I got the book through Flipkart at 12 50pm and I started reading it at 1pm and by 6pm I had finished the 260 page novel.
Chetan Bhagat is criticized a lot because he writes in simple english and is not " intellectual" enough for Indian
readers.
I disagree.
What I feel is that he totally gets the Indian mentality,
especially the lower middle class who struggle for a daily livelihood. He caters to that particular segment, which incidentally is more than 70% of India's population.
His books have a particular formula, where he tries to make use of themes which depict Indians as they are. That is why they appear so cliched to all of us. Moreover it is the new "cool" to criticize CB without even reading any of his books.
Anyways, the plot of "Half-Girlfriend" is much more than what it's first impression tries to convey. Almost all of us thought it would be more on the lines of "Friends
with Benefits". We cannot be more wrong.
It is a story about a rural Bihari crude young man who cannot speak proper English but who conquers the world after his true love is shattered. It also shows governmental inefficiency, corrupt politicians, apathy in
rural primary education, declining girl school enrollment, absence of toilets in rural schools etc.
It also delves into marital violence, mother-in-law's harassment, philanthropy by American citizens, class divides, caste divides, lung cancer, death, depression and pain.
But, it also portrays a desire to succeed, an internal fire to achieve something for the society and a hope to win back love.
The book, even though with an oft-repeated story , would connect Indian youth's emotions with a desire to work for the country. Also, it is packed with a bunch of power packed emotional quotes.
But, ofcourse, people will make fun of it, because they think they are too cool for "simple english", "Indian novels" and they would obviously prefer to read Ayn
Rand all day long and would never try a simple heart- warming emotional story ever.
As I said, hating CB because he writes in simple english is the new cool.
Well, keep hating him. But, sometimes a bit of simplicity is refreshing in a world full of complications.
SPOILERS
A rural Bihari teenager, Madhav Jha, gets through sports quota and joins the prestigious Stephens college in Delhi. Riya, a rich Delhi girl also gets through sports quota. Both of them play basketball, and they soon
befriend each other. She has a nice heart and she connects with Madhav soon enough. But, she is too reserved yet loves Madhav deeply. Once, when they are alone in his room, he makes a physical move on her
which she rejects. He gives out a crude comment and she gets disgusted. She breaks up with him and a year later gets married to someone else.
Madhav, with his love shattered, goes back to his village and helps his Mom in running her school properly. They fight for funds, infrastructure etc from the local MLA but to of no use. Then they learn that Bill Gates is coming to Bihar to fund some schools, and if
Madhav gave a good enough speech(a pitch) then his school could be saved. But, Madhav still cannot speak good English.
And this time, in Patna, he meets Riya again. She has been divorced for a while because of domestic violence and harassment. They become good friends and Riya teaches him proper English to give a good speech. And
then she disappears. Madhav gets a letter from her where she confesses that she has lung cancer and she was about to die. And, that is why she ran away.
We are later told that she lied and she ran away from Madhav on purpose. And the reason for that lie forms the crux of the story. I dont want to give more details as
it would ruin everything for the reader and the movie-
goer. :P
SPOILER END
All in all, It will make a good bollywood movie story,
and the book rating would be - 4/5
::::: PK :::::
