Once upon a time, there was a guy who wanted to be an author. He wrote a couple of decent works and then got caught in The Thought Process of a Genius
Once upon a time, there was a guy who wanted to be an author. He wrote a couple of decent works and then got caught in a loop. This reviewer is setting it down here, so that he can try breaking out of it and stop crowding out other better-written books.
The Conception:
1. He has convinced himself that he is supposed to be the common man's author 2. So has a responsibility to pick up mundane topics and themes 3. And they have to be cliched and not too intricate - because the common man's life is just not complicated enough for a Dostoevskian treatment (god forbid!), or for a "literary treatment" 4. So it has to be non-literary and cliched. Got it? 5. It also has to employ poor language because not only is he the common man's voice, but his readers are also the common men, who wants the processed goods, the easy stuff. 6. Conclusion: He has the recipe for an untapped new brand of literature - exploring the lives of the common men of India. Genius Idea. Surely. 7. Sounds quite grand, if you ask him!
The Execution:
1. Having worked out his grand role thus, this self-appointed common man's author sits down to write. 2. He doesn't realize this, but the role he has assigned makes it very easy for him to crank out book after book with almost minimal effort. 3. He might be able to finish an entire plot in one sitting. After all exposing cliches as reality (without getting into the complexities that make them a part of life) is his role. 4. He is surprised at the ease with which he is able to do this. His characters just seem to spring out of nowhere and fade into nothingness between the covers, doing exactly what he bids them in between. Complete mastery. Which author can boast of that? 5. Conclusion: Must be a genius.
( Bonus: He discovers that he is now also an expert in every national issue and can pontificate effortlessly. He does not realize that anyone can have an opinion, and by being allowed to mouth off on them, he is not being treated like an expert, but as a celebrity. Being a celebrity in this country is license to be an expert on anything, and he gets disproportionate voice in the media, though usually a shrill and mildly pompous one. He becomes hated by the intellectual community of the country for this. Geniuses are always hated, right? Hence conclusion is reinforced. )...more
The book is bad, the movie is not any better. Don't watch the movie unless you crave some IIM A nostalgia, but honestly that is a pretty lame excuse t The book is bad, the movie is not any better. Don't watch the movie unless you crave some IIM A nostalgia, but honestly that is a pretty lame excuse too. The fancy campus you see in the movie is not the real one, which is much cooler just by not trying so hard.
I could write about the stereotypes that drive the weak story-line, but , it is too boring to even comment on. Instead take a peep here for more North-South action: /review/show.... We really need to stop laughing at these jokes.
Chetan Bhagat makes a statement in one of the dialogues about his writing ambitions: "to write stories about ordinary people, to not be preachy, and to let the stories be the heroes instead of the characters." He succeeds in one thing: the characters are zombies.
Here is a quick sample of the scintillating prose:
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