Chetan Bhagat\’s One Indian Girl – A Review & Analysis of Feminism | Currently Globally Book Review

Chetan Bhagat\’s new novel \”One Indian Girl\” is here and did he mend his ways and return back to being a sensible author again? 

Let us read below book review to know more. Mind you, there might be mild spoilers ahead but, however, if you think rationally no spoiler is actually a spoiler when it comes to Chetan bhagat and his novels. So, let\’s jump in and have a look at the novel.

Chetan always feels grand weddings are an integral part of Indian culture and he makes a grand destination wedding at Goa as the backdrop of this novel.

Also, this novel is supposed to be a tribute to the talk of the decade, \”Feminism\”. The word feminism has multiple perceptions based on the people the use or the people they saw. But, according to CB (Chetan Bhagat), 

\”Feminism is a movement that seeks to define, establish and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal and social rights for women. A feminist is someone who believes in this movement.\”

Too formal right? But, the book isn\’t. Except in few places like the above and few other philosophical quotes, the book is simple and apt for most Indian readers.

So, the plot is simple as you can decipher from the back-cover too. A highly successful, broad-minded and self-proclaimed feminist, Radhika Mehta, VP of Distressed Debts of Goldman Sachs, is getting married to another highly successful nerdy Facebook employee, Brijesh Gulati (Whatta name right? Do not worry CB mocks the name on our behalf at places.). 

It is a grand destination wedding as I mentioned earlier and the plot goes and forth the flashback and wedding. There are two flashbacks which in detail describe the earlier relationships of the bride-to-be. 

First with Debashish Sen, a Bengali, working in a creative advertising field on Madison Avenue. They like each other and the nerdy Radhika gets in a live-in relationship with Debu, as he is called and they separate due to high flying Radhika\’s salary and Debu\’s insecurity in handling a partner who is multiple times successful than him. When he gets a promotion, she throws a party and when she earns her 6 figure bonus, he gets insecure. Typical Man. 

Later on, Radhika has a relationship or an affair it may be called, with a twenty year older Neel Gupta, her boss\’s boss and she cuts off her ties with him after a bitter argument and after realizing the fact that Neel perceives Radhika to be a person who is incapable of being a mother and as just a career-minded banker. He feels it is his right to have an affair with her and also, feels a career-minded woman would never desire something every woman desires, Family and motherhood.

On the other hand, Brijesh, the groom-to-be is a simple person with a good heart and who feels rather naively that every human is equal and there shouldn\’t be any feminists but humanists who feel everyone born is equal. 

Among these three contenders, who tries to woo Radhika, who won Radhika\’s heart is the plot is all about. And Chetan Bhagat, the script writer who dominates the Chetan Bhagat, the writer recently, makes sure there is enough spice at the last 20-25 pages of the novel so that, the movie can be easily adapted into a Bollywood movie with Alia Bhatt as the lead actress without any changes. May be the changes made to Five Point Somone to transform into highly successful 3 Idiots upset CB that he makes sure his novels become scripts on own without others intervention.  

Apart from usual triangular love stories, the story has a fourth person making it a rectangular love story, if you may say so. (Technically, rectangular is not right I know. Hehe. )

Leaving the plot aside, and focusing on the feminism angle, this novel and the author should be first appreciated for doing something that most Indian novels do not do. Multiple lovers for a girl, who is a lead character. 

We have had lots of novels and even super-hit movies like Autograph (Tamil), Premam (Malayalam) which deals with the lead male characters multiple relationships starting from the childhood and eventually ending in his marriage. However, a girl with multiple relationships even when they are years apart are seen as a sin and also, such characters are often considered to be \”characterless\” and also, they are portrayed in a wrong light. To make people understand this better, even Malar teacher and Gopika\’s character in Autograph has to say show their love towards their ex-boyfriend at the end of the movie in spite being married to another guy, who may have been head over heels in love with her.

So, if the character has moved on from a relationship, if it is a guy, it would mean he moved on but, if it is a female, she would be considered a cheating bitch. But, One Indian girl stands apart from this and portrays things as they are without any judgments. Kudos to CB for that from Currently Globally.

So, despite such a good motive portraying a woman can be whoever she wants to be and doesn\’t need anyone approval\’s for it, why didn\’t the novel get good reviews and in fact was trashed too much by critics?

When Shankar decided to make Robo (Enthiran) and that too with the living legend \”Thalaivar\” Rajinikanth, Indian cinema went all high and there were huge expectations. Because popular crew & cast involved aside, it was expected to be the answer to Hollywood in the science-fiction movie genre. But, when the movie released, really thoughtful people felt cheated, because, it was one another triangular love story, where employee fights the boss for the girl made with a huge budget and a lot of gimmicks in the name of sci-fiction.

Similarly, when the India\’s most successful English novel writer of the time releases a book on feminism, the expectations was higher. But, all we got was a successful but, insecure girl falling in love with wrong choices and even having a Brazilian for a simple first date. 

May be I am wrong here, and this was CB\’s point all along. A flawed woman is a woman too. As is the flawed man. And we are flawed and in the flaws lies the beauty. If that\’s so, this book, despite its typical Bollywood ending and few dramatic scenes will be raved by readers of future generation after few years. 

Special Mentions to few really thought-provoking dialogues that make us feel relieved that the good-old Chetan Bhagat of Five Point someone and 2 States time, is still alive and kicking inside the Bollywood scriptwriter of today. Also, another special mention to the self-mockery of Indian people and their stereotypes. These things might be irritating to most of the humour-dead Indian crowd but, they are actually CB\’s signature and self-mockery is the path to actual realization.

\”I also want someone like this lady to take care of me. Why can\’t women get a wife?\”

Our Rating: 

Other novels by Chetan Bhagat below for your look.

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