“One Indian Girl” - A Crash Course in How Not to Write a Feminist Character

For as long as I’ve been reading, I’ve tried to avoid outright bashing a book unless it’s really, really awful. I respect the effort, imagination and time that authors invest into their work. 

But One Indian Girl by Chetan Bhagat? That’s a book I will bash unapologetically!

I bought this book almost a decade ago, during a time when Chetan Bhagat was a gateway author for many young Indian readers. I have no shame in admitting that I got hooked on reading thanks to Five Point Someone and 2 States. They were breezy, entertaining and easy to digest. But now, the 30-something me is genuinely terrified to revisit those books. I have a feeling I’d cringe at every other page.

As for One Indian Girl, it’s not just a poorly written book; it’s an actively harmful one. This isn’t a story told from a female protagonist’s point of view. This is a story about what a man thinks a feminist woman sounds like. And trust me, that’s far worse than it sounds.

If you’re ever sitting around on a cold day and need to start a fire, this might be the most useful thing it’s good for.

Where writers like Khaled Hosseini craft stories like A Thousand Splendid Suns (female pov), tales that feel like someone has ripped your heart out and wrung it dry; Chetan Bhagat delivers a flat, tone-deaf caricature of feminism that does real disservice to gender conversations in modern India. 

It’s books like this that confuse young readers about what feminism actually stands for.To all teenage girls: please do not read this book. Or rather guys, girls, men, women, binary/non binary folks or even aliens who understand English: don’t read this book.

There are far better ways to spend your time, brain cells and dignity.

PS:

Mr. Bhagat should honestly skip the pretense of being an author and start writing Bollywood screenplays directly. At least then we’d know what we’re getting and save moronic readers like me some valuable time.

PPS:

I’ve never been part of the “Chetan Bhagat Hate Club,” but I think I’m beginning to understand why it exists and why it’s growing.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Second Love

Image
'Mera pehla pyaar adhura reh gaya iffat bi mera pehla pyaar adhura reh gaya', this dialogue has been stuck in my head since I watched Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for the first time when I was 9. Every time i have watched this scene I have cried along-with Anjali. I'm sure you did too. No doubt it is one of my all time favourite movies, but now that I think of it; it doesn't make sense. I have always seen people dejected and sobbing about their first love. So today lets talk about second love cause 'first love' is "OVERHYPED" First love is magical and enchanting. There is a lot of excitement about everything that surrounds your first relationship. You are young, wild, carefree and oh yes, you also have time in your hand. You're thrilled about every little thing; be it the first movie.. the first time you held hands... the first kiss.. the first outing... You have a list of all the firsts that happened.. Of course there are also the first fight...
Read more

Rewatching with New Eyes.. Turns out, perspective isn’t fixed; it grows with you.

I’ve always believed that you should re-read the same books and re-watch the same movies at two different stages in your life. Because you change, your beliefs shift, your empathy deepens and your boundaries get clearer. Something you once loved might suddenly make you cringe. Something you dismissed before might now hit you right in the gut. So this week, I rewatched two movies. Gehraiyaan The first was Gehraiyaan. I remember watching it during COVID and absolutely hating everything about it. Maybe because, back then, I was someone who could only see the world in black and white. I may not love Gehraiyaan, but I understand it now. The messiness, the emotional baggage, the intergenerational trauma, the relationships that defy labels, they make sense in a way they didn’t before. But if you ask me now, five years later? I’d say there are greys everywhere. My perspective has definitely changed.But that’s a story for another time. The movie I really want to talk about is Thappad We watched...
Read more

The eight lettered 'F' word

Alert: If you're a male who with a sense of entitlement, or belittle the things done by the women in your lives then kindly leave...  You're not going to like what you're going to read ahead...  You're a girl, you aren't supposed to cuss. Ohh don't speak too loudly, what will people say. Watch what you wear...  Be home on time... My favorite cliche - "Nobody will marry you if your rotis are not round." Everyone has heard this at some point or other in thier lives, if they're a girl and especially if you're from India... All the women at some point have thought how different life would've been if you were a guy. A lot of people have a problem with the 'F' word not the four letter F word but the eight letter F word!! Yes  I am talking about "FEMINISM" . Why do people hate this word? Why do we spend on son's education and daughter's marriage? Why do we judge a woman if she cusses or smokes or drinks? Worse if she is s...
Read more