Chetan Bhagat turns Bollywood scriptwriter

Bestselling novelist Chetan Bhagat has now turned a Bollywood scriptwriter.

After writing the screenplay of " Kai Po Che!" -- an adaptation of his novel "The 3 Mistakes of My Life" -- the 38-year-old author from Mumbai is now writing the script for a Telugu film remake. The film, titled "Kick", will star Salman Khan.

"It is the story of a man who lives for passion and kick," Bhagat told IANS in an interview.

"I'm lucky Bollywood has liked my stories. It feels good because writers don't get noticed so much. Not only they are making films on my books, but I'm also working with big and talented people," he said.

"Kai Po Che!", directed by Abhishek Kapoor, is a story of three friends in Ahmedabad and the upheaval in their lives.

"It is the third time my story has been made into a movie. It feels special. 'Kai Po Che!' is even more special because I have written the screenplay too.

"It is a nicely-made movie. The final copy is not yet ready, but I have seen it in parts," he said.

"One Night@The Call Centre" was made into a film titled "Hello"(2008) and "Five Point Someone" into " 3 Idiots" (2009).

Bhagat's other novels are "2 States" and "Revolution 2020".

He says the trend of adapting books into movies is still to pick up in India, especially in Bollywood.

"I hope this trend picks up. When people go to see a movie, they want to see a good story and if the filmmaker picks up a good and popular novel, he is starting at a good base."

Bhagat, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi and Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, wants to influence people. "I want to reach more and more Indians. I want to influence people with my writing and I have used entertainment to get their attention," he said.

He said making movies on books was not easy.

"It is difficult for a filmmaker when he is to make a book into a movie because in that case, you are competing with the readers' imagination," he said.

"A reader has to read the book and he can imagine, but the filmmaker has to imagine all that and create it (on screen), which is difficult. 'Kai Po Che!' is better than the book and I know that because I have done the script."