Five Point Someone – What not to do at IIT! is a 2004 novel written by Chetan Bhagat, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. This was his debut novel. It is one of the highest selling English novels published in India[citation needed], and remained on the bestseller list until now since its release in 2004, tied along with other novels by Chetan Bhagat[citation needed]. This novel was entirely typed by Bhagat on Microsoft Word in the font Garamond, as he states in the novel.
The book is narrated in the first person by Hari, with some small passages by his friends Ryan and Alok, as well as a letter by Hari's girlfriend Neha Cherian. It deals with the lives of the three friends, whose elation on making it to one of the best engineering colleges in India is quickly deflated by the rigor and monotony of academic work. Most of the book deals with the numerous attempts by the trio to cope with and/or beat the system as well as Hari's fling with Neha who just happens to be the daughter of Prof. Cherian, the domineering head of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Their most important attempt was "C2D" (Cooperate to Dominate).
While the tone of the novel is humorous, it takes some dark turns every now and then, especially when it comes to the families of the protagonists. Most of the action, however, takes place inside the campus as the boys, led by the ever creative Ryan, frequently lamenting how the internationally lauded IIT system has stifled their creativity by forcing them to value grades more than anything else. Uninspiring teaching and numerous assignments add to their woes, though the boys do find a sympathizer in Prof. Veera, the new fluid mechanics professor.
A few people responded to Chetan's statements. According to the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), during a press conference with reporters producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra "clarified that in the agreement between the producer and Bhagat, it was clearly mentioned that the author’s name would be put in the closing credits." IANS also reported that Chopra "lost his cool" and "asked a reporter to shut up after being questioned whether his hit 3 Idiots was lifted from author Chetan Bhagat’s book Five Point Someone."[8] Chopra later apologized, stating: "I really think I’m silly. I was provoked, but I shouldn’t have done this. I saw myself on TV and saw how I was shouting ‘shut up, shut up’ like an animal. I told myself — ‘what nonsensical behavior’."[9] Aamir Khan also responded to these claims.[5][10]Rajkumar Hirani stated that "We have officially bought the rights for the film. We drew a contract with him and it clearly mentions about the position of his credit. With open eyes he had seen the contract, consulted his lawyer and signed the agreement [...] In the contract, we have said that the title would be given in the rolling credits. We haven't changed the font size. We haven't increased the speed of the title. It's exactly there where it was agreed to be." [11] Legal documents concerning the relationship between Bhagat and the filmmakers have been added to the Vinod Chopra Productions website as well.
to read the whole book download from www.mediafire.com/?1w4znet2z2n
| Five Point Someone - What not to do at IIT | |
|---|---|
 The cover of Five Point Someone - What not to do at IIT by Chetan Bhagat. | |
| Author(s) | Chetan Bhagat |
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
| Series | nil |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Publisher | Rupa & Co. |
| Publication date | 2004 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 270 |
| ISBN | 8129104598 |
| OCLC Number | 56904175 |
| LC Classification | MLCM 2004/00384 (P) PR9499.3.B |
Synopsis
The novel is set in the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in the period 1991 to 1995. It is about the adventures of three mechanical engineering students (and friends), Hari Kumar (the narrator), Ryan Oberoi, and Alok Gupta, who fail to cope with the grading system of the IITs. Ryan is a bit smart and outspoken, whereas Alok and Hari are mildly cry babies. The three hostelmates - Alok, Hari and Ryan get off to a bad start in IIT - they screw up the first class quiz. And while they try to make amends, things only get worse. It takes them a while to realize: If you try and screw with the IIT system, it comes back to double screw you. Before they know it, they are at the lowest echelons of IIT society. They have a five-point-something GPA out of ten, ranking near the bottom of their classes.The book is narrated in the first person by Hari, with some small passages by his friends Ryan and Alok, as well as a letter by Hari's girlfriend Neha Cherian. It deals with the lives of the three friends, whose elation on making it to one of the best engineering colleges in India is quickly deflated by the rigor and monotony of academic work. Most of the book deals with the numerous attempts by the trio to cope with and/or beat the system as well as Hari's fling with Neha who just happens to be the daughter of Prof. Cherian, the domineering head of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Their most important attempt was "C2D" (Cooperate to Dominate).
While the tone of the novel is humorous, it takes some dark turns every now and then, especially when it comes to the families of the protagonists. Most of the action, however, takes place inside the campus as the boys, led by the ever creative Ryan, frequently lamenting how the internationally lauded IIT system has stifled their creativity by forcing them to value grades more than anything else. Uninspiring teaching and numerous assignments add to their woes, though the boys do find a sympathizer in Prof. Veera, the new fluid mechanics professor.
[edit] Translation
This book has been translated into Hindi and is published by Prabhat Prakash.[1] It set a record by being purchased by 30,000 people in one month, and has gone on to become a top seller in Hindi.[2][edit] Reception
Despite its commercial success , the book was universally panned by contemporary book critics in India , with some calling it ' fast food literature' . Many discarded it as 'bollywood on paper' referring to its over the top nature.[edit] Film adaptation
This book was made into two films, 3 Idiots in Hindi and Nanban in Tamil. The names of the characters and attributes of the characters were changed.- Hari Kumar = Farhan Qureshi (played by R. Madhavan) - The narrator of the story, a young college going student who loves photography and is being forced by his parents to become an engineer. Hari's background (as acknowledged in one chapter of the book) was not elaborated upon. However, Hari seemed to be auto-biographical and the "Krish" character in Chetan Bhagat's "2 States" (who apparently continues on from the Hari character) would provide greater details about Hari's background.
- Ryan Oberoi = Ranchoddas Shamaldas Chanchad (Rancho)/Phunsukh Wangdu (played by Aamir Khan), - A young, energetic and supposedly wealthy (in reality, a poor) college going student who believes engineering is his passion. Though Rancho wants to be an engineer, he leans more towards inventing rather than seeking for a job in an MNC unlike his other college-mates. According to him, one's profession should be something he or she loves doing, irrespective of how much it pays. He also keeps stating throughout the film that one should run after excellence, not after success. There are many significant differences between the Ryan and Ranchod characters, both in their background and attitudes.
- Alok Gupta = Raju Rastogi (played by Sharman Joshi) - A young and insecure college going student who isn't confident enough to deal with problems in life all by himself and always relies on God. Raju's only mission in life is to pull his family out of poverty and improve their economic status. This character is very similar to the one in the book.
- Prof Cherian = Viru Sahastrabuddhe (played by Boman Irani) - A hugely competitive, efficient, strict and disciplined man who has been running the Imperial College of Engineering for the last three decades. He believes that life is a race, the ones who are not efficient about work and time get crushed. Viru has a greater role at the college when compared to Prof Cherian.
- Neha Cherian = Pia Sahastrabuddhe (played by Kareena Kapoor) - A young, beautiful, eccentric doctor, daughter of Viru Sahastrabuddhe and Rancho's love interest. This is a departure from the book, because in the book, she was Hari's girlfriend. Also, while Pia and Ranchod finally end up together, Neha and Hari get away from each other due to hari's job.
- Venkat = Chatur Ramalingam (played by Omi Vaidya) - A competitive, studious south Indian college student who believes cramming is the only way to excellence and also believes that there is no time for creativity and innovation in the turbulent and competitive race of life. Venkat has a small role in the book, while Chatur is one of the major characters in the movie.
[edit] Awards
- Indo-American Society|Society Young Achiever's Award (2004)
- The Publisher's Recognition Award (2005)
- It was adapted into a play by the theatre company "evam" which took it on a national tour in India in 2010.
[edit] Controversy
Prior to the release of the film 3 Idiots, director Rajkumar Hirani commented on the relationship between Five Point Someone – What not to do at IIT|Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat and 3 Idiots stating:- Chetan gave me this book to read and I wanted to make a film on it. But I knew right from the start that I could not make a film completely on the book, as it was very anecdotal and a film needs a plot. So I had decided to rewrite it in a screenplay format. You'll see that the film is very different from the book. After I wrote the script, I called Chetan and narrated it to him. I told him that if he did not like the script, I would stop the project. But he was okay with it.[3]
- Initially I did sit down with Raju and Abhijat while they were deciding to make a film based on '5 Point Someone'. I even went to IIT with Abhijat a couple of times. But it was just not possible for me to be involved at every stage of the screenplay writing process since I was in Hong Kong at that time, working full time and busy writing other books. Moreover, Abhijat is based in USA, Raju was in the US for quite a while working on the screenplay but it was not practical for me to do that [...] The film retains the soul of the book. 3 Idiots is different from the book but at the same time it does borrow many things from the book. The core theme and message of the film is coming from the book itself. And that's why the makers have officially credited the film as 'Based on a novel by Chetan Bhagat.'[4]
A few people responded to Chetan's statements. According to the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), during a press conference with reporters producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra "clarified that in the agreement between the producer and Bhagat, it was clearly mentioned that the author’s name would be put in the closing credits." IANS also reported that Chopra "lost his cool" and "asked a reporter to shut up after being questioned whether his hit 3 Idiots was lifted from author Chetan Bhagat’s book Five Point Someone."[8] Chopra later apologized, stating: "I really think I’m silly. I was provoked, but I shouldn’t have done this. I saw myself on TV and saw how I was shouting ‘shut up, shut up’ like an animal. I told myself — ‘what nonsensical behavior’."[9] Aamir Khan also responded to these claims.[5][10]Rajkumar Hirani stated that "We have officially bought the rights for the film. We drew a contract with him and it clearly mentions about the position of his credit. With open eyes he had seen the contract, consulted his lawyer and signed the agreement [...] In the contract, we have said that the title would be given in the rolling credits. We haven't changed the font size. We haven't increased the speed of the title. It's exactly there where it was agreed to be." [11] Legal documents concerning the relationship between Bhagat and the filmmakers have been added to the Vinod Chopra Productions website as well.
to read the whole book download from www.mediafire.com/?1w4znet2z2n
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