband.... Do I have any takers?

Love You Delhi!

It's a month now and I abstained myself from writing any blog since the
day I left Delhi as I wanted to write about my Delhi experience first
and then come up with anything else. Bt somehow I couldn't stop myself
from writing some weird stuffs in between.

But now I am going to talk about Delhi. A place that has been a
spectator as well as a contributor to five most fruitful years of my
life. The first day that I landed Delhi, I had decided that I would not
like the city. Somehow, I never was in awe of the city, somehow. Though
I belonged to a small town and was light years away from the fast moving
dazzling life style of Delhi, I still found it nothing more than a
plastic doll. But the city didn't give it up on me. My first two years
in the city were in BIMTECH, where I completed my professional course in
Business Management. The next three were even more crucial ones. The one
in which I made a professional career and more importantly made friends
whom I can count for the rest of my life. The city despite all its
lacunae never complained of the indifference towards it. I wrote poems
on Lucknow, I wrote stories on Jaipur, I posted pictures of Orissa and
even went ga-ga over Mumbai and Chandigarh. But never did I say a word
about Delhi. Not because I didn't want to, but now in retrospect, I
think I took her for granted.

The winters were harsh and summers were relentless. But the city was
always warm towards me. She gave me memories which would bring a smile
on my face, a few that would roll down the cheek in the form of tears.
But memories all the same. She gave me a half baked love story, people I
can call friends and taught me lessons which make life worth living.

When night was dark, she let the moon shine a little brighter. The days
when it was warm, she let the breeze blow stronger. I let the rain drench
me, she never failed to give me shelter. I never spoke to her, she
remained silent. I shouted at her, she never replied back. I remained
aloof, she made me feel at home. Now I don't have her, but I love her.
She won't be able to know it, and still she will keep loving me as
before: Love you Delhi.

Julia Roberts: An ode to a great artiste!!!

Remember the days when pop used to be hot as hell
And Ms Roberts was an obsession of every single male,
The day when a pretty woman walked down the lane,
And Mr Gere made us all fall in love with her again....

A Tribute to an Epic!

No wonder I am a movie buff, I was born to a couple who have seen almost
all the movies released in their 20s 30s and 40s. They just lost count
when they entered 50.
Well lets not diverse from our topic. I think it was my fifth birthday,I definitely have an elephants memory,when I first saw the epic. For the first time in my life. My father had
brought the new VCR (it was a big craze then, the days when rock n roll were famous and Pop was cult!) and he wanted all of us to see the best
movie of his era, SHOLAY. As a kid I never minded all those actions and chases and Sholay had a huge clearance sale of both of them. I fell in
love with the very first train robbery scene. The horses and the bullets and ofcourse Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra. I was glued to the TV for
the next 3 and half hours. Didn't even move to have food. Sholay had some magic around it and today when I see it I still feel the same
magic, even after watching it for more than a hundred times. The best thing about Sholay is it was unabashedly Bollywoodish. Naach Gaana Drama
and Action. It had it all and in plenty. The movie stayed with me even after it was over. 35 Years and its still with me.

There are various trivia about the movie. Mr Sippy had hired a couple of stunt experts from London to help him in this movie. That the movie had
two endings, the one in which Jai doesn't die. It ran for six months before it was declared a hit: reason being the cinema halls were running
houseful but the people were silenced by the action, drama and tension in the movie, so much so that not even a single person talked. Its only
when the second visit to the theatre started that the hooting and shouting started. Amit Ji always wanted to be Mr Gabbar, well Ramu gave
him his dream role but it turned out to be a nightmare (Aag is So-low and not Sholay, sorry RGV you sucked here BIG TIME). Even Amjad Khan was
not the first choice as Gabbar, our very own Hari Bhai was first taken as Gababr. None of the characters were the first choice for the movie,
for that matter. The movie also happens to be one of the cleanest Dacoit Saga of that time, it had no rape-scene or bathing scene. I am not
trying to be voyeuristic but movies at that time used to be loaded with such scenes to cash in at the ticket counters.
The movie had some of the dialogues that were immortal. Salim-Javed made Kaalia and Sambha famous with just one dialogue. Asrani will always be remembered
as Angrezon ke zamane ka police and Mr A K Hangal (the grand old man of Bollywood) "Itna Sannata kyun hai bhai". The popularity can be gauged by
the fact that it made inane / one scene characters famous. Take for example mousi ji, Kaalia, Sambha. Ram Lal and even Jalal Agha and Helen.
Everyone has his or her own Sholay moment and I too have mine. My Sholay moment will definitely be the one in which Jai goes to mousi and asks
for Basanti's hand for Viru. By scale, popularity, music and entertainment, it will be the biggest movie that Bollywood have ever
made. 3 Idiots might have grossed 100 crores. But I don't think any movie would have a mass following and popularity, a movie where the
actors are remembered by the character they played like Sholay, a movie where the characters have made an impact on your life and you have
accepted them albeit their larger than life projection.

फिर तुम याद आई

बड़े दिनों बाद तुमसे मुलाक़ात हुई,
हाँ ख्यालों में ही सही
तुमसे मुलाक़ात हुई।

फिर आँखें कुच्छ नम होने लगी
कुच्छ यादें ताज़ा हुयी
फिर हवा भी तेरी खुशबु से महकने लगी।

मेरे काश, मेरे शायाद
मुझे तेरे संग जोड़ते रहते हैं
मैं लाख भुलाना चाहूँ तुझे
तेरी मेरी राह फिर भी मिल ही जाते हैं।

सोचूँ के बरसों बाद जब मिलेंगे हम तुम
तो कैसे मिलेंगे हम तुम
कुच्छ बीती यादें,
कुच्छ भीगी पलकें...

MAHAAAABHAARAT

I was in the office cab and from somewhere we started talking about this war thing. The old mythological war. And I am sure about my generation, who have seen Mr Ramanada Sagar’s Magnum Opus: Ramayan and Mahabharat, must remember that they use to have this code of conduct by which the war ended at evening. I mean there was no war at night.

We were thinking, say for example. Arjun (The Mahabharat Fame) has drawn his bow and then at the far end you hear the sound of hooter and the oh-so-familiar-voice of Mr Bachchan saying: 'Afsoos Mr Arjun, samay samapti ki ghoshana’ (Alas! Mr Arjun, that ends today’s episode)

And then think how would the war be starting the next day. Think of a situation when Bhim would have disarmed his opponent and about to smash his club on him when hooter was blown, next day they should start at the same position or not? Secondly did they fight the same opponent they fought yesterday. Or can they choose to change. Who use to be the match refree, to ensure that no one is cheating?

I think the stoppage of war at night is more to do with the fact that there is no light than anything else. And therefore, if there is a cloudy weather and the light is below permissible limit. Is the war suspended?

And wat about the cheergirls. Just think of the boundaries of the War field with Cheer Girls jumping around with every single good move. How interesting and colorful would that be. Well that’s a bit far-fetched.

And I have never seen any star warrior getting killed by a minnow. Is that by rule or is that by respect. I mean a lowly soldier coming close to Yudhistir, almost ready to take his shot and realising its him, says: ‘Oh Shit jyasttha bhrata shree, oops I am sorry’। And goes away.

Sorry for annoying any sentiments!!!

तुम्हारे घर की वोह छत

याद होगा तुम्हे,
वोह गर्मियों की शामें
जो गुजरती थी तुम्हारे
घर के छत पर।

सारी दुनिया से दूर
दोनों में खोए हुए
घंटों काट देते थे उस छत पर
तुम ले आती थी
साथ अपने दो प्याली चाय की
और में चुरा लता था कुछ नज़्म गुलज़ार के
और कुछ कबूतर बैठे रहते थे साथ हमारे

यूँही पूरी शाम गुज़र जाती थी
एक दूजे को उन ग़ज़लों में ढूँढ़ते हुए

और फिर एक शाम मैं तो आया
पर तुम न थी साथ मेरे
अब रोज़ तेरे आमद का
इंतजार करता रहता हूँ

सुना हैं आज भी उस छत पर कोई दो जोड़े
मिला करते हैं
दो अध् - पिए चाए की प्याली भी थी रखी हुई
कुच्छ कबूतर थे बैठे हुए,
और वोह गुलज़ार की किताब
पड़ी थी उस पत्थर की मेज़ पर ...

A Bowling Match - 2 : Revenge of Nirep!!!

It was not actually revenge rather a point to be proved kinda match. I always thought that i am a better player. So getting beaten by Nirepinder for the first time at Bowling was like a wake up call for me. But then I thought it was just a bad game and then challenged Nirep for another set of games. This time i was sure that the things would change and I would reclaim my lost glory.

Well no such thing happened. There were a couple of close games. So I graduated from losing badly to gave-a-fight. Thats it, thats all that happened. I played my heart out and still lost the game. Nirep said: ' Well you tried your best'. Which means your best is not good enough and I sulked more. Well, winning and losing is a part of life and why do i have to lose all the time. Cant I win once?

I need a divine intervention next time. Nirep you played well.

A Bowling Match

Long time back when bowling was supposedly the coolest thing to do. There was a guy who played it like no one did it in his group. He was thus the coolest guy in the group. Some year later he was back at an alley and there also performed pretty well, thus reconfirming his belief that there can never be a bad day when he has a ball in his hand and ten pins waiting to be rolled. But they say sunny days are not there for long and so it was for him.

Yesterday this guy went out playing with his bosses. Knowing that they are older than him and probably a bit less cooler, he thought he would be able to spun his magic again. But he was grossly mistaken. He was bitten, smashed and downright squashed by the two. Well that guy was me and the people who trashed me are: Nirepinder and Anuj.

I started the game pretty well and then lost to Nirepinder, with only a few points margin. Anuj was nowhere in the contention at that time. Then in the second match: Me Vs Nirep, I was demolished beyond repair. But as they say beauty lies in the fight and I decided to fight again. Well I was wrong: Sense lies in accepting defeat and moving on. I lost again, this time even Anuj scored better than me!

Nirepinder was on cloud 9, he won all the matches. I had a bruised ego and a trampled spirit. But I am not going to give up: Wait tomorrow and I will be back with a bang. Nirepinder watch out!

Sud Vs Me - War of Limericks

ME

I regret my actions in haste,

That might have brought a bad taste.

I would here by say, feel and write: ‘sorry’

And pray not be subjected to ur fury!

SUD

you try the limerick…
by just making it rhyme…
and it turns out so sick…
oh! what a crime!

who to tell you…
rhyme is not gold…
no meaning attached to…
it can’t be sold…

ME

O the mighty Sud!
Please don’t be rude.
I tried to make it rhyme
So that I could sugar coat my crime!

Forgive me, for my lame attempt,
I actually gave into the tempt,
Will always refrain from such,
And for ur advice: Thank u verymuch!!!

Tweeter Heater

Twitter is no more just a social networking site. It is almost like the Venus Flytrap, it looks so beautiful from the outset and if you are not cautious, then you might just end up losing more than just your face.

Two gentlemen in the name of: Shashi Tharoor and Lalit Modi, got to know this in a very crude manner. The Mr Devil-May-Care Twitter, aka Shashi Tharoor, had his flings with the wrong side of tweeting a long time, but then he tried to go a bit too far, when he tried to get IPL-icious. But we should also credit the man for the words that he has given to the oxford dictionary: Cattle Class, Herd Mentality, etc. I think the UPA govt was a bit more patient with him, unlike his other Karmic Brother, with whom BCCI was not very paly with. So the other Karmic Brother: Mr IPL, aka Lalit Modi, himself was also not far behind and when he divulged a bit more than he should have on the tweet, which he forgot was a social networking site and was, probably, thinking aloud. His super bosses decided to give him GPL (kick in the ass, the desi style)., nothing to do with GPI.

So thus the mighty fall.

Moral of the story: Mind your words and Twitter will definitely be sweeter.

I hope Mr SRK and Aamir are listening...

A Train Trip to Banaras - Without Tickets - 2nd AC

A recent ad for a premium consumer durable brand said: India Jadoo ka shehar hai, yahan har cheez baaton se hal ho jata hai (translated – India is a magical country, here every problem can be solved by words).

I had the first had the first hand experience of the same on a trip to Banaras. It was Richa’s wedding and we had booked our tickets well in advance. It was waiting list 2,3,4 and 6. For our group of four people: Anuj, Monika, Vinod and myself. Ala KKR, we depended on luck and it never smiled at us. So we were at the station, very sure that 2,3,4 and 6 waiting list must have been confirmed. But none of the damned travellers had backed out: or so it seemed. And then it dawned on us: India Jadoo ka shehar hai, yahan har cheez baaton se hal ho jata hai. So we went to the TT, to see that perhaps he could do something for us. And thus we sang in chorus: ‘ Words and Words is all we have to take your heart away, oops, seats aways’. Teehee!! And he asked us to sit in a sleeper class and then he said he would transfer us to the 2nd AC. The train left the station at 10:30 pm and then we waited for another half an hour before our Saviour in Black Jacket came and as promised took us to the 2nd AC and gave us our berths. Words does work but then they need to be backed with money. But the TT was not rude, he showed us an elaborate calculation, if we choose to go by the rule books, to make us understand we are going to pay a ransom for travelling without tickets(point to be noted: He only had asked us to get into the train). And then he wrote down a figure which was less than the price of ticket for one person to travel in 2nd AC and the deal was struck. Some skills I must say. So as the papers changed hands, we were promised a berth per person and thus we had a happy journey, even without tickets to Banaras. I don’t know whether we got looted or did we manage to get a bargain, but it definitely was a learning experience…

Lesson learnt: India Jadoo ka shehar hai, yahan har cheez baaton(read negotiation) se hal ho jata hai.

And whoever said you need tickets to go places, please refer here. More on the Banaras trip next…

Bye Bye IMRB

Three long years in an organization definitely make you a part of the organization and more than that the organization and its people become a part of you, an indispensible part. But change is the only constant that keeps the life moving and therefore when I decided that I needed a change from IMRB, it was not only a very hard decision to take on a professional front but also at a personal level.

Being my first job, IMRB not only taught me MR but also a lot about other aspect of corporate world. So in a sense IMRB was a home for me. And leaving home is always painful. It definitely was. Leaving people you know, leaving the place that you knew like the back of your hand and the fact that the new place would be a new beginning. A beginning where things are not certain and where you have etch out your ownself, all over again. But life is so and if we need to grow, we need to take strong decisions.

A new journey begins in TNS with hopes that things would be challenging, full of learning and fun-filled.

I am Back

Have been a really long time since I last wrote and the delay is due to my unconvincing self, which never let me sit down and get keying-in. So now after almost 5 months I am here again. I will definitely try to be more regular.

Well long delays always mean that I have ample things to tell. Many things have happened during this time. For starters my status has changed from committed to married and still committed. I got a chance to go cycling into the wilderness of Chakrata mountains, which was not only refreshing but also a very very humbling experience. Met some people and more importantly made some more friends in life. Have a lot to share and am dying to do it.

On professional front I am now into a new organization. And also trying to get used to the culture of this organization. Well people lets get started then…. New blog article coming up soon…

3 Idiots and A wronged Writer!!!

INSPIRED BY VIR SHANGVI's COUNTERPOINT, HT

Starring:

Aamir Khan, Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra as 3 Idiots
Chetan Bhagat as Wronged Writer

3 Idiots is a wonderful movie and I am in awe of Aamir Khan when I saw the movie. But it has left a bad taste post the credit-fiasco it ran into, with Chetan Bhagat claiming that he has not been duly credited by the producers of the movie.

The story so far....

The movie 3 Idiots is released with no opening credits to Chetan Bhagat or his book 'Five Point Someone: What Not To Do at IIT', though it finds a mention in the closing one. Chetan chooses to make his outburst public and comes out cursing the producers of the movie. The Producers and Aamir Khan (Actor), then comes out all fuming against the writer in a news conference, citing the movie is partly inspired by the book and was made a movie largely due to the creative inputs by Hirani and Joshi (the writers of the movie) and Chetan's book was not a script/screenplay material and needed a lot of working. Some bad blood is drawn, some publicity is surely ensured. So the cash register would be ringing a little more, if it has not already done an overtime. For those who are not aware of an opening credit, it is the credits shown at the beginning of the movie.

Now who is to decide how much did the movie actually inspired and how much was invented. Or for that matter would there have been a movie without this book in the first place. Did Chetan handle the situation in the right way?

I am not here to take sides or colour the much talked about episode in black and white. But all I want to say is that the matter has not been handled with class by either party. Slumdog Millionaire played around the storyline and still credited Vikas Swarup. It didn’t cut the profits that the movie made. Neither, would the bottomlines for 3 Idiots would have been impacted by this act.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra has been a volatile person, in career and in character. So when we see him making movie like Parinda, he also came up with a cropper like Eklavya. His outburst at the news conference in Noida, was uncalled for.
I even don’t understand Chetan Bhagat’s outburst, couldn’t this have been handled with elegance, which I am sure he doesn’t lack with.
The only hindrance that bollywood is facing in its path to become world’s most successful film industry is lack of good writers. It would stay forever if we don’t give the due credit.
I would like to mention VIshal Bharadwaj’s name here. In his movie Kaminey, the opening credits were given to Cajetan Boy’s short story Koho. However, those who have read the story would understand the story has been completely changed and been handled in a completely different way than Boy had done in his novel. But Vishal certainly rose above the rest when he credited Boy.
I think we need to understand that the fiasco has been blown out of the proportion and should have been ended with a short apology from the Producers or inclusion of Chetan Bhagat’s name in the credit.

Guys please grow up!!!

P.S.: Hope Mr Sanghvi doesn't make a noise over this... I have tried to credit him duly..