Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition by Chetan Bhagat

Sep 09, 2012 Sarika Patkotwar rated it 4 of 5 stars

From Five Point Someone: What Not to Do at IIT to
Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition, Chetan Bhagat is- as Times Of India rightly puts it- the rockstar of Indian publishing.
Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition is going the be the new 'brand' of the Indian youth. The story, set in Varanasi, one of the holiest places in the country, considered to be the destination to go to get rid of your sins, is absolutely practical, definitive and gripping. It is the tale of Gopal, Raghav and...more From Five Point Someone: What Not to Do at IIT to
Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition, Chetan Bhagat is- as Times Of India rightly puts it- the rockstar of Indian publishing.
Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition is going the be the new 'brand' of the Indian youth. The story, set in Varanasi, one of the holiest places in the country, considered to be the destination to go to get rid of your sins, is absolutely practical, definitive and gripping. It is the tale of Gopal, Raghav and Aarti who are childhood friends and even though they set out to find their own place in the world, their destinies are intertwined with that of one another and also with that of their own beloved city. The tagline of the book- Love, Corruption, Ambition suit the characters perfectly well.
Aarti is the typical Indian girl who has the dream of becoming an air- hostess and yet cares a lot for her family and friends. The daughter of a District Magistrate and the grand- daughter of an MLA, her life is already on the threshold of getting political. Aarti, however, does not consider herself one of those people who would go about raising their hand and participating in election campaigns. Her life revolves around her two friends, Gopal and Raghav. Gopal being her best friend, she shares a special relationship with him with lots of on- again off- again signals coming from her side. Gopal talks about her 'natural maternal instincts'. She is there for both of her friends, whether they need her or not. The best thing about her is her belief that one must do what one loves to do and follow one's heart.
Raghav, in my opinion, is what every young Indian should be. A true radical reformist, Ragahv believes that the country will change only when we begin grass- root level change. Even though he completes his engineering from a prestigious college, he discovers that his true passion is journalism. He puts immense efforts in bringing news to the people as it is, in its correct from. After being fired for writing about corruption and politicians involved in scams, Raghav starts his own newsprint '
Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition'. This is where everything starts. From helping poor farmers to providing a clean environment, Raghav attacks it all. He will have a special place in the readers' hearts for just being who he wants to be.
Gopal, our main hero or villain or as Chetan Bhagat rightly puts in the end- "I'll let the readers decide how they want to consider you. I simply write about people. I don't cast them as heroes or villains." Really, it is for the reader to decide whether Gopal is the hero or the villain. Coming from a poor family, one cannot help but feel sympathy towards him. He is what ever Indian farmer's child is- born in debt. His father works hard to get loans for his education and Gopal disappoints not only his father, but also himself. It is but obvious that when Gopal gets an opportunity to start off the path of becoming rich, he takes it without looking back. And there you have it, within a few years, Mr. Gopal Mishra is the director of a brand new college, where students idolize him. What more could he have asked for? The only factor that binds the childhood friends together, Gopal is truly a significant character. He believes that no matter what, we will never loose the 'Keshav' or the innocence and goodness that is there within us.
One of the other characters who really caught my attention was MLA Shukla. He is the epitome of the Indian politician, 'I will arrange for it' being his favourite sentence throughout the book. A father figure and mentor to Gopal, Shukla also is a good person, only if that is what you want to believe. The faculty of Gopal's college 'GangaTech' as also the people involved in its establishment play a very significant role in the book.
Somewhere in this entire scam and corruption scenario, the entire concept of Varanasi being the place to get rid of your sins hits you in the face, making you think that maybe the reason behind the backdrop being Varanasi is the clearance of our sins. After this book, 'Tourism Varanasi' will definitely be the need of the hour. Varanasi is already flooded with foreign and Indian tourists, another fact Chetan Bhagat has stressed on. It is really wonderful to read about how wonderful our country is and how wonderfully we perceive it as being so.
The remaining characters too play an important role and manage to shine in the presence of Aarti, Raghav and Gopal. Raghav and Gopal are IIT and AIEEE aspirants and I am sure every Indian, whether in the engineering field or not, will be able to relate to the anxiety before these competitive exams as also during the time of the announcement of the results, since all of us know someone or the other who goes through the same. In that sense, Chetan Bhagat sticks to the domain of engineering as always. However, students of other fields will also relate easily with the situations that take place, whether in the households, school or with friends and family. It is an Indian's book.
For me, the story begins from the 30 acres of agricultural land owned by Gopal's grand- father. That is where all the corruption starts, from the family to the national level, corruption exists everywhere. The timing of publication has been well thought of, given that we just witnessed the humongous Anti- graft movement led by Anna Hazare. It shows us the true colors of life in the villages of India and also the true work that our representatives 'claim' to do. Basically, it describes India as she is without any edits and cuts. This is the book that will help us change our own outlook and do something about putting it into practice for the betterment of our country. I personally wish the book is made a compulsory read in colleges. It is up to us to decide what we perceive as good and what is the bad and it also up to us to think of changing that which we think is bad and how we go about changing it.

Revolution 2020 is a book that will not take up much of your time, so give it go! It is high time for a real Revolution to take actually take place. I would want every Indian youth to read this one. It is our country and we need to take charge of it. Chetan Bhagat does an excellent job yet again of making readers believe that everything is possible. You do not necessarily have to be grand to do something, you just need to believe in yourself and what it is that you want to do. Make way for the rockstar and a new generation!
(less)

27 likes · like · see review

Nov 13, 2011 Reena rated it 2 of 5 stars

hlf done....its boring!!!!!
a bigggg disappointment...

i jus realise i dint update dis review ....
lolzz its fully done.....stil boring!!!!!! (lolzz)
evn bigger disappointment.....lolzzzz (donno y m stil laughing )

15 likes · like · see review

Dec 15, 2011 Pari rated it 2 of 5 stars

I will give those two stars only because he and his books never fail to create curiosity and buzz among the people. His marketing skills are indeed wow!
Yours truly including bought the book out of sheer curiosity, gave in to the temptation of reading what the whole of India is reading. And well, was I disappointed?
At the end of the read (296 pages, takes some 4-5 hours) I merely shrugged my shoulders, nodded my head and smiled..cos Chetan Bhagat does it again! Writes a book instead of a movie sc...more

7 likes · like · see review

Apr 23, 2013 Rubain rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, indian

Revolution 2020 is the second book from the author Chetan Bhagat that I have read. I didn't like Mr. Bhagat when I read his book One Night @ the Call Center. The feeling remains after reading this book.
Yet I liked the book.
The way the story unfolded at first was quite enjoyable. At the middle it somehow fails to keep the readers engrossed. It is also in that part of the story that the title "Revolution 2020 " becomes somewhat irrelevant. Nevertheless the end which is certainly the most critica...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 07, 2011 Claussius rated it 3 of 5 stars

Made a me cry tonnes, still red eyed :)
CB knows the art of strumming heart's strings. Definitely worth a read

16 likes · like · see review

May 12, 2012 Vivek Maskara rated it 4 of 5 stars

this was a good chetan bhagat book. the ending wasnt convincing. Country over love so suddenly didnt appeal to me

5 likes · like · see review

May 13, 2013 Arjun Kumar rated it 4 of 5 stars

Well, This is my second english novel in my life. Or i can say, chetan bhagat’s second novel that was i read. I got some disappointment when i finished reading this novel. Revolution 2020 is not worth to two states. But, Two states is totally a love story Where as revolution 2020 novel is not like that.

This novel has Gopal, Aarthi, Ragav in lead roles. This novel begins with the conversation between chetan ji and Gopal. I mean, Gopal narrates What happened during his childhood and Teen times and...more

like · see review

Feb 19, 2013 Bharat Jhurani rated it 4 of 5 stars

Chetan Bhagat is still the rockstar of Indian writing, and his fifth book just reaffirms the same. A modest story set in a small town, with typical elements of love, Ambition, Corruption, system and YOUTH, laden with a liberal dose of sex. A total potboiler.

The setting is again in a college, though in a different way this time. With a slogan like “Love. Corruption. Ambition.” , and a title like “Revolution 2020”, there was a fear that Chetan would tread the preachy path and come up with a boring...more

like · see review

Feb 17, 2013 Grace rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this book to be an absolute page turner.The premise is love,but the emotion never becomes kitschy or mushy.Corruption and ambition are recurrent themes that make the book more intriguing.

The backdrop is Varanasi or Benares.The story starts with the struggles of an average student who HAS to do well for his future coz his past and present don't have much to support him. And this takes us through Kota,through the crazy IIT,AIEEE preps which Mr.Bhagat seems to know very well.

And the protago...more

like · see review

Nov 20, 2012 Dushyant Shetty rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read this in one sitting cover to cover, something I have done with most Chetan Bhagat books so far. As always, he fully utilizes his uncanny ability to articulate ordinary situations and conversations in a thoroughly entertaining manner. This book also represents the most detailed research among all CB books I have read so far. As real as the shady and not-so shady education enterprises were, the characters were oversimplified. I guess CB's evolution represents an increase in the complexity o...more I read this in one sitting cover to cover, something I have done with most Chetan Bhagat books so far. As always, he fully utilizes his uncanny ability to articulate ordinary situations and conversations in a thoroughly entertaining manner. This book also represents the most detailed research among all CB books I have read so far. As real as the shady and not-so shady education enterprises were, the characters were oversimplified. I guess CB's evolution represents an increase in the complexity of the story, but not of the characters or the situations they find themselves in. Some of the situations were quite "filmy", and it looks like CB wants to make his books increasingly screenplay-friendly.
I loved the way the book kicked off... until the point that a certain revelation shakes up the worlds of the three main characters, everything was intriguing and easy to connect to. After that, the book goes downhill, fast! Most of the extremely contrived plot twists, actually amused me enough that I was smiling through some supposedly serious sections of the story. CB's gift of detailing; for instance describing the way a single lock of hair on the heroine's head behaves during a conversation, is a bit overdone in this book. There is a part, where the protagonist is setting up the climax(could have been a gripping one), and suddenly there is an unexpected description/comparison of the anatomical configuration of the two women involved. I'm not sure if the intention was to make the writing look gritty and real, but it ended up reading quite "pulp fictionish" in some parts, outrageous in others.
(view spoiler)
If there was a message in this book, I missed it, and I'm not going to read it again to find out what it was. I kept waiting for the title of the book to be given respectful closure, and never found it. Sequel, Mr. Bhagat?
Entertaining in parts, tough to connect with in general, read it on your next flight... if you can borrow it.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Oct 31, 2012 Subowal rated it 3 of 5 stars

India of the twenty first century - marked by fast economic growth and pervasive corruption. Two young men, Gopal - the narrator of the story - and his friend Raghav; and a young girl Aarti pursue their dreams in this India. Raghav succeeds where Gopal fails - getting into the elite Indian Institute of Technology, a passport to a comfortable and well-paid career. He, however, has a different dream: he wants to bring about a change, cleanse the society of corruption. He thinks journalism is the a...more India of the twenty first century - marked by fast economic growth and pervasive corruption. Two young men, Gopal - the narrator of the story - and his friend Raghav; and a young girl Aarti pursue their dreams in this India. Raghav succeeds where Gopal fails - getting into the elite Indian Institute of Technology, a passport to a comfortable and well-paid career. He, however, has a different dream: he wants to bring about a change, cleanse the society of corruption. He thinks journalism is the answer. Gopal's ambitions are more modest: he wants to make money and win Aarti's heart. Aarti is apparently in love with Raghav, but she keeps giving confusing signals to his childhood friend Gopal - much to his exasperation.

As the story unfolds we get a ringside view of power, corruption and ambition in today's India. There is also a sweet and maddening love story, seen from Gopal's perspective. We see how the attempt to keep the noble profession of education free from the taint of profit fails spectacularly. Education remains a highly profitable business, but the profits are driven underground.

Chetan Bhagat once responded to a criticism of his writing style by saying that he is a bad writer but a good story teller. His self-assessment couldn't be more accurate, if 2020 is a typical example of his writing. The story is absorbing, despite occasional irritants in writing. Some of the characters are stereotypes, but Gopal and Aarti have been developed well. The conclusion is rather contrived and unconvincing, both in terms of the story, and the message it wants to give. Overall it is an interesting read that leaves you dissatisfied in the end.

The message of this book seems to provide an answer to an apparent paradox: India is doing well economically, but the economic growth has not brought about the 'feel good factor' that growing economies are expected to have. Indian's are still not comfortable about money. Gopal is bad because he wants to make money by any means - fair or foul. Raghav is good because he gives up a financially secure job to take up journalism as an instrument of social change. I somehow don't agree with this message. I would say that a person like Gopal, who creates economic activity, even through questionable means, does more for the society than a crusading journalist whose focus is on undoing the wrong rather than doing the right things. In the long run Gopal would create thousands of jobs and provide service of some value to society. Raghav would fight the system for a while, then become a part of it. There will be no revolution in 2020. Give me a Dhirubhai Ambani any day, in preference to a Gurumurthy.

The theme and characters of the book recall Sudhir Mishra's 2003 movie Hazaron Khwahishein Aisi. Kay Kay Menon's character could be Raghav, Shiney Ahuja's Gopal, and Chitrangada Singh's Aarti. The movie was more nuanced than the book. Kay Kay Menon ends up as part of the system in the end, while Shiney becomes its victim. If I were to carry forward the story of Revolution 2020 to 2020, I would see Raghav being adopted and corrupted by the system, while Gopal, moved by his guilt, could actually do some good with his money earned through questionable means.(less)

like · see review

Oct 20, 2012 Ojaswi rated it 3 of 5 stars

The book had created quite the buzz in the entire country. Really! Though not exactly a great fan of Chetan Bhagat, I was actually looking forward to reading the book.

I didn't particularly enjoy the book, but that's probably just me. It was depressing. And I didn't like his style of writing either. Too informal in my opinion but maybe that's his way of reaching out to the general audience; By using colloquial language.

Why I didn't like it:
- I didn't like the female lead. At all. How could she be...more

like · see review

Sep 15, 2012 Padmanabhan Pappan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Storyline: Revolution 2020 is a story about 3 childhood friends Gopal, Raghav and Aarti. They have their own ambitions. Aarti wanted to become an air hostess. Raghav gets a rank in IIT-JEE and joins IT BHU. Though he joined in engineering, journalism was his passion and he wanted to bring a change in the country. Gopi’s only wish is to make lots of money. He couldn’t get into IIT in his first attempt. So he joins as a ‘repeater’ in a coaching centre in Kota, spending the entire savings of his fa...more Storyline: Revolution 2020 is a story about 3 childhood friends Gopal, Raghav and Aarti. They have their own ambitions. Aarti wanted to become an air hostess. Raghav gets a rank in IIT-JEE and joins IT BHU. Though he joined in engineering, journalism was his passion and he wanted to bring a change in the country. Gopi’s only wish is to make lots of money. He couldn’t get into IIT in his first attempt. So he joins as a ‘repeater’ in a coaching centre in Kota, spending the entire savings of his father. But fate offers him an opportunity to start his own engineering college, with the support of Shukla, an MLA. To start the college he follows the corrupt path as he did not have another way.

After college Raghav joins as a reporter in a newspaper. His profession creates some problem to Gopi. Shukla, the person behind Gopi, stamps Raghav as much as he can with his political power to get him out of his way. Raghav fights back and starts his own newspaper...Revolution 2020!!

Both Raghav and Gopi like Aarti. Aarti likes Raghav and Gopi was her best friend. How did the relation between Raghav and Gopi change due to their common love?? Can Raghav achieve what he wanted to with Revolution 2020?? Did the relation between Aarti and Raghav continue in spite of his unsettled and busy career which leaves very little time for her?? How can Gopi become the director of an engineering college without even a college degree?? How far did Gopi go on his path?? Can Gopi compete with Raghav to get Aarti??

These are some parts I think you should know by reading the book.

Chetan Bhagat did a great work here. To tell in one line about his style in this book… “He first entertains you, grabs your attention and then says what he wants to.”

This is an absolute page turner right from the first page…till the end!!! The ending was really touchy… did not expect it. I didn't even expect that the book focuses on the IIT coaching institutes.

Most of the story took place in Varanasi except for some part in Kota.

This book has many shades. It first showed the chaos that is there through out India in the name of ‘IIT coaching centres’. Then it focused on the corruption in private engineering colleges. Even the pollution problems in Varanasi are raised many times. It ended with a message that “Everyone should sacrifice a bit for the change they want to see.” On the other side it shows how the relation among Gopi, Raghav and changes dramatically as the story precedes.

The story is said from reference to Gopi and the highlight of the book is how relation between Gopi and Aarti developed. Just like his other books even this one has lots of CB trademark one-liners.

I liked the way CB described Gopi’s feelings when he was a repeater in Kota and his feelings towards Aarti even when she is in relation with someone else.

I personally loved Revolution 2020.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 14, 2012 Vinshikha Mudaliar rated it 1 of 5 stars

Every time Chetan Bhagat comes out with a new book, he manages to capture the interest and the awe of today’s youth. Every book brings out a bigger level of expectation than the one before. But unfortunately the book does not fulfill the craving of a book worm like me and leaves me disappointed.

“Revolution 2020” the title is irrelevant till the last few chapters of the book. The tag line “love, corruption, ambition” describes it perfectly. The story is set in Varanasi, one of holiest places in...more

6 likes · like · see review

Jun 02, 2012 Sindabad rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read it start to finish as with most of his other books.
Would sure rate it 4 star.
I admit that over the years his topics have moved only little further than IITs and IIMs but is it not the reason why he has youngster's fan following en-masse?
The nove depicts true picture of younger generation. Many found character af Aarati to be confused. However I thought of her as supraconfident next gen girl as all others in his other books. I don't know if he paints them as thoughtfull and charismatic an...more

like · see review

May 29, 2012 Antara Ghosh rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: faltu

Why oh why must everyone keep harping on the darn issue of men and women cant be friends?
If they are friends now, then they are either a) will become lovers eventually. b) one of them will manipulate the other to get money/convenience/sex.

I am a woman, with I think at least as many men friends as women. I have managed to keep my friends (both men and women), without resorting to hugging or kissing them frequently, letting any of them pay for my cups of coffee constantly, and taking advantage of...more

8 likes · like · see review

May 27, 2012 Sarang rated it 2 of 5 stars

Every time Chetan Bhagat comes out with a new book, he manages to generate a good deal of hype and an even bigger level of expectation, and it is perfectly acceptable to give this to a man who managed to make reading more popular among a wider section of the urban Indian populace. However, it remains to be seen if his popularity level will continue to maintain itself, considering that with each book the strength of his plot and characters seems to be declining.

In "Revolution 2020", we follow th...more Every time Chetan Bhagat comes out with a new book, he manages to generate a good deal of hype and an even bigger level of expectation, and it is perfectly acceptable to give this to a man who managed to make reading more popular among a wider section of the urban Indian populace. However, it remains to be seen if his popularity level will continue to maintain itself, considering that with each book the strength of his plot and characters seems to be declining.

In "Revolution 2020", we follow the lives of Gopal, Aarti and Raghav, three youngsters from Varanasi. Childhood friends, they soon realize that adult life is a different deal altogether, bringing with it turmoil, love, expectations, ambition, greed and finally, the question of "What you need to do and what you ought to do". Bhagat weaves a love triangle and throws in elements of social responsibility, the human need for love and validation, as well as the test that relationships are eventually subjected to. It would seem like the perfect premise for an engaging tale but "Revolution 2020" fails to live up to these expectations. Too much attention is paid to the "Does she love me, doesn't she love me?" war in Gopal's head and Aarti's character lacks the strength that would have made her appear more important in the reader's eyes. Sadly, she remains a pretty figure who yearns for more time from Raghav and fuddles Gopal's head now and then in massive doses. Most disappointing is the lack of space in the book for Raghav. For a young man who wants to start a revolution and wants to become a champion of social causes, the time allotted in the book is just not enough. If Bhagat had managed to write more about Raghav and his ideals and the way he intends to go ahead with them, he would have been able to connect more with the youth reading the book and possibly provide strong inspiration to anyone wanting to follow in Raghav Kashyap's footsteps.

I give a 2/5 purely for the good intentions behind the book but sadly I remain disappointed with the lack of depth in it, just like any of Bhagat's latest works. For me, "Five point someone" is still a superstar book, purely for the freshness which it delivered and the fact that it let the urban college-goer identify with each of the three protagonists in some way or the other. That is not happening much with "R2020". Hopefully, Chetan Bhagat will do a much better job next time.(less)

1 like · like · see review

May 21, 2012 VaultOfBooks rated it 3 of 5 stars

By Chetan Bhagat. Grade: B+
Unlike my fellow contemporaries, I do not think Chetan Bhagat is – gasp – God. In fact, I find the trend he has started wherein every engineer fancies himself a writer quite nauseating. While I have to admit that he does provide decent couple of hours’ entertainment for a hundred bucks, I find him to be quite overrated. In fact, I personally feel that One Night At A Call Center was a horrible disaster. The only story of his I liked was 2 States, and I am still wonderin...more

like · see review

Apr 18, 2012 Badhri Narayanan K rated it 2 of 5 stars

A bollywood movie material through and through... Full of scenes ripped off from some flick. You can guess wats gonna come next, right from the page 1. Read it if you are on a 5-6 hour train journey. On a weekend?? Hmm.. well there are lot of other good things to do on ur weekends. Trust me, dont you dare touch it.

Good things:
* Somehow the characters are easily connectable to your neighbor or friends(not the story though)
* Chetan always writes in simple English and this is no different.
* It cud...more

like · see review

Apr 08, 2012 Pawan rated it 4 of 5 stars

http://iandbooks.wordpress.com/

My love-hate relationship with Chetan Bhagat’s writing continues. I had really liked reading “Two States” since the storyline remained integral and did not confuse. A single idea creating the story and taking it to completion. Unfortunately, “Revolution 2020″ is not the same. The plot confuses you even though it tries to cover so many topics in one story. It is author’s commentary on India’s education and political system but does not have enough depth to make a ma...more http://iandbooks.wordpress.com/

My love-hate relationship with Chetan Bhagat’s writing continues. I had really liked reading “Two States” since the storyline remained integral and did not confuse. A single idea creating the story and taking it to completion. Unfortunately, “Revolution 2020″ is not the same. The plot confuses you even though it tries to cover so many topics in one story. It is author’s commentary on India’s education and political system but does not have enough depth to make a mark.

This story is about three friends who grow up in holy city of Varanasi. Two of the boys, both love the same girl, their third friend and girl is completely confused about both of them. Both the boys also have strong ambition. One wants to bring in a revolution and other wants to become rich. What happens in the end is a very messy affair between all of them and you left wondering about the aim of the book.

I liked the three-sided love story angle in the book even though it has been done so many times. Reading it in the narrative style of this author brings some freshness to the story. It is very contemporary and keeps you hooked till the end. But looks like the author wanted to go beyond the love story and ended up mixing it with issue of corruption and education. He talks about how young people prepare for engineering entrance examination and how it has become an industry on its own. How a person who does not get admission in Engineering college ends up opening his own Engineering college. Amazing idea! but what was the need to mix these two plots together.

Even though I am complaining about the book, I still could not put it down after I had started reading it. You want Gopal to win everything in life and not Raghav who is actually after the revolution. Gopal remains the loser who ends up hitting big time in collaboration with corrupt politician but ends up loosing his girl due to his “good” nature. Does it make sense? Looks like it makes to this author. It is quite possible, I would have felt good if Gopal had won the girl in the end.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Mar 08, 2012 Vinit Nair rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is one of the best Chetan Bhagat books I have read. The previous Chetan Bhagat book I liked was One Night at Call Center. There could have been lot of thing which would have gone wrong with this book but author made the right decision at the right time.

We are presented with another love triangle. Two good friends are in love with a girl. One of them is intelligent and wants to start a revolution, another one wants to make lots of money. The girl is besties with the guy who wants to make mo...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 08, 2012 Pradyumndev rated it 1 of 5 stars

The Great Indian Dream that's what this yet another new Novel of Chetan Bhagat is about.
serving to his mass "youth" fan following... for most of whom "Chetan Bhagat" is synonymous with "Reading"
Well he again tried to cash on the feelings of Indian Student, anyone who is following his news paper articles and speeches would find this novel highly predictive and deja-vu.
So he raised the issue of arji-farji non-elite Engineering and other professional institutes.... which are getting mushroomed ever...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 27, 2012 Sarvothaman rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who understand Indian society

Shelves: indian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Dec 27, 2011 Sabareesh Sathananthan rated it 3 of 5 stars

The paperback king is back again with a catchy title……let us see whether the revolution is effective.
Story line: Gopal, aarti and raghav are childhood friends. Raghav clears IIT entrance exam, enters BHU and also wins aarti’s heart. Then he gives up Infosys job offer and opens a newspaper called revolution 2020. But Gopal neither succeeds IIT entrance nor aarti’s heart nor to save his diseased father. Frustrated Gopal seeks the help of a corrupted MLA and opens an engineering college with the he...more The paperback king is back again with a catchy title……let us see whether the revolution is effective.
Story line: Gopal, aarti and raghav are childhood friends. Raghav clears IIT entrance exam, enters BHU and also wins aarti’s heart. Then he gives up Infosys job offer and opens a newspaper called revolution 2020. But Gopal neither succeeds IIT entrance nor aarti’s heart nor to save his diseased father. Frustrated Gopal seeks the help of a corrupted MLA and opens an engineering college with the help of that MLA. Then he starts to impose many problems to raghavs’s newspaper and almost destroys it. He also impresses aarti and attracts her to his side. What happens to raghav’s newspaper? Whether Gopal married aarti? Read revolution 2020 for a touching climax.
Positive aspects: The description of Varanasi is brilliant and it is the only thing that makes you to turn pages. The steps Gopal takes to open an engineering college makes you wonder how corrupted our system is. This part will make you focused on the novel. It also explains how our politician will disturb you when you want to develop India’s fate. The climax is really praiseworthy and the message the author tries to tell to the young India is really worthy. It surely will touch your bottom heart.
Non positive aspects: Chetan continues to render many clichés in this novel also. He portrays IIT fever in this novel also. I guess in India there are a lot more problems are there other than IIT. Then unnecessary description of Gopal and aarti’s love making keeps irritating. What are you trying to evoke to your readers by such unnecessary depictions, Chetanji? The novel almost falls flat in childhood and Kota sequence. The character description of aarti is ambiguous. It is disgusting that she swaps her boyfriend like changing dress. The novel doesn’t disclose any great revolution as the title suggests. It makes you wonder why MLA believes Gopal so much such as he makes his benomy and offers him to be next MLA . It will only enlighten the starting point of a revolution. So it may disappoint those who expect something like the title suggests.
(less)

like · see review

Nov 27, 2011 Hrishikesh Bharali rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was bit apprehensive about picking up this book in the first place as my friends told me it wasn't as good as '5-point someone'.However with exams having ended and the extended monsoon season kicking in Chennai,I wasn't left with much of a choice.To my surprise,I found the book very well-written.Well Chetan Bhagat,as rightly pointed out to me by one of my friends,is an IIM alumni which means he has cracked CAT,and it's to be taken for granted that he has a rich repository of vocabulary.But not...more

like · see review

Nov 27, 2011 Veeral rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: never-recommend-to-anyone, भ-र-त, bore-you-to-death, unintentionally-funny

When you name your novel Revolution 2020, one expects a kind of soul searching, revolutionary story about a country that needs a change more than ever. But, Revolution 2020 never even comes close to that. Instead, it becomes a highly clichéd love story which has nothing to do with revolution whatsoever. You almost feel that Bhagat wanted to cash in on the Anna Hazare movement against corruption. To say that the story is extremely shallow might be the understatement of the year.

Two boys try to ge...more When you name your novel Revolution 2020, one expects a kind of soul searching, revolutionary story about a country that needs a change more than ever. But, Revolution 2020 never even comes close to that. Instead, it becomes a highly clichéd love story which has nothing to do with revolution whatsoever. You almost feel that Bhagat wanted to cash in on the Anna Hazare movement against corruption. To say that the story is extremely shallow might be the understatement of the year.

Two boys try to get into IIT/NIT in order to become engineers. Bhagat implies it on every page that it’s either IIT/NIT or bust. If you cannot get into IIT/NITs, the only option left is private colleges or to become a watchman (Seriously, he wrote that). Does Bhagat even know the admission procedure in engineering colleges of India? There are engineering colleges in India which even though are not NIT/IITs are government funded and quiet reputable (In some cases, even as good as the NIT/IITs). And the admission procedures are centralized state wise. If you cannot even crack that, then and then only private colleges come into the picture. He seemed to brag about himself in the first couple of pages by listing his achievements in the dragged form of a story if ever there was one. He even tells that, in general, if someone does Btech in India, he/she compulsorily wants to do an MBA too. Why Mr. Bhagat? No Mtech? Not anything else? Oh we get it. Because you did the same. And that is the only option, right? Chetan Bhagat might be the least knowledgeable author this country has ever produced. I wonder if he has even read more than 10 good books in his life. Because his stories do implicate that these are the most under researched works of literature ever to come out of India.

To sum up the story, the main character Gopal loves his childhood friend Aarti who in fact loves their common friend Raghav. As we are in Bhagat’s universe, Gopal becomes a major failure just because he couldn’t crack the IIT/ NIT entrance examinations. So he naturally turns corrupt and becomes successful. On the other hand, Raghav starts dating Aarti and gets his engineering degree and turns a reporter, because hey, it is mandatory that you need to be a reporter to change the world, right? And Aarti might be one of the silliest characters ever to come out of fiction in recent times. Her character has even lesser depth and understanding than a 10 year old; that is, if a 10 year old is mentally challenged. What will become of them in the end? Believe me, you wouldn’t care. There is no depth to the story. Chetan Bhagat has sleep walked through the entire story and I guess it’s only fair if you would do the same. As I said earlier, he is the least knowledgeable published author to come out of India in the recent past. His books about his own life, “Five Point Someone” and “2 States” were good, but when he tries his hand at a total fictional work, which requires total imagination, he fails drastically, which alas, I am sorry to say, is not a good thing for a writer of fiction.
(less)

9 likes · like · see review

Nov 16, 2011 Libin Thomas rated it 3 of 5 stars

Revolution 2020 happens to be the name of a newspaper that a very irritating character in the book starts to save the world. Okay, lets not be unfair, he's just out to save India. His genius plan is that students from all major colleges in India will stop going to college or something and cripple this institution until the politicians come forward and "fix" the system. This character is Raghav, some delusional clown who believes he can single-handedly save India by making small changes in our in...more Revolution 2020 happens to be the name of a newspaper that a very irritating character in the book starts to save the world. Okay, lets not be unfair, he's just out to save India. His genius plan is that students from all major colleges in India will stop going to college or something and cripple this institution until the politicians come forward and "fix" the system. This character is Raghav, some delusional clown who believes he can single-handedly save India by making small changes in our individual lives.
The narrator in the book is your usual Chetan Bahgat Archetype, a loser who usually ends up getting a girl who is way out of his league, but not in this book. Here he is on a hook. Man, this book gives you the definition of being on a hook. I remember an episode from 'how i met your mother' about people being on hook while having others on a hook themselves, where they spend hours talking to each other late into the night, making chocolate cakes and giving each other foot massages. Here too our "hero" Gopal is madly in love with AArti and she gives him hand (or is it shoulder) massages after he gives her a boat ride, who hugs him instead of shaking hands and who wont accept his love because he was "leaning too much on her". Basically she rubs him up in all except the right places.
Then there is Aarti, your usual Chetan chick, hot, sexy, yet conservative who doesn't mind getting high or laid provided you give the right inputs. She has this poor guy on a hook, its disgusting. 100 pages into the book I felt lie throwing it away, but I read on because there were just another 200pages left.
Chetan doesn't give any depths to the characters. Gopal doesn't have much to say (unless its about Aarti) most of his conversations are just a sentence long. He doesn't dwell too much on any topic. You cant quite connect with him even though you want to. There is a rather funny aspect in the book. You read the book and the conversations G has with AA and then you read the gtalk conversations he has with her over the internet and they are both the same. He speaks like he has a sms like 160 character limit on his speech.
The 1st 100 pages of the book are about the pathetic state of education in India, and any non Indians who may be reading this, believe it man, this system is positively fu**ed up and we all know it, thank you. I liked reading about balance sir and pendulum sir or pulley sir and the coaching centres in Kota. But its spoiled by this Gopal not being able to move on. He has an argument with AA and it derails his coaching flow. There is a moral here for entrance employees. Don't carry any excess unnecessary baggage that you can't handle while you're repeating!
The next 100 pages are about how a private college is set up in India. Again, since I studied in a new private Medical College that had to go through 4 inspections I can relate to this too and I liked this part of the book as well.
Raghav turns out to be a real asshole at this point. He is smart, got a good decent family, stole Gopal's girl, whom I think every person in varanasi would know, knows about Gopal's family problems, attended his dad's funeral, knows about his scheming uncle trying to get hold of his property, but when Gopal finally gets a break in the form of this corrupt MLA and finally has a good thing going for himself pursues this particular corrupt MLA and keeps trying to mess with him. I mean give the guy a break!! He has no family, no college education, no money, he stole his girl and now he is trying to screw his livelihood. And he calls himself a friend. If he wants to change India, I don't know, go save the cows or stray dogs, or the homeless people. Why go after a guy who is finally helping his friend out? India is a huge screwed up country, there are a lot of avenues a social activist can work in and get himself killed.
The last 100 pages are an attempt by the author to attract Bollywood directors to make this book into a film, which can also be called '3 idiots revisited'.
There is a last stunt by Gopal in the book where he forces Aarti, whom he got after much deliberation and hard work, back to Raghav the asshole, who is now a broken man (who deserves it). I just dont get it. It gave me a whole Dan Brown, The lost symbol kind of moment. When the CIA cheif has this very controversial film of national importance that turns out to be a bunch of old guys dressing up in costumes and doing some funny stuff. The first thing that went through my mind was, "weeeell... they are American". The same way he sets up a scenario where she finds him in a compromising position, but you just don't get it. Why? He loves this girl and giving up all his riches makes more sense than giving up the girl. He could have made the phone call and helped Raghav out and lived on with Aarti. But like I said, since I couldn't connect with the characters that much I really didn't care what he did with his life.
Its a very dull and sad book, written with almost none of the dark humour that chetan uses well in most of his other books. There is only one joke about Gopal falling down at an Engineering college stall during an argument and slashing his cheek and saying, "I finally gave my sweat and blood for education" or something like that.
The book is nice, its okay, the setting is not bad, but I really hate the characters, the asshole Raghva, the bitch Aarti and the loser Gopal. In fact the only character I liked in the book is Chetan Bhagat himself who is making one of his speeches or something and happens to meet Gopal. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Nov 16, 2011 Ankit rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Ankit by: Vishvesh

Revolution 2020??? For what? Love?, Ambition?, Money?
A really heart touching story driven by Chetan Bhagat.
The first time in my life i was not able to control my emotions at the end of the story & resulted into frustrate which became serious concern to my Parents seating beside me. :)
Life doesn't provide second chance to fetch your true which once lost before.
Fortunately Mr. Gopal Mishra got this opportunity, but Fuck Off Gopal!!!, how can you let your love go by giving such a disaster hurt?...more

4 likes · like · see review

Nov 15, 2011 Sundarraj Kaushik rated it 3 of 5 stars

Chetan Bhagat has delivered what is expected of him a readable book (if you have liked his earlier ones). This time it covers education and how the corrupt politicians are using education institutions to make money on the sly.
The story is told from the perspective of the protagonist who is another failure (relatively speaking) in his academics, but then ties up with a politician to get his land from his uncle who has cheated him and his parents of the land which is rightfully theirs.
He goes on t...more

like · see review

Nov 07, 2011 Devyani rated it 4 of 5 stars

this was a very strong book ! and made a really powerful point !
it starts of by introducing us to the lives of two best friends , Gopal and Raghav who strive for a bright future filled with great achievements.

both want a taste of success ,but their way of reaching to the top is different ! while both want to make a difference , one deters from the way and takes up the road of corruption , while one leads a life-changing revolution :)

among all this , both fall in love with the same girl , Aarti ....more

like · see review

title link	preview: Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition
avg rating	preview: Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition Goodreads rating: 3.01 (13094 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12615008-revolution-2020?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1317964666l/12615008.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12615008-revolution-2020?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition by Chetan Bhagat[/url]

Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (1)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Chetan Bhagat

Books by Chetan Bhagat

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Revolution 2020: ...

Quotes from Revolution 2020: Love,...