VIDEO : Aamir on Chetan Bhagat's statement - Page 4

Vikas Swarup was not just credited in the beginning of the movie, but the script writer of the film actually took Vikas's name, thanking him, while receiving his Oscar!!!

And Slumdog Millionaire was a loose adaptation of the novel too! There are a lot of differences between the book and movie!

Just a couple of points I could gather and wanted to point out...

One, of every individual involved in the controversy, so to speak, the one person whose conduct I didn't find graceful at all was Vidhu Vinod Chopra...the man needs to calm down and not be so aggressive in his own defense...tips the balance the other way for no other reason than uncalled for disrespect...

Two, in that regard, Aamir was at least respectful when he voiced his opinion...and I suppose the one flaw one might find in his stand is that he has not read the book himself...that also just goes to say that he's standing by his director and scriptwriter, and doing so at least without unnecessary aggression...

Three, by what I can gather, the story is inspired by the novel, incidences taken, but moulded in a different way...in that light, I would think that credit would belong to the writers of the movie as well as the writer of the book, in two different ways...personally, I don't think the question is of full credit at all...the whole point is that credit belongs to both, one for giving the premise that the other develops and moulds into a larger, albeit varied whole...like desigal90 pointed out, JK Rowling is credited for the HP movies because they are adaptations of her story with minor modifications...CB's novel has not been adapted in that sense in its entirety...elements have been taken, and a larger story built with them...having said that, and regardless of who is seeking publicity and who is not, a simple mention at the beginning, or even at the end of the movie before the rolling credits, would have been a more fair thing to do...

A lot of movies begin with 'Thank You' lists for guest appearences and the likes...and I'm no authority on the matter, but I don't think a simple "Thank You : Chetan Bhagat, 'Five Point Someone'" would have done them too much harm even as creative writers...

That apart, I will reserve comment on the publicity-stunt-or-not issue...I'd rather wait for a little more to come to light...and I will also not touch upon the legal angle, because like someone already pointed out, the makers have adhered to the contract and have done nothing legally questionable...

No offense meant, just my point of view...

Cheers!

P.S. Sorry about the long post! 😊

In the end it boils down basically to issues of respect, ego and gratefulness!

As you said, a simple thank you to the author would have done no harm to the team of 3 Idiots and Chetan and his fans instead of lashing out against the unfairness of VVC and Team would have probably been gushing about they are honored to have his book filmed so wonderfully!

Aamir was respectful, yes, but he was unnecessarily harsh towards Chetan too...and this is something that Aamir's own fans have written in his blog. It doesn't matter what Chetan told him or not, he has no rights to comment on the book or the author until he has personally seen the differences or similarities between the said book and his film. Fine, he was supporting his own team, but that doesn't mean, he has put down someone else for it.

VVC needs some serious PR lessons! No one in the Industry likes him as such and now he has irked the media also...they are going to make a mince-meat out of him! As everyone is pointing out, if he thinks he is right, then there was no need to flare up so much...only people who have to justify themselves at anycost, loose their self-control!

The script-writers adapted the very short story into a full lenght movie, making umpteen changes to the characters, story and script in the way...but from the opening credit of the film till the acceptance speech by the director of the film, as he received his Oscar...they never failed to mention the original author's name! She was always thanked for being the basic inspiration for the movie!

I don't get how 'Inspired by Chetan Bhagat's FPS' could have hurt VVC and his Team!!! 😕 They might have changed the story completely, but the core of the film was taken by the book! Its a fact! And a more respectful credit roll wouldn't have hurt anyone!

But yes, you're both correct in the poiint you're making...and so is CB here...Aamir's statement on CB seeking publicity because the film is a success has no credibility apart from his faith in his director and script-writer, since he has not read the book himself...legally, there's nothing wrong with it, but ethically and in some sense even logically, it is questionable...

also VVC bought the rights he paied for him ...