Radhika is the central character in One Indian Girl, the novel by Chetan Bhagat. And, to be frank, Chetan Bhagat has never let her reel free throughout the entire novel. He has always kept his central character in a confinement – confinement of his illogical subversion of a woman’s wishes. Everything has taken the backseat in this novel and only physical explorations of Radhika have been shown having the limelight. Is it justified? The novelist boasts that his novel has been written from a feministic perspective and he has given the voice of a female character, therefore. Nevertheless, the readers of the novel, mostly youths, have been reading it for some other reasons and obvious ones…
“I guess it was too late. He pulled down my panties. He removed his trousers and underwear. I had not seen a naked man so up-close. I wanted to get a good look, more as an anatomy lesson.”
Like any James Bond movie isn’t complete without Bond getting in bed with his ‘assets’, Chetan Bhagat’s novels are never done without details of love-making – in cheap words or rather humanly words. However, this isn’t something that only Chetan Bhagat does. Many other authors do it. At the same time, Chetan Bhagat is a popular author and his writings are read by many and he should be responsible while writing. However, this isn’t the case – ever!
One Indian Girl is a novel that could well be many things more than what it has been in the hands of Chetan Bhagat. Just to maintain the synchronisation with the teenagers and youths who read Chetan’s book for sexual content, Mr Bhagat has decided to put the sensible narrative underground and on the foreground, he is just bothered about what the size of someone’s breast is and the same for a male’s penis. How did it become feminism, Mr Bhagat?
The story has nothing to do with a real Indian girl and her problems in any distant thought. This is purely a commercial novel that deceives the sense of the readers and makes them confused. I was entertained in pieces and disappointed at large! You should rather skip this novel if you are a serious reader. If you have read Chetan Bhagat before, I don’t need to say anything. If you want to read him for once, you are welcome. Because, after that, you won’t need my advice!
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Review by Gaurav Sharma for Egoistic Readers