ThreeMistakesofMyLife-Chetan Bhagat - Click here to download

Chetan Bhagat’s latest offering, ‘The Three Mistakes of My Life’, is first of all a story well told. It combines three of the most potent influencers of the Indian society to present a compelling read, viz., politics, religion and cricket.There are several aspects of this book that present a scenario similar to that of Bhagat’s ‘Five Point Someone’. To start with, just like the former book, Bhagat’s latest offering is the story of three friends who are simply glued to each other through their lives’ ups and downs. They face opposition from each other, are at times on the verge of severing their friendship, and then again something happens that makes them cling to each other. Just as Neha brought about that element of romance in ‘Five Point Someone’, in ‘The Three Mistakes...’, it is Vidya who plays a similar role. Above all, it is that ‘All’s well that ends well’ theme of Bhagat that is one of the most striking element similar in both the books. Probably, he is a firm believer of this thought that got reflected on the celluloid through SRK in his movie, ‘Om Shanti Om’, and that is 'no story can actually have an ending unless its a happy ending'.

Bhagat’s ‘The Three Mistakes...’ is largely about the Indian youth brigade and their sentiments. Their thoughts, their actions and attitudes are what largely get reflected through the book. The secular and broad-mindedness of Indian youth gets reflected through Ish’s character. Similarly, the flavor of the entrepreneurial spirit among the Indian youth gets reflected through Govind’s character. Lastly, it is Omi’s character that paints the picture of those Indian youth who often get seduced by trivial temptations, but then at the end of the day, they continue to possess a heart of gold and fling themselves into action without worrying about their own lives, without remaining in the territory of selfishness. Although Omi is found to endorse his Mama’s religious and political sentiments, when it came to the life of an innocent adolescent, he erased all trivial issues off his mind and went on to make the supreme sacrifice as a human being.

Chetan Bhagat’s ‘The Three Mistakes...’ has dollops of various elements that make for a meaningful read. There is emotion, there is die-hard friendship, there is romance, there is humor, there is ecstasy and so is agony. The patriotic sentiments echoed in the book, especially by little Ali, are somethings that deserve kudos especially now when the country is going through a bad phase.

One important aspect in ‘The Three Mistakes...’ is that the author himself plays an important role as himself. He plays Chetan Bhagat and his role is to trigger reconciliation, trigger the dormant friendship between Ish and Govind, rekindle the love between Govind and Vidya, and above all, make Govind love his own life once again and instill in him the desire to stay alive.