| Five Point Someone - What not to do at IIT | |
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The cover of Five Point Someone - What not to do at IIT by Chetan Bhagat. |
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| Author(s) | Chetan Bhagat |
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
| Series | nil |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Publisher | Rupa & Co. |
| Publication date | 2004 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 270 |
| ISBN | 8129104598 |
| OCLC Number | 56904175 |
| LC Classification | MLCM 2004/00384 (P) PR9499.3.B |
Five Point Someone – What not to do at IIT! is a 2004 novel written by Chetan Bhagat, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. This was his debut novel. It is one of the highest selling English novels published in India , and remained on the bestseller list until now since its release in 2004, tied along with other novels by Chetan Bhagat . This novel was entirely typed by Bhagat on Microsoft Word in the font Garamond, as he states in the novel.
Contents |
The novel is set in the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in the period 1991 to 1995. It is about the adventures of three mechanical engineering students (and friends), Hari Kumar (the narrator), Ryan Oberoi, and Alok Gupta, who fail to cope with the grading system of the IITs. Ryan is a bit smart and outspoken, whereas Alok and Hari are mildly cry babies. The three hostelmates - Alok, Hari and Ryan get off to a bad start in IIT - they screw up the first class quiz. And while they try to make amends, things only get worse. It takes them a while to realize: If you try and screw with the IIT system, it comes back to double screw you. Before they know it, they are at the lowest echelons of IIT society. They have a five-point-something GPA out of ten, ranking near the bottom of their classes.
The book is narrated in the first person by Hari, with some small passages by his friends Ryan and Alok, as well as a letter by Hari's girlfriend Neha Cherian. It deals with the lives of the three friends, whose elation on making it to one of the best engineering colleges in India is quickly deflated by the rigor and monotony of academic work. Most of the book deals with the numerous attempts by the trio to cope with and/or beat the system as well as Hari's fling with Neha who just happens to be the daughter of Prof. Cherian, the domineering head of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Their most important attempt was "C2D" (Cooperate to Dominate).
While the tone of the novel is humorous, it takes some dark turns every now and then, especially when it comes to the families of the protagonists. Most of the action, however, takes place inside the campus as the boys, led by the ever creative Ryan, frequently lamenting how the internationally lauded IIT system has stifled their creativity by forcing them to value grades more than anything else. Uninspiring teaching and numerous assignments add to their woes, though the boys do find a sympathizer in Prof. Veera, the new fluid mechanics professor.
This book has been translated into Hindi and is published by Prabhat Prakash.[1] It set a record by being purchased by 30,000 people in one month, and has gone on to become a top seller in Hindi.[2]
Despite its commercial success , the book was universally panned by contemporary book critics in India , with some calling it ' fast food literature' . Many discarded it as 'bollywood on paper' referring to its over the top nature.
This book was made into two films, 3 Idiots in Hindi and Nanban in Tamil. The names of the characters and attributes of the characters were changed.
Prior to the release of the film 3 Idiots, director Rajkumar Hirani commented on the relationship between Five Point Someone – What not to do at IIT|Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat and 3 Idiots stating:
The day after the film opened, Chetan also noted:
A controversy developed a few days after the release, however, over the fact that Chetan's credit, "Based on the novel Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat" appeared in the closing credits rather than in the opening ones.[5] At that time, Bhagat stated that he "was expecting an opening credit and I was quite surprised on not seeing it. They had bought the rights, made the payment and committed to a credit in the contract. It’s there, but it’s not about it being there, it’s about the placement and the prominence."[6] In a 31 December 2009 blog post on his personal website, Bhagat stated that he was told the movie was only 2-5% based on the book, but when he saw it, he felt that it was 70% of the book. He also argued that he was misled by the makers of the film, though he noted, that "this has nothing to do with Mr. Aamir Khan [...] I Idiots, the following characters are expected to have the same am a big fan of Aamir and he has made my story reach people. However, he was told by the makers not to read the book, and he hasn’t. Thus, he cannot comment on the issue in a meaningful manner" [7]
A few people responded to Chetan's statements. According to the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), during a press conference with reporters producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra "clarified that in the agreement between the producer and Bhagat, it was clearly mentioned that the author’s name would be put in the closing credits." IANS also reported that Chopra "lost his cool" and "asked a reporter to shut up after being questioned whether his hit 3 Idiots was lifted from author Chetan Bhagat’s book Five Point Someone."[8] Chopra later apologized, stating: "I really think I’m silly. I was provoked, but I shouldn’t have done this. I saw myself on TV and saw how I was shouting ‘shut up, shut up’ like an animal. I told myself — ‘what nonsensical behavior’."[9] Aamir Khan also responded to these claims.[5][10]Rajkumar Hirani stated that "We have officially bought the rights for the film. We drew a contract with him and it clearly mentions about the position of his credit. With open eyes he had seen the contract, consulted his lawyer and signed the agreement [...] In the contract, we have said that the title would be given in the rolling credits. We haven't changed the font size. We haven't increased the speed of the title. It's exactly there where it was agreed to be." [11] Legal documents concerning the relationship between Bhagat and the filmmakers have been added to the Vinod Chopra Productions website as well.[12]
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