Chetan Bhagat is lying, says Rajkumar Hirani

Mumbai/Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) The raging controversy over the
credit for the story in '3 Idiots' escalated on Saturday with
director Rajkumar Hirani accusing author Chetan Bhagat of
"lying" despite agreeing to several conditions including a
rolling credit in a contract.
Hirani, who also shares the writing credit with
scriptwriter Abhijat Joshi in the Aamir Khan starrer, said
Bhagat had approved the film's script and agreed to the
condition that it would be different from his book.
Addressing a press conference in western city Mumbai,
Hirani showed the contract signed with Bhagat, whose novel
"Five Point Someone" became the basis for the film. The
director said he had made a four-hour narration of the script
to the author.
"We never denied Bhagat the credit. I am confused as to
why is he saying all these things after the film's release. We
have not stolen the story, we have purchased the rights of the
book and can modify or change it as per our requirements.
There is nothing illegal in it. Chetan is lying," Hirani said.
He said that as per the contract signed between Bhagat
and producers of the film, it was obligatory on part of the
latter to mention in rolling credits that the film was based
the novel.
"His name appears immediately after the main cast in the
rolling credits. If he wanted to see his name in opening part
of the film, he should have asked us after reading the
contract itself. I am myself a writer and I respect writers,"
Hirani said.
Reacting to Hirani's statement, Bhagat accused the
film-makers of abusing the contract.

"They abused the contract and thought that they can hide
the credit. They made a new credit that is of story, which
gives the wrong impression that the original story was written
by Abhijat and Hirani but it is my story they adapted from.
"They should have mentioned novel's name in 'Adapted By'
or they should have mentioned my name in the story credit,"
Bhagat said.
Film's producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra had to apologise to the
media after he told a journalist to "shut up" during a press
meet Friday evening in Noida in north India when he questioned
him about Bhagat's allegations.
"I really think it was silly. I was provoked as you guys
know but I should not have done that. It does not befit me. I
was shouting 'shut up! shut up!' like an animal. What I did
was silly and I am really sorry," Chopra said on Saturday.
Aamir also blasted Bhagat, accusing him of trying to gain
"cheap publicity".
"He (Chetan) was saying something else three months back
but he has changed his tunes now that the film has become a
hit. He is using the media to gain publicity," Aamir said.
Hirani said he had liked the novel and had told Bhagat
that the script of the film he intended to make would be
different.
"I had asked Chetan if he was okay with the script turning
out differently from the novel and whether he would like to be
associated with the film. He told me that he had liked the
script and would want to be associated with the movie," Hirani
said.
"The book is not more than 5 per cent in the film," he
said, adding that Bhagat had been paid his dues by Chopra even
before the release of the film. PTI MR
SDE