Daring plunge into the feminine mind

“It is very difficult for a man to write about how girls think. I had always wondered if I can read a girl’s mind. And so, I decided to write a book from a girl’s point of view,” said renowned author Chetan Bhagat.

The author was in town for the launch of his book ‘One Indian Girl’ at Inorbit Mall over the weekend. Bhagat, who has penned eight books till now, says that this book is different from the rest.

“I’ve always written stories about people whose voices are not often heard. My leads are mostly from small town. But, this one is different,” he said. “’One Indian Girl’ is not a small town book. It is set in New York, Hong Kong and Goa. Plus, this is my first book on women,” he added.

“At the beginning I wanted the book name as ‘One Girl’ but, we already have a book as well a movie on a similar type of title ‘Gone Girl’. Later, I changed it to ‘One Indian Girl’. In it, I’ve tried to explain how things commonly happen in an Indian woman’s life,” The book explains how things commonly happen in Indian women’s life,” said Bhagat.

The author has received mixed reactions from readers in the past and this book is no different. However, Bhagat is unfazed by it. “This book was a personal challenge for me. I did a thorough research before writing it. I interviewed around 100 women in a year to understand how a girl’s mindset works. That’s how I created Radhika (the protagonist),” informed the author.

“I feel that this book will help an average man to understand how a girl thinks. I also believe that if men read this book, it will be fairly easy for them to get a girlfriend,” smiled the author.

“Actually, I was thinking to write a book on this subject for the past seven years but, I did not have confidence at that time. There are many women in my life; my wife, friends and cousins. They all encouraged me and supported me to write this one,” shared Bhagat on a personal note.

The author has always chosen subjects based on current issues and rom-com He maintains that he is not interested to write books on crime, fantasy and mythology. So far, four of his books have been adapted for movies.

Opining on that, Bhagat said, “It is always difficult to make a book into movie.” One wonders if ‘One Indian Girl’ will be adapted for the big screen. “It is not easy to make a film on women oriented subject.

But, I can’t rule out that ‘One Indian Girl’ will be made a movie. It might happen in the future. I heard that Kangana Ranaut is very interested about the book,” he said.

The author became a voice of ‘follow your dreams’ movement when he quit his investment banking job in 2009 to pursue writing full time. “It was the toughest decision of my life. “It all happened when I realised that banking is not my passion. And, I had to leave,” recalled Bhagat.

“Two things helped me. First, my wife was a working woman. Plus, I had saved some money,” he added.
“When I began writing books there was only a limited audience who read it.

Today, most of the people read them, and many others criticise it,” he laughed and added, “But, I don’t mind. I will continue writing.”