Chetan Prakash Bhagat (born 22 April 1974)^[1] is an Indian author, columnist, screenwriter, and YouTuber. He was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2010.^[2] Several of his novels have been adapted into films, including One Night @ the Call Center and Half Girlfriend.

Chetan was raised in a traditional Punjabi Hindu family. His father served as a lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army, and his mother worked as a scientist at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute and New Delhi. He attended the Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan,^[3] where he developed a passion for writing and contributed jokes to the school magazine.^[4]

In 1995, Bhagat graduated with a Bachelors in Technology degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.^[5] He then attended the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), graduating in 1997 with a Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis on marketing.^[6][7] In June 2018, IIMA awarded him the "Young Alumni Achiever's Award 2018" in the Art & Entertainment category.^[8]

Before transitioning to a full-time writing career, Chetan Bhagat worked as an investment banker in Hong Kong for approximately 11 years. He began his career at Peregrine Investments Holdings in Canada, but after six months, the company ceased its operations. Subsequently, he joined Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, where he worked for several years. Later, he moved to Deutsche Bank in Mumbai, where he served as a director.^[9]

During his tenure at Goldman Sachs, Bhagat wrote his first novel, "Five Point Someone," which was published in 2004. He continued his banking career until 2009, when he transitioned to full-time writing. ^[10]

In 2005, he published his second novel, One Night @ the Call Center.^[11] In March 2008, Bhagat moved back to India as a director at Deutsche Bank in Mumbai.^[12] The same year, his third novel, The 3 Mistakes of My Life, was published. In 2009, Bhagat quit his banking career to become a full-time author.^[13]

While working at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong during the early 2000s, he began writing his debut novel, Five Point Someone. In an interview, he revealed that he drafted approximately 15 versions of the manuscript before submitting it to various publishers.^[14] The manuscript was eventually accepted by Rupa Publications in Delhi and published in 2004.

Bhagat then started working on his second book, One Night @ the Call Center, which was published in 2005.^[15] In the first three days of its release, almost 50,000 copies were sold.^[16]

Bhagat would start his full-time career as a novelist with his third novel, The 3 Mistakes of My Life, published in 2008.^[17]

Bhagat's fourth novel, 2 States, was published in 2009 and drew inspiration from his marriage and wife.^[18]

Bhagat's later novels Revolution 2020, Half Girlfriend, and One Indian Girl also gained commercial success.^[19]

Bhagat's is still active as an author, producing The Girl in Room 105 in 2018, One Arranged Murder in 2020, and 400 Days, in 2021.

Bhagat was a judge, alongside Marzi Pestonji and Preity Zinta, on the dance reality show Nach Baliye season 7, which aired on the Indian television channel Star Plus.^[20]

Bhagat was also seen in Netflix's series Decoupled, which stars R. Madhavan in the lead role. In the show, Madhavan plays the second best selling author in India, while Bhagat portrays himself as India's best selling author and Madhavan's rival.^[21]

For Kai Po Che (2013), based on his novel The 3 Mistakes of My Life, Bhagat was one of the four screenplay writers.^[22] The film was a commercial success^[23] and Bhagat, along with Pubali Chaudhuri, Supratik Sen and Abhishek Kapoor, won the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay for Kai Po Che! at the 68th Filmfare Awards.^[24]

Bhagat is also a YouTuber. His YouTube content consists of mainly motivational tips.^[25]

He launched a podcast show Deep talk with Chetan Bhagat where he invites accomplished guests for a conversation about how they gained success in life.^[26]

Five of Bhagat's novels have been adapted into films:^[27]

• Hello (2008) – Based on the book "One Night at the Call Center"
• 3 Idiots (2009) and Nanban (2012) – Based on the book "Five Point Someone"
• Kai Po Che! (2013) – Based on the book "The 3 mistakes of my life"
• 2 States (2014) – Based on the book "2 States"
• Half Girlfriend (2017) – Based on the book "Half Girlfriend"

• Five Point Someone (2004)
• One Night @ the Call Center (2006)
• The 3 Mistakes of My Life (2008)
• 2 States (2009)
• Revolution 2020 (2011)
• Half Girlfriend (2014)
• One Indian Girl (2016)

1. The Girl in Room 105 (2018)
2. One Arranged Murder (2020)
3. 400 Days (2021)

• What Young India Wants (2012)
• Making India Awesome (2015)
• India Positive (2019)^[28]
• 11 Rules For Life: Secrets to Level Up (2024)

• Chetan Bhagat was recognized by IIM Ahmedabad as "The best outgoing student" in 1997.^[4]
• Chetan won the Society Young Achiever's Award in 2000.^[4]
• He won the Publisher's Recognition Award in 2005.^[4]
• Featured on Time magazine's list of World's 100 Most Influential People of 2010 in the Artists category.^[29]
• Listed '47' among the "100 Most Creative People 2011" by the Fast Company American business magazine and business media brand.^[30]
• Won the "CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2014" award in the Entertainment category.^[31][32]
• Ranked No. 82 on the 2017 Forbes India Celebrity 100 list.^[33]
• Won the IBN Live Movie Awards in 2014 for Best Screenplay for Kai Po Che.^[4]
• Won the Zee Cine Awards in 2014 for Best Story for Kai Po Che.^[4]
• Honoured with Golden Book Awards 2022 for the Book - 400 Days.^[34]

Bhagat married Anusha Suryanarayan in 1998. He met her during their college days at IIM. One of his novels, "2 States" was inspired by his real-life love story. They have twin sons named Shyam Bhagat and Ishaan Bhagat.^[4]

In the wake of the MeToo movement in India, an anonymous woman accused Bhagat of inappropriate behavior. Screenshots of a WhatsApp conversation suggested that he had pursued her despite her lack of interest. Bhagat later issued an apology on Facebook, acknowledging his actions.^[35]

• Official website
• Chetan Bhagat at Bollywood Hungama
• Chetan Bhagat at IMDb