The hidden role of Chetan’s wife

Even if Chetan Bhagat were to come out with a blank book, it would sell a million copies, feels writer and diplomat Vikas Swarup. “People would see your name and think, ‘wow, this must be deep’ ,” Swarup chided Bhagat, jokingly acknowledging the latter’s “rockstar” status in the bestseller world. At a session titled ‘Two states of mind’ , Swarup and Bhagat discussed the perils of writing and being co-opted into the medium of films .Several light moments ensued. When Swarup pointed out that he needed the security of his day job to be able to be creative in his spare time, Bhagat pointed to his wife in the audience and said, “I asked her to keep her day job so I could write. I promised that I’d be nice to her if I made money and very nice if I didn’t .”