(born 22 April 1974) is an Indian author, columnist, and speaker. Bhagat is the author of bestselling novels, Five Point Someone (2004), One Night @ the Call Center (2005), The 3 Mistakes of My Life (2008), 2 States (2009), Revolution 2020 (2011), and What Young India Wants (2012). All the books have remained bestsellers since their release and three have inspired Bollywood films (including the hit films 3 Idiots and Kai Po Che!). In 2008, The New York Times called Bhagat "the biggest selling English language novelist in India's history". Bhagat, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, is seen more as a youth icon than as an author. Time magazine named him as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Bhagat writes op-ed columns for popular English and Hindi newspapers, including The Times of India and Dainik Bhaskar, focusing on youth, career and issues based on national development. Bhagat voices his opinion frequently at leading events. He quit his investment banking career in 2009, to focus on writing.
Five Point Someone - What not to do at IIT! (2004)
- Ryan and I took everything; though everything tasted the same, we could at least have some variety of colors on our plate.
- P. 21
- People like him think that they are god's gift to the world. What's worse, they are.
- P. 25
- Alok tried to ask the professor for a re-quiz, who stared back as if he had been asked for both his kidneys.
- P. 34
- I know, these Hindi movies are crap, but they do kind of take your mind away from the crap of real life like nothing else.
- P. 37
- Figuring out women is harder than topping a ManPro Quiz.
- P. 45
- Theaters are the opposite of class lectures, the front row is where the action is.
- P. 87
- Girls are beautiful, let's face it, and life is quite, quite worthless without them.
- P. 106
- But her parents were certified weirdos and probably deserved such tactics.
- P. 106aid nothing, hoping silence would evaporate us.
- P. 193
- Kind? This is DisCo, not Mother Teresa's home.
- P. 200
- All of us needed time to rest. And we had time - four months of it - to take all the rest in the world.
- P. 215
- In the first three months, half of my salary went for a pigeonhole in the Siberian end of town.
- P. 270
One Night @ the Call Center (2005)
- to analyse my dream and its significance in my insignificant life, but I had to get dressed for work.
- P. 13
- Esha's modelling is also beyond me as no one is ever going to pay me for my looks.
- P. 27
- I suspect he was never young, was just born straight forty years old.
- P. 31
- Sometimes counting seconds is a great way to kill time through a woman's tantrums.
- P. 37
- One thing guys know is when to shut up.
- P. 68
- Girls are strategic. They will talk about love and romance and all that crap but when it comes to doing the deal they will choose the fattest chicken.
- P. 72
- Crap happens in life. It could happen tonight.
- P. 74
- Girls handbags have enough to make a survival kit for Antarctica.
- P. 82
- I may not be a great surgeon, but the one little heart I have, I have given to you.
- P. 92
- We were talking a lot, but we weren't communicating at all.
- P. 145
- Only women think there is a reason to thank people if they listen to them.
- P. 158
- That was reality and as is often the case, reality sucks.
- P. 168
- Think about this, the people gave birth to me cannot stop hating each other enough. What does that tell you about me? Half of my genes must be fighting with other half, no wonder I am so fucking messed up.
- P. 211
- Progress is building something lasting for future.
- P. 228
- It is time to face real world, even if it is harder and painful. I'd rather fly and crash, than just snuggle and sleep.
- P. 239
- Few people in the world get to hit their bosses but those who do will tell you it is better than sex.
- P. 248
- As I said sir, no one is perfect. Apart from Google of course.
- P. 264
- But that is what life is like, uncertain, screwed at times but still fun.
- P. 283
- This means that I can do whatever I really want. God is always with me. There is no thing as a loser after all.
Revolution 2020 (2011)
- Love makes us do stupid things.
- Successful people don’t have friends.
- Telling your parents you’ve failed at something is harder than the actual failure.
- Girls have no idea what effect their wavering has on boys.
- When you screw up someone’s life, the least you can do is leave the person alone.
- It is amazing how the brain will connect one thought to another until it gets to where it wants to be.
- Practical enough to leave the people who do the funny stuff alone.
- That’s what human relationships are about – selective sharing and hiding of information to the point of crazy confusion.