“I started writing to escape the monotony…… of working in an international bank. It was not meant to launch me on an author's career”

His first novel, Five Point Someone, became a runaway hit in 2004. Since then, the IIT Delhi and IIM-A graduate’s subsequent books have also become bestsellers, even leading to blockbuster film adaptations like 3 Idiots and 2 States

- KAUSHIK DEKA

CHETAN BHAGAT, 46

When Chetan Bhagat scored 76 per cent in his 10th board examinations, for the first time in his life, he understood the importance of social recognition. He was labelled as an ‘average student’ by friends, relatives and acquaintances. “I was very uncomfortable with this judgement and felt I was being written off,” says Bhagat.