Revolution 2020: Can it really happen?

“Do you think I am a good person?” this is the question which starts off the story. Then the rest of the book is dedicated to finding the answer to this simple question. For each of Chetan Bhagat’s books has been a different kind of force in itself. And now he has become the youth icon of our country. He has ushered in an era where the old people can breathe a sigh of relief since the young generation has been attracted to reading again. And that too, reading “hard copies” of books. Chetan Bhagat has come up with another masterpiece in the form of ‘Revolution 2020’.

This is a story about three childhood friends, and as usual (as we Indians are used to from ages!), there is a love triangle. But the writer has managed to make the book interesting and speak about other issues as well with the backdrop of this love story. The story starts, as has been a trend since Five Point Someone, with a prologue where Chetan Bhagat has finished a lecture in an Engineering college in Varanasi and is invited home by the Director of the college. The whole book is narrated in the first person by this Director, Gopal.

Basically, Gopal is the main character in this narrative and he has two friends from since his childhood, Aarti and Raghav. In the beginning, that is, till they reach standard 12, Gopal and Aarti are closer with each other than Raghav. Eventually, two of them end up in a relationship and thence goes on the journey describing the starting of an Engineering college. The book goes into detail and tells about the corruption and bribery that is evident in the society and the hardships and “connections” needed to start a single college, let alone a University.

Fundamentally, this book deals with three things, as one can guess from the title itself: love corruption, and ambition. Firstly, it makes us think what love really is. Is it sacrifice for the one we love or being with that person through life’s ups and downs? In the quest of deciding what is good and what is bad, the story takes many twists and turns and finally, not as usual, comes to an unexpected ending. This is the power in the writing of Chetan Bhagat. He always keeps us guessing. As I have seen in the case of many Indian writers of our generation, they take a seemingly simple issue and make a great tale out of it.

Secondly, the thing which is eating alive the entire system in India is corruption. This book raises a question, “is corruption justified when you are in a dire situation or not”? And in a way, the story describes the plight of any common man who, when faced with the corrupt building blocks of the system, has to make his hands dirty. Without this, no single thing can be accomplished in India. Also, noteworthy is the way in which the book again and again points out the influence the corrupt have over the people who fight against them. It also bolsters the adage: “to change the system, be a part of it”.  But after all, we cannot guarantee how long your integrity and incorruptibility can survive in the tumult.

Lastly, the story also addresses the subject of ambition. Ambition: of both the parents and the students. In our society, since from generations, parents are the ones who take all the decisions regarding the student’s career and educational path. That too, most of the parents recommend only the mainstream paths like engineering and medical fields. The likings of their children are seldom considered and given importance. The story goes on to tell how the ambitions of little children are subdued by the situation and the conditions around them. This is a storyline with which many of the regular average students can relate, as has been the case with all the novels written by this author.

All in all, the book is great, more so since Chetan Bhgat ends the book by saying “You are a good person” to Gopal. It is up to the readers to decide whether he is the hero or the villain, seeing that the story writer has already given his verdict.   For an avid reader like me, it was unputdownable.  I can’t guarantee the same experience for other people, because some have found the middle part a little slow and uninteresting. But personally, I will give it a rating of 4 out of 5. Also, I put it right under ‘Five Point Someone’ in my list of Chetan Bhagat favourites.

Gaurang Torvekar