“My review about the novel “Half Girlfriend”

In spite reading of many half novels, it is a great experience to read one the famous and most popular writer of India, Chetan Bhagat'S ' Half Girlfriend '.  He is the best selling author and news columnist. in English language in India. Why Chetan Bhagat'S novels are so popular and best seller in top of the list. The accurate reason can be applied that  his novels are not as long as the others novelists publication. His novels are short having with simple language so that even a truck driver can be easily pour his interest while he was reading. The most interesting thing about his novel is that a person imagines his/herself while it was reading by them. Many Bollywood movie are filmed from his novel like wise 3 idiots is inspired from his novel 'Five Point Someone', 'Hello from 'One Night @the call centear, 2states-2states and now upcoming Bollywood movie 'Half Girlfriend' inspired from his 'Half Girlfriend'.

It is so called sentence by the people who already in love or still waiting for it  " Love is Blind". That's is somehow wrong interpreted. Without seeing physical beauty nobody dare to call its true love because everyone wants good in their lives. Human being is selfish animal rather than social animal except some people. They always waiting for their good. That's is human nature and reality as well. Now let me turn you at the story of half girlfriend.

 The story starts with Chetan Bhagat’s style of writing prologue and epilogue and story within the story.

 

The novel is dealing with the contemporary issues of India like corruption, politics in the field of education and he quietly differentiates the conflict between high cultured society ( Delhi) and Low cultured society ( Damraon, Bihar). The entire novel is a love story of Madhav Jha and Riya Somani. Madhav Jha is a typical character of a royal king family who is very weak in speaking English as the many of Indians have. Riya Somani is a beautiful girl having a high cultured and one the richest Marwari family in Delhi. The phenomenas around this novel holding one's interest and not to leave them easily. Good love story but I am quite anxious why Indian Have love stories only ? In 2 States we found a love story same thing is going to appear in this movie as well so, why don't we come out from Love story.  From his last two movies can we say that  Chetan Bhagat has awared himself believing that Indian youth only interested in love story ? Let me come over my point.

The novel enveloped by certain radical issue of family by showing our real life story and these two characters expressing the condition and problems of real life like the Girl speaks English better than the boy and reviling the picture of rich class people, their traditions, their culture, and their parties and their behavior with the poor villager’s peoples.

I cant put this novel aside while reading it but begging of the novel it seems boring because the love story starts with the same way as we see in many Bollywood movies. In such movies we can see the in first eyesight hero and heroines fall in love with each others. How strange? In first eyesight? Examples of such movies like ‘Sathiya’ in which Vivek Oboroy and Rani Mukhejee, in first eyesight they fall in love with each others and some others movie like ‘Muje kuch kehna hai’    ‘ kuch kuch hota hai’    Dil to pagal hai’ etc.

Madhav Jha has also such Bollywood start of love when he sees the world beautiful girl Riya Somani is playing basket ball. In the first eyesight he falls in love with her. How bullshit it!

People generally say that love is blind. But after seeing and hearing many things about love I deconstructed the definition that “love is blind”  It’s blind but when the lovers don’t in search of comparison   like rich and poor, culture, caste etc. and if they in search of such comparison then it’s not a true love. Generally we can see a boy always prefers to love with a girl who is most beautiful and lovely personality as the girl also does the same.

But I never ever see in my life that a girl falls in love with a footpath boy or a boy falls in love with a girl who is not beautiful and rich. It is human nature that everybody prefers for a good and everybody has desire to get something which is good from others. It’s not necessary that two lovers should have to meet in the end of their love story. There is no any kind of acceptation in love that my love only can be successful if he/ she get their partners. There must be sacrifice for your family, for your dears who love you and if you do the same then its great achievement not for yours but for your love also. So sacrifice should be there to remain your love live.  

Many times I see people who say bad words when they don’t get their love.  I want to tell that love is the thing which grows confidence, in love there should be an attachment, an open mind and understanding which make a person always ready for sacrifice and that is the most important thing. So not taking much about love I turn in the region of the novel.

So in this novel the “Half Girlfriend” Chetan Bhagat has extremely well pointed out the best example of love story by crating the character of Madhav Jha who did a lot to achieve his love and Riya Somani also have sacrificial  nature to make Madhav happy in his life.

“To sacrifice for someone that is the most important  thing in  love.”

Chetan Bhagat also gives the real picture of High class society vs. low class society when Madhav goes to Riya’s birthday and Riya introduces Madhav to her parents at that time Riya’s father asking to Madhav “what Madhav? (What is your surname?) Its indirect question to ask Madhav about his caste and in India people always come to know form their Surname its good technique to know about somebody’s caste.

Can we say India come out from the problems of caste system in now days?

We speak that India is great but in one sense it has the same problem as we had before we got independence and we still live in a mentality of caste, religion and rich- poor.  I memorize the novel “The White Tiger” by Aravin Adiga in which Balram says that only

“For this land, India has never been free. First the Muslims, then the British bossed us around. In 1947 the British left, but only a moron would think that we became free then”.

Chetan Bhagat also distinguished the difference between Rich vs. Poor when Madhav saying about Rohan (the richest businessman in London

“When rich guys say something, girls find it extraordinary funny”

Its reality of today world that when a great personality say something it becomes a quotation but when common man    say something at that people utter that he/she is fool always talk about nonsense.

 Madhav inner thinking makes him aware about the rich people’s style of celebrating parties, their food, wine, music, dancing with women and he thinks that in Damroan man and women can’t dance like this. 

Every love story has different twist and the same   things also goes around between Madhav and Riya as Madhav proposed to Riya and her refusal, her invitation to Madhav to come her marriage with Rohan and Madhav thinks that her invitation card should throw in the dustbin. The things go around as the simple love story of everyone. Madhav also remarks about poverty that the poor need education otherwise they called as the ‘Loser’. They don’t have  future but those who live in Aurangzeb road (Riya) in Delhi can do whatever in life as they are rich. He also pointed out the state of mind of rich regarding poor that whenever they don’t understand the villagers they call them uneducated and old fashioned.

Act 2 Dumraon, Bihar.

After his breakup with Riya, Madhav comes at his hometown where he can’t forget his love as his memories that are connected with Basketball as he usually played with Riya. So in every moment he remembers Riya as he knows that she is married now.

Madhav social efforts come out when he does something for his village school. Here, also chetan Bhagat criticizing on politics and corruption of India like the politician and corrupted man, MLA, Mr. Ojha who chewed the grant of his village and school.   There is no any toilet in the school. Madhav has to give a speech because of MLA Ojha promised him to white wash the school otherwise the government hasn’t any grant for it  and it gives a actual picture that politician only do the works when there is a profit of them.

But Madhav has shocking experience when he meets the Sarpanch of his village requesting for to join their children for school at that time the sarpanch answering to Madhav “Schools are for reach peoples” and because of this state of mind of people now a days in India we can see Bihar is at the last position in India in Education field.

Similarities in chetan Bhagat’s novel:

Many things in Chetan Bhagat’s  novels can be seen as the same as his previous novel like in the “One night @t the call center he mentioned    the name of Microsoft owner Bill Gates and here in this novel also he is the chief guest in Dumraon’ school.

I smiled when I see in his novels that boy’s mother has always problems with girl.  In the “2 States” the hero, krish’s  (Arjun kapoor) mother has problems with heroine (Alia Bhatt) similar way  in this novel also Madhav’s mother has problem with Riya.

Madhav gives an incredible speech in English when Bill Gates comes as the chief guest and at that time he proves that English is easy to learn if we have self confidence. I remembered the speech of Barac Obama when he recently came in India and starts his speech with Indians tradition “ Namastey”  like the same way Bill Gates also starts his speech with “Namastey”.

I noticed one thing while reading Riya’s generals its shows that how rich peoples have only run behind money as they have no any feelings for their own child also. When Riya comes form London to her parents as she married with Rohan and his biting her many times. When Riya tells all the things to her mother she replies 

“Women have to learn adjust”

This show that women have to sacrifice under man made patriarchal society.  

Riya’s last letter for Madhav is very heart touching and fascinating one as I told earlier that sacrifice is the main important thing in love and Riya also does the same she leaves Madhav and goes at unknown place.

Chetan Bhagat comes out as the path shower to Madhav  saying that she is alive and must be somewhere in singing bar as she has a dream to be a singer in small a bar. So the Act 3 is in New York where Madhav tries his best to get his love and he also gets it in a dieseling way like many Bollywood movie  “Chalte Chlate”  of  Shahrukh Khan, “ Jane tu ya jane naa” of Imaran khan. In one sense   it is filmy end of the story of Half Girlfriend. I memoriesd one diloge from the movie “Om Shanti Om” by Farah khan that

“ Agar kisi cheez ko Dil se chaho to puri kainath usse tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai”

So I conclude my book review of the Novel of Half Grilfrind by Chetan Bhagat  with some points that beginning and the ending of this novel  has the similar like many  Bollywood movies but its curtain out the real picture of India’s like poverty, rich people way of thinking in the direction of poor, politics, corruption, education as the last position of Bihar in education fields,  woman sacrifices and  so many issues that are interrelated with contemporary problems of India and youngster   about  love as everyone has desire to get it successful but I would like to wind up my review with last line of the novel

“Don’t quit. It will be happens one day”

                              


                                                                   Thank you …

Work sited: 

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