Chetan Bhagat Vs 3 idiots team: The controversy
By Natraj Muthukrishnan on 7 January, 2010, 10:04 am
The controversy involving the makers of 3 idiots and the author of the book five point someone Chetan Bhagat has been going round for quite a while. Before we take a stand on the issue, it is better to have a look at what has transpired. So, here goes the story.
3 idiots is one of the biggest hits of the year and is touted to become one of the biggest hits of all time. It is apparently loosely based Chetan Bhagat’s five point someone. According to the director and makers of the movie, only 5% of the movie is based on the novel and the rest has been penned by the writers of the movie. However, those who have seen the movie including me feel a lot has been taken from the novel and it is definitely higher than 5%.
If one looks at the business side of the whole episode, the makers of the movie claim to have bought the copyrights of the novel before making the movie. But what Chetan Bhagat’s complaint is not about the percentage of inspiring from the book. He is claiming that he hasn’t been given proper credits for the story of the movie. The makers however claim that as per the agreement he was given the payment and also the bonus promised if the movie turns out to be hit.
As per the copyright laws, one can use the product he or she has brought the copyrights for, but there is no clause about giving credit to the author. It is purely based on one’s ethics about giving credit for the original work. Hence, we feel the makers of the movie should have given more credit to CB for the story department. Having said this, CB took more than 3 or 4 days after the premiere show to vent out his anger and that too he claims was started only when he started getting fan mails to his inbox.
We feel it is irresponsible on the part of CB to not have raised this before , during the filming of the movie and discussing about sharing credits during the agreement phase itself. Also, if we look at the fact that CB is a MBA from the country’s top engineering college, it is disheartening that he himself has not taken the copyright laws seriously and not ensure proper justice for himself. This tends to show the way Indian look at the copyright laws. Overall, we feel 3 idiots team have done injustice to CB, but CB himself could have avoided that. It is high time , the media and the film industry become more professional and take copyright laws and its agreements seriously like Hollywood does. What do you feel? Let us know.
By the way this is what we feel about the movie. Movie Review.
good points, I agree with upstairs
To add on to the above, this looks like a very smart marketing gimmick. The sales of the book FPS has gone up. And the movie is one of the biggest hit. Those who have read the book, now want to watch the movie, and those who have seen the movie, now are rushing to grab the book. Actually it is two shots in the same arrow for CB. With the controversy going around, his popularity,strength and support in the film industry and media has grown and the next being the increase in sales of the book.
True and very well written. A day back I too was Chetan Bhagat’s fan and was fighting with everyone who did not supported him. And then I have observed few things viz-
1. During the pre -release./post release of the film, bhagat was all gung ho about the movie, actors, preview everything that he was tweeting mindlessly n meaninglessly in praise with all pictures etc. In his interview he suggested that he was suffering from last 2 years in silence but did not say.
2. He signed the agreement, took all money etc but never bothered about the credit placement then, why suddenly such a furore? If you think fan mail did it, let me tell you half of his fans are he, himself. To understand better, check his website and comments section.
3. The fan mail was used as a tool to extort money/ fame. Sure bhagat is famous but not as famous as Aamir khan, Vidhu Vinod chopra etc in moviedom. His sole intention of getting credit n mention of awards was that need for further fame n foothold in hindi film industry. Otherwise he would ve made noise earlier or would not have made unnecessary noise on twitter or even on the tv n press like he is doing now. He needs to decide what actually his stand is. And yes writing those fan comments on his own blog is not a right way to show public opinion. Street smart and cheap in reality.
Thanks,