Chetan Bhagat has come back with another fiction. This time, it’s different, claims the author. One Indian Girl, Chetan’s latest, is from the perspective of a woman. He speaks to us about delving into a woman’s mind, getting waxed for research and Kangana Ranaut’s desire to act in the movie.
“I always try to write on social issues and I’ve been writing for over twelve years now, with this being my seventh. “I wanted to challenge myself. Since most of my readers are women, I decided to write this book from a girl’s perspective,” says Chetan about One Indian Girl.
He adds that although the task was daunting, it was a great learning experience, “It was very difficult to portray the internal dialogues and the thought process of a woman in a convincing manner. I wanted to make it relevant and learnt a lot in the process. Every woman is different, but women think something and say something else. I also realised that women are asked to make choices all their lives that men aren’t.
“Women have to choose between a career and home, which guys don’t have to. I’ve always been a feminist but writing this gave me a better understanding of a woman’s life,” he adds.
He goes on to talk about Radhika, the lead of his novel, “I’ve tried my best not to stereotype. Radhika is an extremely successful investment banker, who earns a lot. Her mother is concerned that she won’t be able to find her a groom and that her boyfriends, too, have not been very happy about it.”
Amidst the fan’s reviews and excitement, the story of how Chetan got waxed in the name of research for his latest, has been doing the rounds on the internet too. “I did a lot of research for the book, but somehow, the waxing bit became popular. I got waxed because there is a scene in the book where my lead gets waxed and I felt I wouldn’t be doing her justice if I didn’t know what the process felt like. It was painful, to say the least! The pressure to be hairless and the criticism they get for not going through this is absurd.”
So, does he write his books keeping a screenplay for the eventual movie adaptation in mind? “Not at all,” he claims, “that is definitely not my process. If my focus was movies, I would write a boy-girl romance, but this is a pure girl-based book. I don’t have plans for the movie at the moment. I want the story to be accepted first.”
“Kangana gave me a very good feedback for the book — this was the first time she had read a romantic-feminism book. If an actor like Kangana wishes to essay the role of Radhika, it would be great,” adds Chetan.
