The Hindu Business Line : To err is…

He works for an investment banking firm, has two successful novels behind him, and is currently touring the country with the launch of his third book. But Chetan Bhagat has no immediate plans to become a full-time writer. “It is an option for me. But I would like to work for some more time. That, in fact, will help me to continue to be in a reader-like life,” he says.

Bhagat shot into limelight with Five Point Someone and One Night @ Call Center; the latter has been turned into a Bollywood movie Hello, starring Salman Khan and Sohail Khan, which is slated for release soon. The 34-year-old writer was recently in Hyderabad for the launch of his third novel, The 3 Mistakes of My Life.

Going by the title one wonders if the book is autobiographical. The author begs to differ. “No, it is not an autobiographical work. But it does contain real-life incidents,” he says. “It is cricket, politics, religion and business — these are the four elements that catch the imagination of Indians. You are passionate about at least one or two or all of these. The 3 Mistakes of My Life is set in the background of Ahmedabad, where I spent a good part of my life.”

But can a book on Ahmedabad be complete without a reference to the post-Godhra incidents? “No, you cannot write a novel about Ahmedabad without touching upon those things,” he concedes. “We need to understand one thing — that there is a rivalry that is bahut purani. You can’t avoid it but you can definitely heal it. Let’s talk about it,” he says.

According to him, the people have understood the issues. “It is time to find answers. A few miscreants indulge in violence but most of us suffer because of that.” He says he has received a huge fan mail from Gujarat.

Representing a new genre of writers in the new millennium, Bhagat says he believes in simple narratives. “I don’t like complexity in writing. Books must reach the masses. Books can change lives. I write about ordinary people. In fact, I feel I’m part of that lot,” he observes.

He feels there is no point if his writings are understood only by a few intellectuals. “They anyway know things.”

Equally, he doesn’t believe in crowding the story with messages; only 10 per cent of his book has a message, the rest is entertainment, he explains. On other genres of writing such as magic realism, he feels that the life of common people itself is magical. “That’s what I’ve written about and am writing,” he says.

Bhagat has “never attempted short stories. I think I can’t write them. But he has always dreamt of becoming a writer since childhood. But “my parents, like most other parents, wanted me to play it safe — to study well and settle down in life. In fact, that helped me stand on my own feet. Now that I’m on my own, I’ve begun writing,” he says.

With R.K. Narayan and Hemingway as his favourites as also Ayn Rand, whose writings have brought a “progressive dimension to his works”, Bhagat says he usually writes in the early mornings and at nights. But he does not require any specific setting to get him going. “I even write on flights. I write all the while, whenever I find time. But then, you are alone when you are writing. No one will understand it,” he says.

Now that he has completed his third novel, one wonders what he is working at next. “Losing weight,” he shoots back.