First of all, I must admit I am not completely sure why I’m writing
this review. It’s probably just to get my thoughts out and share my sorrows.
Half of the English-language readers in this country (including the ones Bhagat
claims to have initiated) have probably already finished reading the novel. A
quarter are probably in the process and the rest are possibly either going to
do so in the next couple of weeks or contemplating whether to bite the bullet.
For the sake of clarity, I’m a CB fan. He’s a wonderful human
being, friendly and chilled out, ahead of the times, a crowd puller, a
marketing mogul, a media darling, extremely intelligent and has his finger on
the pulse of the youth of the country, A TRUE ROCKSTAR! Some of his earlier
works, let’s face it, were super entertaining and fun to read. All the
name-calling, slander and elitist ostracism was and continues to be ridiculous.
Bhagat never claimed to be a literary genius with a penchant for vocabulary,
grammar or for that matter, sense. He has always maintained a mass-appeal
brand, is proud of it, bandies it about and that’s completely fine. If a Haider
and Bang Bang can release on the same day and co-exist rather successfully, so
can a Hosseini and Half Girlfriend. Just because Happy New Year is utter
nonsense and both its comedy and action are highly idiotic, one cannot deny it
being a movie or say it is not a product of filmmaking. It might not be a good movie
(subjective) but it still is a film and looking at the collections, the people
of the country love it. So to say Half Girlfriend is not a book or work of
literature is equally foolish. It may not be a good book, but it still is very
much literature (let’s ignore the tags, genres, sub-genres and categories) and millions
of readers have read and loved it!
The first part of the book is set in St.Stephen’s, Delhi
where many clichés are repeated and stereotypes pandered to. It is funny that the
heroine wants to maintain distance and not get into a physical relationship
only due to personal choice and not due to some kind of a class factor, as
suggested in the synopsis. The significance of the title of the book also ends
here. I expected it to have much more meaning and hold a strong theme running
throughout the story. It was not so.
The rather weak storyline just dragged on and on at parts.
It seemed like some parts were added to just increase the number of pages and
thickness of the book. The plot itself plays out like a Bollywood movie word to
word. No, it isn’t the fact that we have seen so many movies adapted from his
books that makes this happen. It actually is like a Bollywood movie throughout.
Scene to scene. One can even predict the locales, settings, props, and of
course, the placement of songs. No wonder Mohit Suri and Ekta Kapoor pounced for
the film rights even before the book released. The author throws in tips to
learn better English, improve public speaking and even indulges in a little
self-praise for teaching the non-English speaking youth of the country the
language. Justified to an extent. Commercial compulsions have probably cost
Bhagat a book that would have been a great example to have started a debate around
the English elitism. However, if his interviews and talks are anything to go
by, I am quite confused. On the one hand he trashes the English chauvinism of
St.Stephen’s but is somehow fine with the scientific, mathematical and managerial
chauvinism of the IITs and IIMs. So is he actually talking about the issue or
playing to the gallery?
The plot twists are quite interesting. Especially towards
the end, the story gathers some pace and some of the revelations Bhagat springs
do take you by surprise. The second half of the movie… I mean, the book gets
slightly more interesting and gets you hooked. At times the lack of detail and
elaboration annoys you and at times, unnecessary details bore you to death. For
example, on the one hand, a lot of social, economic and political issues of
India are just mentioned abruptly. They don’t serve any purpose. If the
objective is to throw light on some of these issues, an explanation in context
is necessary. On the other hand, you are forced to overlook large chunks of
information, at times entire paragraphs to skip the crappy and inconsequential
details. This is especially true when streets and addresses in New York City
are being talked about.
Having said that, Bhagat’s latest offering is disappointing.
Was it the huge expectation? Was it the hype? Was it the marketing blitzkrieg?
Maybe… But one thing is quite certain; it is easily his worst or second worst,
I can’t choose between this and One Night at the Call Center. At the end of the
day, let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way. Extremely mediocre language is
a given. Simple language is his style is what he claims, but wrong English? Filmy,
filmy, filmy all the way! Predictable ending, which is also super-duper filmy. A
dash of strong, sensible emotion and a pinch of humour here and there keep you
going by shocking you and shaking you, but this is too little to salvage the
rest of the book. Let there be no doubt it is a mega-bestseller and loads of
people love it. Similarly, it is going to be a mega-blockbuster that will set
cash registers at box offices across the country ringing. It’s the kind of
movie that will easily romp to the 100Cr. mark, and with the right casting,
direction and some great music, one can’t rule out 150Cr. or even more for that
matter. Is it worth the money? Absolutely! At Rs. 176, 150, 120 or 99
(depending on where and when one buys it) the book does justice. It is not a
bad read, just a very ordinary one with nothing captivating or unique to offer.
But is it worth the time and effort spent on finishing the novel? I would
seriously suggest you consider waiting for the movie, in case you haven’t
already decided. It will be almost the same thing anyway. But wait! Wasn’t
Chetan’s intention to make young India read? Not until your work offers
something more than Bollywood, sir.
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