Screen or Real Life Hero?

The world will remember ‘Three Idiots’ (3-Idiots) as an Amir Khan movie. Out of the many other hugely celebrated movies he has acted in, 3-Idiots is one of the most discussed ones in the recent times. 3-Idiots is the story of a man who not only lives life his own way, but also inspires others to go beyond what the society thinks conservatively fit for them. The movie scoffs at our society’s those typical blue-eyed guys like Chatur who toe the line and attain success by definition which encourages obedience and disheartens those who break the mould and want to build a life creatively on unusual patterns. Promotion of this ‘idea’ was very much needed for India which has already crossed its period of licence-Quota-Raaj and now thrives on creativity and new-age technologies. We no longer need lines of babus to fit the kind of jobs the colonial governments (pre and post 1947) would open up, but now we need guys who transcend the expectations and can provide innovative solutions to unique Indian cases and concerns. Who fits this more than a guy who became (in)famous even as the 3-Idiots gained popularity? That is Chetan Bhagat.

I have interacted with Chetan once. Having done his engineering (and hence satisfying his typical Indian parental expectations) and then going ahead and having an MBA from IIM-A (and hence proving his academic excellence), Chetan Bhagat did join the rat race as anyone given his profile was expected to do. But then, he moved ahead and did what others rarely do – follow one’s dreams. If writing was the passion in his life, he can be put in the category of achievers rather than dreamers. His books created a completely new set of readers (college going kids who previously wasted time surfing the net rather than reading literature) and showed to the aspiring Indian writers how to be famous (his books came at a price under Rs 100 and were available everywhere). Through his every book, he sent out a message that mobilised the youthful energy of our nation that would create a better India.

It was not a surprise to discover that Chetan Bhagat’s most famous debutant book ‘Five Point Someone’ (5.Someone) was chosen to be made into a movie. That Bollywood movies are often cheap duplicates of foreign-made movies is well known. These movies in general run because of the face value of actors and actresses rather than on the strength of a storyline or on any other aspect of moviemaking. Bollywood movies in general scarcely addressed the issues our youth faced, and hence such a movie would be an idea welcomed by all. There a change came in the form of 3-Idiots and became an instant hit all across India. But what came in its fringe was a disturbing trend.

The audiences found it surprising that the movie didn’t acknowledge on screen that it was based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel. This declaration would obviously not have deteriorated its popularity in any way and such a declaration is definitely an expected thing. Therefore, it was natural for Chetan Bhagat to express displeasure about his missing name. And then the hell set loose. I watched in horror as the producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and director Rajkumar Hirani of 3-Idiots publicly (on TV screen during a press conference) denied that their film was based on Chetan Bhagat’s 5.Someone. It was appalling to see Amir Khan himself taking up the mike and literally spitting venom against the author, repeating that the movie was not based on his novel and accused Chetan of garnering cheap publicity by claiming authorship. To any journo who challenged them, the movie makers asked: have you watched the movie as well as read the book? They claimed that the two were entirely different, which of course was untrue. 3-Idiots is an adapted Bollywood version of the novel 5.Someone merely changing the storyline to give Amir Khan’s character a larger-than-real-life image.

3-Idiots grossed Rs 400 Crores plus. Chetan Bhagat had to leave claims and his most famous book (whom he calls his baby) got lost to the Bollywood-wallahs craving for exclusive name and fame. Today people remember Amir Khan when they think of 3-Idiots. They take inspirations from the larger-than-life character he played on screen, asking others to be humane and follow their dreams. But the reality of his real life, as evident from this case, is that that he rather portrays the picture of the villains whom the 3-idiots fight – be it the controlling Professor or the intelligent Chatur. If sacrificing others on way to our own success, stealing credit from others and caring about only our own name and fame is what the villains in the movie personified, the makers of 3-Idiots including Amir Khan definitely are the villains which the idiots warned us against. And ironically, Rancho, the lead character from the movie, is portrayed in the real life by no other than Chetan himself. Setting out to follow his dreams (writing), inspiring others to get their goals (his books setting the youth pulse all over India), and winnig hearts on the way (fan following that Chetan enjoys) – are not these what Rancho tried to depict? Is the whole episode therefore, in a way, victory of screen life over real life? Its disturbing if the answer is yes.

Club Chetan’s accusations with other controversies around the movie (the producers paid a paltry Rs 10,000 to National Innovation Foundation (NIF) for using several innovations and scientific inventions in the movie; Amir Khan’s overzealous creativity costed a hotel-owner in Varanasi to lose his licence; there were allegations of using abusive words against singer Sonu Nigam over payment of royalties), and we realise that this movie’s success is imbedded with so many forced failures for the righteous. The success and failures in this case also tell about our fixation for the cheeky performances rather than for soulful efforts.

Yet all is not lost until we surrender our individual discretions to discriminate. Heroes on the screen can be failures in the personal life (Amir fathering illegitimate son with British journo Jessica Hines), while those who don’t get to have their names on the screen can be real life heroes (I count Chetan Bhagat as one such). In the end, wealth, clout and being celebrity won’t count more than having a clear conscience.

- Rahul