and especially Vidhu Vinod Chopra were known for a very methodical and clinical style of film making. Hence when the rights to the novel '5 Point Someone' were bought, it felt good to see them keeping their consistency. Further when an Aamir Khan joined the duo the project seemed that much more 'perfect'! So what went wrong between the trio and Chetan Bhagat??After the fiasco between the makers and the author- Chetan Bhagat- regarding the cr
edit or rather dis-credit issue, i re-read the novel to form an opinion and discovered for all logical purposes that Chetan Bhagat should have been given the credit he was asking for!!!
edit or rather dis-credit issue, i re-read the novel to form an opinion and discovered for all logical purposes that Chetan Bhagat should have been given the credit he was asking for!!!Here's why....
1) Characters: Aamir(Rancho)=Ryan, Madhavan(Farhan)=Hari/the narrator and Sharman(Raju)=Alok...all character traits match perfectly so there is not much change here at all!
2)Book: Alok's family = Film: Raju's family- same setting/ paralysed father, cribbing mother, unmarried sister and extreme poverty!
3)Book: Alok sommits suicide= Film: Raju commits suicide- the situation has been changed...that is why it is an adaptation and not a translation!!
4)Book: Ryan's intro at a ragging session where he stands up for himself= Film: Rancho does the same!
5) Book: Alok's appearance = Film: Raju's look- same!
6) Book: First sequence after ragging scene is the 'defination of machine sequence'= Film: same sequence heavily 'inspired by the book'; again an adaptation but the premise is from the book!
7)Book: 3 friends ridding together on a scooter through Delhi roads= Film: yes, same!
8) Book: Farhan studies cross legged at desk and Raju at the study table = Film: yes same!!
9) Book: Ryan is known to give 'Anti Education System' gyaan = Film: Aamir's character- Rancho- is called Baba Ranchordas for precisely the same reason.
10) Book: The satirical manner of introducing Alok's paralysed father, crying mother and unwed sister is retained to the 'L' in the film- s(h)ame to s(h)ame!
11) The tank on which the guys meet for drinks and chilling in the film is what is an institute terrace on the 9th floor in the book!!!!
12) The dowry for Alok's sister wedding in the book is to have a maruti 800 and the same goes for Raju's sister in the film!!!
13) The book is narrated through the character of Hari which in the case of the film is Farhan! same character, same narrative tone!!
14)The heroines brother in the book commits suicide due to fathers high expectations which is revealed at the end of the book for until then it is mentioned as an accident- ditto in the film!!!
and lastly...(for i still have 50 pages of book to read!!!)
15) The title 3 idiots was supposed to be 'Idiots' which Raju Hirani did not get because it was taken by someone else! You cant help notice a scene in the book (pg 199) where the three characters are repeatedly called- IDIOTS!! for their acts...thus inspiration is possible and too coincidental to be otherwise.
15) The title 3 idiots was supposed to be 'Idiots' which Raju Hirani did not get because it was taken by someone else! You cant help notice a scene in the book (pg 199) where the three characters are repeatedly called- IDIOTS!! for their acts...thus inspiration is possible and too coincidental to be otherwise.
I fail to understand why the makers have so vehemently denied any similarity beyond '5%' between the film and the book. After all it was always an adaptation and not a copy so it was never meant to be a page by page translation. The screenplay has got a lot of variations and Abhijat Joshi and Raju Hirani have done a wonderful job but the primary premise which is the most toughest part of any writing process has definitely come from the book. Why else would the rights be bought and 'bonus' be paid????My space of fame!!-
I made a short film three years ago based on a O'Henry short story...by the time the film got made the changes were so much that less than '5%' of similarity remained but it had helped me set the premise and hence i credited it as-
Story- O'Henry;
Adapted to Film by- Amey Nadkarni!
It can be done thus!...and of course O'Henry had no idea about this endeavour of mine and neither would he have given a damn for he passed away in 1910!! Still you got to do what you got to do!!
Also as Chetan Bhagat said- My publishers pay me royalty every month but they don't put their names as writer on the book!
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