Novelist Chetan Bhagat recently caused as stir in the press when he publicly denounced Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Aamir Khan, and Rajukumar Hirani for not properly crediting him as the author of the story behind super-hit 3 Idiots. The 3 Idiots team hit back, explaining that they had bought the rights to adapt Chetan’s novel “5 Point Someone” and credited him as per their agreement. Whatever the underlying truth, one thing is clear, Chetan had signed the deal for “5 Point Someone” in 2005 and he has grown quite a bit in success and status since then and he has taken the lessons of 3 Idiots to heart for the adaptation of his novel “Three Mistakes of My Life.”
“Three Mistakes of My Life” follows the story of three friends, Govind, Ihsaan, and Omi as they open and run a cricket shop. Govind is an ordinary man who supports his mother and is looking for love, Ihsaan is a military school dropout whose father gives him a hard time, and Omi is the unambitious son of a Hindu priest. The three friends deal with family problems, love, religious politics, foiled ambition, and, of course, cricket!
For the film version, Chetan is working with Farhan Akhtar‘s Excel Entertainment and unlike his previous deal for “5 Point Someone,” Chetan will be involved in the writing of the script, which should give him more control over how his story will appear onscreen. Rock On!!‘s Abhishek Kapoor is helming the direction, which makes this a film really rooted in the younger generation of Bollywood. Farhan Akhtar showed that he could capture the spirit of youth in Dil Chahta Hai while Abhishek Kapoor spoke to a rising generation of rock fans with Rock On!!.
The film will be shot in Ahmedabad and as Chetan Bhagat told the Times of India, “This city is very dear to me and I am extremely fond of it. I have a lot of memories of this city from my days at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and also of my first job. The book ‘Three mistakes…’ was set in Ahmedabad and the makers are right now looking for locations where the film can be shot.”
Although casting has not yet begun, one can assume that Aamir Khan will not be involved. Knowing how Abhishek and Farhan like to support young talent, we can be sure to see some fresh faces as Omi, Govind, and Ihsaan and whoever takes those roles will be no ‘idiot.’ This is certainly a film to watch for in 2010.
