Idiot saga: Upset Aamir hits back at Chetan Bhagat
Press Trust of India / Kolkata Jan 01, 2010, 12:53 IST
An upset Aamir Khan has spoken out against author Chetan Bhagat, on whose novel the star's latest blockbuster '3 Idiots' is based, accusing him of trying to take away the credit from the film's scriptwriter.
"He is trying to take away the credit from the film's writer Abhijat Joshi, which I am very upset about. It is an attempt on his part to try and take the credit away from the person who has actually worked on the script. It's very unfortunate. There should not be any confusion to anyone that Abhijat is our film's writer," Khan told reporters here last night.
Bhagat had earlier accused the film makers of "playing" with him and not giving him adequate credit in '3 Idiots' based on his bestseller 'Five Point Someone'. The actor said the film makers were honest in their agreement with the novelist and had given him his due credit in the film.
"But in my opinion the credit should be given to Abhijat. For three years, this man has worked on the script. Nobody knows him, but Chetan is a big star," he added. Recalling that Bhagat had once admitted to him that the film was very different from the book, Khan said, "Now the film has become successful so he is trying to get some publicity. It's very unfortunate".
"Abhijat has written the script and Raju Hirani worked on it. Raju and Abhijat took the idea from Chetan's book. The starting point is 'Five Point Someone', but after that the script has changed entirely," he said. In his blog yesterday, Bhagat had written that he had been silently grappling with the issue for the past two years.
"I knew they had played with me, and that 'based on a novel by' credit, which they were legally bound to give would be hushed away at the end -- with the clear intention of making sure people miss it," he said.
The novelist has alleged that, contrary to what the makers have said, much of the film is from his book. "The setting, characters, plot, dramatic twists and turns, one-liners, theme, message -- almost all aspects that make the story are from FPS. Yes, there are some changes, any adaptation requires that -- but it is no way an original story," he claimed.
Produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, '3 Idiots' has created a box-office history by collecting Rs 175 crore just days after its release on the Christmas day, making it one of the biggest opening for a Hindi film this decade.
Artist are always very posessive about their work and that is the reason they are hurt when not given due credit as in this case. Chetan Bhagats name should have appeared at the place where story writers names are in the closing titles and not in between somewhere. And that I think is what he is asking for and not the contractual money.
Chetan Bhagat does not need any publicity as "Five Point Someone -FPS" is already a hit in its own right and it has changed the world of English literature as a wave of new comers have taken to writing English novels. Pre-release, 3-IDIOTS was deliberately marketed as a book based on FPS., Could the three ( aamir, raju, vinod), who have never seen the inside of a quality education institute be able to create those characters and situations. It just goes to prove who are the 3-Idiots.
For God's Sake - Mr Bhagat has got the money well b4 the movie was released !!!! . Do the makers of light bulbs - Philips ever acknowledge Edison? It is implied right??? Every one knows that its Mr Bhagat's brainchild, even the promos the 3I team, has made it clear that the plot is based on FPS (thts why Bhagat got the money) - I think Mar Bhagat is insecure
Ye sab publicity ka maamla hai logon...u myt hav heard d saying no publicity is bad publicity...Now those who watched d movie will buy d book n dos who havn't still seen d movie but read d book will watch d movie..so both parties gain from dis...
Aamir khan, vidhu chopra, hirani stooping so low is unbelievable. if this is a viral marketing this is ridiculous. I dont think chetan bhagat is doing this intentionally. this looks like usual bollywood at work.
bollywood industry is mostly self congratulatoy, and is not kind to new entrants. its a tight knit industry with warts and all - but they are largely together despite their inadequacies. kind of very hypocrites who deny where due is - denying a simple credit line to bhagat, without who's novel there wouldn't be the 3 idiots movie in the first place!
aamir,may be you consider only somepart of your movie to be from fps,and the rest by abhijat but let me tell you that the changes made by him were not as good as the scenes from fps...they were very dramatic specially the last part. so you believe it or not chetan bhagat deserves for the plot.he is prior to abhijat.
Dr. Rakesh K Sharma, Shimla5:34 am
It is an issue that has to be sorted out by the writers only. How can Amir comment on the issue. He is not competent beyond his acting as one of the characters. He himself admits that he has not read the book. Then what non-sense he is uttering before media. Is he a spokesman of a political party, who can comment on any issue. Amir is a good actor and director. He is my favorite. But I am hurt by his immature act this time.
One more point, why to compare novel with scrip when both have to be technically different. Whatever alterations you make in script, it is termed as the movie based on a Novel. Perfect example is that of Guide film.
Controversies r part of Bollywood.. if aint there who will watch? Mr. Perfectionist is this controversy a new marketing strategy? is this really a move to overshadow an author's charisma in leu of money. Five point someone is already a bestseller & the 3 idiots is truly based on FPS, movie has been altered to add masala but soul is ths same, so chetan too deserves all the credit. its not your fans who r watching the movie but too chetan's fans who r watching for FPS to connect with ryan, hari & alok..
Mr. Khan is relly unprofessional of you to talk stupid things, really speaking Cheatn's name or Five Point Someone should be at start in bold not at end in small letters.
Big fan of Aamir, but does that man know what he is talking about? Everyone knows it is Chetan's brainchild. I mean, how much more obvious does it have to be. The filmmakers, on their part, are acting like juveniles. Hope this new year injects some senses into their brains. Giving credit to the author is mandatory and if the do not understand this, then they have no right to adapt a novel and then call it their own. Shame on the VVC team!
Mr. Aamir Khan !! If you have read the book at all ... U'd Surely know that what Mr. Chetan Bhagath is saying is true !! Do not deprive him of the due credits that he deserves!
This is Outright ridiculous... Least expected from so called Mr. Perfectionist Aamir.
It's a joke if he claims that the movie Scriptwriter worked on it for years and that chetan is running for publicity. Spare a thought for knowing what's inside the book first Mr. Perfection that dates back almost 6 years.
Sorry Aamir. You've got it wrong this time. I've seen the movie (last Friday) and I was genuinely surprised that most of the critics (publicly, at least) have said that the movie is only loosely based on the novel. I have read the book and I am convinced that the movie script has been well & truly inspired by FPS. Hence, Chetan Bhagat and his novel's title should have appeared at the beginning of the movie ("adapted from.."). Maybe, he should have acted more commercially and even demanded a royalty. Aamir should read the book first before uttering such strong words of criticism against Chetan Bhagat. His book was released in 2004 and was a bestseller much before the movie.
mr khan, go read the book and u will very well find out the similarities....
not only the idea but also, the script has been influenced by the book. if it had to be different then why there were three frnds and one of them as in the book as well, one's family was too poor and he jumps off the roof, why the papers were stolen and they were caught, why rancho has affair with prof's daughter. it is all same. there are so many similarities boss.
how can u say, it is completely different frm the book.. it is not.
well would it do a lot of harm if d credits wer shared btwn d script writer n d author???
afterall it was his idea..!!
i would expect mr perfectionist to be more sensible..
Why is Chetan Bhagat making himself look stupid. Everybody knows that this movie is inpsired from his novel, whether or not his name appears in the movie credits in bold font or small font. By seeking more credit, he is infact going to get only lesser credit. By staying silent I think he would get more recognition and his book sales will shoot up anyways because of the movie. He should learn from Vikas Swarup, on whose book slumdog millionaire was based. Vikas acted much more professionally and his book became a best seller.
Posted by: me
January 02 , 2010, 00:16 IST
honestly, i hadn't even heard of vikas swarup - though i've watched the movie 4 - 5 times. sounds like bad publicity, doesn't it? considering i know of 5.someone pretty well. i don't think chetan is doing anything wrong here. the movie was definitely based on his book, of course with a few twists, but chetan does deserve credits here. i'm sure he was compensated monetarily for it in all probability, but that's not my business.
Posted by: Nikhil
January 01 , 2010, 21:18 IST
Well...some credit should be given to me and my friends as we showed Raju Hirani rooms and wings of IIT...I personally tool them to show them my room in IIT :D
Posted by: ath
January 01 , 2010, 19:38 IST
I don't think you will ever understand the pain of having written a novel and watching it 'publicly stolen' into a movie, with the makers claiming 'you have no role in any part whatsoever on your book'. If you were a writer yourselves, you wouldn't have posted what you just wrote.
And to Mr Aamir, you are my favorite actor of all time, but here, I see that you are playing along with the movie-maker's backing. You haven't read the book, so you don't have the right to comment about it either. Its sad and shocking you are backing the 'saga'.
Content Guide
An upset Aamir Khan has spoken out against author Chetan Bhagat, on whose novel the star's latest blockbuster '3 Idiots' is based, accusing him of trying to take away the credit from the film's scriptwriter. 
