CS Knowledge Base

Five Point Someone: What not to do at IIT is a 2004 novel written by Indian author Chetan Bhagat. The book has sold over a million copies worldwide.^[1] It was adapted into two films, 3 Idiots and Nanban, as well as a play by the theatre company Evam.^[2]

The book is narrated by Hari, with some small passages by his friends Ryan and Alok, as well as a letter by Hari's girlfriend Neha Cherian. The three friends' elation on making it to one of the best engineering colleges in India is quickly deflated by the rigor and monotony of the academic work. The two main plot lines are: the numerous attempts by the trio to cope with and/or beat the system, and Hari's fling with Neha, the daughter of Prof. Cherian (the domineering head of the Mechanical Engineering department of their college). It occasionally takes some dark turns, especially as it pertains to the families of the protagonists. Most of the action, however, takes place inside the campus. The characters, led by the ever-creative Ryan, frequently lament over how the internationally lauded IIT system has stifled their creativity by forcing them to value grades more than anything else. Uninspiring teaching and numerous assignments add to their woes, though the boys do find a sympathizer in Prof Veera.^[3]

The book has been translated into Hindi and was published by Prabhat Prakash Advaniji, who has released two novels: Five Point Someone and One Night at the Call Centre. The former set a record by being purchased by 30,000 people in one month and has gone on to become a top seller in Hindi.

Amit Mishra, writer for The Last Critic, thought the book was "bereaved of all the literary juice", but "unlike his other publications like Half Girlfriend and One Indian Girl, this novel is almost flawless."^[4]

This book was made into two films, 3 Idiots in Hindi and Nanban in Tamil. The names of the characters and their attributes were changed. Also, both the films were not full adaptations of the books, as many of the scenes from the book, including the climax, were changed in the films.

• Ryan Oberoi: Ranchoddas Shamaldas Chanchad (Rancho) aka Phunsukh Wangdu (played by Aamir Khan (Hindi))/Panchavan Parivendan (Pari) aka Kosaksi Pasupugazh (played by Vijay (Tamil)), – A young, energetic and supposedly wealthy college-going student who is passionate about engineering. Though Rancho wants to be an engineer, he leans more towards inventing rather than seeking a job in an MNC, unlike his other college mates. According to him, one's profession should be something he/she loves doing, irrespective of how much it pays. He also keeps stating throughout the film that one should run after excellence, not after success. Rancho also believes in the concept of "All Is Well", in which people should focus on the present and live it as it is, instead of worrying over the future. There are many significant differences between the Ryan and Rancho characters, both in their background and attitudes.
• Hari Kumar: Farhan Qureshi (played by Madhavan (Hindi))/Venkat Ramakrishnan (played by Srikanth (Tamil)) – The narrator of the story, a young college-going student who loves wildlife photography, but is being forced by his parents to become an engineer. Hari's background (as acknowledged in one chapter of the book) was not elaborated upon. However, Hari seemed to be auto-biographical and the "Krish" character in Chetan Bhagat's 2 States (who apparently continues on from the Hari character) would provide greater details about Hari's background.
• Alok Gupta: Raju Rastogi (played by Sharman Joshi (Hindi))/Sevarkodi Senthil (played by Jiiva (Tamil)) – A young and insecure college-going student who isn't confident enough to deal with problems in life all by himself and always relies on God. Raju's only mission in life is to pull his family out of poverty, improve their economic status and get his elder sister married. This character is very similar to the one in the book.
• Prof. Cherian: Viru Sahastrabuddhe (Virus) (played by Boman Irani (Hindi))/Virumaandi Santhanam (played by Sathyaraj (Tamil)) – A hugely competitive, efficient, strict, and disciplined man who has been running the Imperial College of Engineering (Ideal Engineering College in Tamil) for the last three decades. He believes that life is a race, the ones who are not efficient about work and time get crushed. He sneers at Rancho's concept of studying for knowledge rather than marks and constantly spars with him and his friends due to this. He is known as "Virus" among the students. Virus has a greater role at the college when compared to Prof. Cherian.
• Neha Cherian: Pia Sahastrabuddhe (played by Kareena Kapoor (Hindi))/Ria Santhanam (played by Ileana D'Cruz (Tamil)) – A young, beautiful, eccentric doctor, daughter of Viru Sahastrabuddhe and Rancho's love interest. This character is a complete departure from the book because, in the book, she was Hari's girlfriend. Also while Pia and Rancho finally end up together, Neha and Hari maintain a long-distance relationship despite Hari's job in Mumbai and Neha in Delhi.
• Venkat: Chatur Ramalingam (played by Omi Vaidya in Hindi)/Srivatsan (played by Sathyan in Tamil) – A competitive and studious South Indian college student (NRI student in Tamil) who believes rote learning is the only way to excellence and also believes that there is no time for creativity and innovation in the turbulent and competitive race of life. Venkat has a small role in the book, while Chatur is one of the major characters in the movie.

Following the success of 3 Idiots in East Asian markets such as China and Hong Kong, the producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra has announced that Hong Kong film star Stephen Chow (known for comedy films such as Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle) will be producing a Chinese remake of the film. Chopra also announced that there are plans for a Hollywood remake, and is in talks with three different American studios interested in remaking the film. Chopra stated that there is an Italian film studio also interested in remaking the film.^[5]

Five Point Someone was Bhagat's first book, written under very peculiar circumstances; in the year 2004, he was denied a promotion at Goldman Sachs, the Hong-Kong based bank where he was working. Bhagat was very depressed. Under a wave of nostalgia, as he remembered his earlier carefree times, he jotted down a few of his experiences at his college. As he added more and more experiences, the collected writings took the shape of a book.^[1]

• Indo-America Society's Society Young Achiever's Award (2004)
• The Publisher's Recognition Award (2005)
• It was adapted into a play by the theatre company "Evam" which took it on a national tour in India in 2010.

Before the release of the film, director Rajkumar Hirani commented on the relationship between Five Point Someone and 3 Idiots:

• Official website