The countdown to the release of Half Girlfriend on May 19 is being measured in halves... so four-and-half days before release, t2 dialled bestselling writer Chetan Bhagat, who not only wrote the love story of Bihari boy Madhav Jha and south Delhi girl Riya Somani but also turned co-producer for the first time, along with Mohit Suri and Ekta Kapoor.
So, Half Girlfriend, full tension?
It is more than double tension, I think (laughs)! You know, I have worked very closely with this film, while it was being made. And for the first time there’s a lot of expectations. When 2 States (2014) released, it came after Kai Po Che! (2013), so it was never expected to be a Rs 100-crore film, but it became one, and I think that’s why now the expectations are very high. That makes for a little bit more tension but in general I think the tension is inevitable.
Is this film especially important to you because you are not only the writer but also a co-producer?
Ya, and that is why it’s double the tension. Because I have seen the film being made, I was on set every day. So ya you are right, that causes a little more attachment and a little more involvement with the film than with my previous films.
What was your exact role?
I was handling budgets, and hardcore production... whether people don’t like the food, so should we change the caterer, or do we have the police permission to shoot.... My job was basically to see that Mohit (Suri, director) can just concentrate on the film.
So you were back to using your IIM knowledge...
Definitely! You know, I never thought that I will be using my banking skills again. And spreadsheets! But when films are made, there a lot of spreadsheets. Every day shooting is tabulated in a spreadsheet in terms of costs, in terms of the resources that are used... how many extras, how many cameras... things like that. I was looking at all that and just making sure that things stayed within budget, because it is a very wide-canvas film. It’s been shot in six different cities... and New York is a very expensive place to shoot in. So ya, it was something new. I enjoyed doing it... it combined both my skills — story writing and managing finances and budgets.
Do you think this new experience and insight into movie-making will find a way into any of your future novels?
I think a Bollywood tell-all would be nice to do, but it might as well be my retirement letter from Bollywood!
Let’s talk about the casting. I remember how excited you were about Arjun Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor playing Madhav Jha and Riya Somani...
Well, Arjun has worked before in one of my adaptations, though I didn’t know him that well because for 2 States I wasn’t on set so much. Shraddha I got to know through this film and Arjun I got to know a lot more through this film. I think they are very sweet. I think Shraddha is a very simple girl... you know she’s a bit of an introvert, unless it’s with people who are really close to her. And compared to what I have seen of actresses, she’s relatively shy. She’s still conscious of not talking too much and all that, but over time she opens up. I’ve been posting some fun videos of her (from the promotions tour)... there’s still a child in her, she’s pretty but she’s still got that girl-next-door vibe to her.
When the movie was announced, fans on social media had very strongly wanted Sushant Singh Rajput instead of Arjun Kapoor as Madhav...
Well, you know, the thing that happens with a book adaptation is that people have read the book and they have a view. On what the film should be like and who should be cast in it. I remember right from 3 Idiots (adapted from his first novel, Five Point Someone)... today it is considered a classic film but at that time the first thing people said was, ‘How can Aamir (Khan) play a college student?! Yeh toh ho hi nahin sakta.’
And then when Aila (Bhatt) was cast as a Tamilian for 2 States, there was a huge backlash... what is this casting?... how will she play a Tamil Brahmin?
And I think Half Girlfriend is no exception. People have read the book and imagined it in a certain way, but in reality it doesn’t quite work that way. It’s the director who is making the film, who decides the cast and several aspects play a part. And there’s no such thing that this is the book, so this is how the film should be. That will be ‘formulaic’. That will be like when people tell me that you write books for the movies. All I will say to the people is, ‘Just trust the instinct of the makers... and look at the previous adaptations. They’ve always delivered. The actors who have been cast have done justice to their roles... and here also Arjun and Shraddha have done proper justice to their roles. It also depends on the writing and the direction. Actors can be moulded by a good director.
What do you think Arjun and Shraddha have brought to the characters that you have created?
I think Arjun brings range. And he plays the underdog very well. A lot of time in my books, the main character is an underdog, a middle-class Indian underdog, which I think Arjun looks, and he can play it quite well — slightly under-confident, slightly unsure of what’s going on. And I think he has the range where he can play crass... you know, somebody who is a villager, somebody who is crass, but later on joins the United Nations and gives a talk in front of Bill Gates. I think Arjun is one of those few actors who can actually do that. And this is not a typical love story. I mean he does know that this girl is out of his league. And you still have to bring them together believably... that’s what Half Girlfriend is about — a girl SO out of your league, can you still get her?
Shraddha I think is very acquainted with Mohit’s style of work, which is a lot of silences... these days mostly in our films we have heroines playing bubbly girls. They’re all bubbly and cheerful and cheering up the guy, but Riya is quite the opposite. She is an introvert, she’s somebody who would rather run away from situations than discuss them, and there are people like that. So I think Shraddha played that quite well and I think she needed to be with a director who she understands very well. This is Mohit and Shraddha’s third film together (after Aashiqui 2 and Ek Villain) and that has really helped.
Are there any changes in the film from the book?
Bits and pieces. It’s been contemporised a bit... there’s more WhatsApp and Google Maps, for instance... that’s the reality of today. And there’s the music. I think the music of the film is not standalone pieces, all the songs are moving the story forward, almost all are montage songs. So I think that will be a different visual treat from the story people have read. I think people have liked the music, the songs are doing very well.
Madhav’s mother (played by Seema Biswas) is a very important character in Half Girlfriend. And mothers play an important role in many of your stories. Is that because your own mother (Rekha Bhagat) has been so central to your life?
Maybe...maybe... ya I think so. Pretty much my mother brought me up. Ya, whether it’s 2 States, Half Girlfriend... the relationship the boy has with the mother is a very important plot point... how does she feel about his relationship. So I am sure it’s coming from my own experiences somewhere.
Now that you are one more step into the movie world, are you considering acting yourself?
No... it’s not a form that attracts me too much, neither will I be very good at it. I don’t have the talent or the inclination for it. I like creating things... I like using my mind. And I like carbs too much!
CHETAN’S SWIFT 7
1. First film in a theatre?
Ram Teri Ganga Maili. It was definitely not my first but it was definitely a film that I remember... I was a kid and was completely shaken after watching that.
2. First film date?
Pretty Woman. I think it was in Chanakya Cinema in Delhi, when it used to be low-cost.
3. A film that you can watch a hundred times?
When Harry Met Sally.
4. A film that made you a fanboy of a star?
Okay, it sounds cheesy but I think it was Hum Aapke Hain Koun...! I don’t know what but something about it worked for me. Even now when it comes on TV I watch it. I became a fan of Salman Khan after that. Most people become his fan after watching action movies but for me it was Hum Aapke Hain Koun...!
5. Your first filmi crush?
Mandakini in Ram Teri Ganga Maili! It was unexplainable, the feeling that I was feeling.
6. The first film that you have shown your boys?
I think it must have been Toy Story.
7. If a biopic was made on you, who would play you?
I think Arjun Kapoor’s already done that in 2 States? (Laughs) How many more biopics on me do you want? I am one of the few guys who has a biopic just because I got married!
ONE INDIAN GIRL: ONE BIG MESS
Chetan Bhagat’s latest novel One Indian Girl has been grounded after a Bangalore-based woman, Anvita Bajpai, accused him of plagiarising parts of her second book. Sales of the book were stopped by a court order last month. This is what Chetan Bhagat had to say to t2....
Now many articles have come out which are saying there is absolutely no merit to this charge. These are people that I don’t even know, they are lawyers and legal experts. What has happened is that the court has not heard me.
What she has got is an ex parte injunction, which is a very surprising thing, because that’s not given that easily, and without even hearing my side. If I am not heard, I can’t tell the court that she is making a false claim. I have been told this is her allegation but I am being punished for something which I haven’t done and without me even being given a chance to explain it. Also, as you know, courts take time, and anyway we are in the middle of summer vacations. We are asking for an urgent hearing, but, you know, it’s just the process. So it’s a matter of time when the court hears us, and we can make our case and be properly heard.
It’s unfortunate that that has happened and I am very clear, that I have not read any of her works so there is no question of copying or plagiarism. It’s a very serious allegation without much thought. If you see her post, she says he has used words like Facebook in the book. These are silly things... you can’t say that nobody can use the word Facebook anymore. So I think she doesn’t know. Either she doesn’t know what she is talking about, or it’s malafide... I do not know her intentions, but there is definitely no merit to this.
For now I just want the court to hear me, and not unfairly punish me without hearing me. I think that goes against the very idea of justice or the legal system. You can hear me out and then figure out. I know 100 per cent that I am going to win this one, but at least hear me. Let’s go step by step, first thing you have to say is please hear me, before you pass orders or judgments.
Samhita Chakraborty
