Upset Aamir Khan hits out at novelist Chetan Bhagat

"He is trying to take away the credit from the film's writer Abhijat Joshi, which I am very upset about. It is an attempt on his part to try and take the credit away from the person who has actually worked on the script. It's very unfortunate. There should not be any confusion to anyone that Abhijat is our film's writer," Khan told reporters here last night.

Bhagat had earlier accused the film makers of "playing" with him and not giving him adequate credit in '3 Idiots' based on his bestseller 'Five Point Someone'.
The actor said the film makers were honest in their agreement with the novelist and had given him his due credit in the film.
"But in my opinion the credit should be given to Abhijat. For three years, this man has worked on the script. Nobody knows him, but Chetan is a big star," he added.
Recalling that Bhagat had once admitted to him that the film was very different from the book, Khan said, "Now the film has become successful so he is trying to get some publicity. It's very unfortunate".

"Abhijat has written the script and Raju Hirani worked on it. Raju and Abhijat took the idea from Chetan's book. The starting point is 'Five Point Someone', but after that the script has changed entirely," he said.
In his blog yesterday, Bhagat had written that he had been silently grappling with the issue for the past two years.
"I knew they had played with me, and that ‘based on a novel by’ credit, which they were legally bound to give would be hushed away at the end – with the clear intention of making sure people miss it," he said.
The novelist has alleged that, contrary to what the makers have said, much of the film is from his book.
"The setting, characters, plot, dramatic twists and turns, one-liners, theme, message – almost all aspects that make the story are from FPS. Yes, there are some changes, any adaptation requires that – but it is no way an original story," he claimed.
Produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, '3 Idiots' has created a box-office history by collecting Rs 175 crore just days after its release on the Christmas day, making it one of the biggest opening for a Hindi film this decade.

Aamir is not saying the truth: Chetan Bhagat

New Delhi: The controversy surrounding '3 Idiots' has taken a new turn with Chetan Bhagat, the author of the book from which the movie has been adapted, accusing the filmmakers and actor Aamir Khan of not giving him due credit.
Bhagat said that 70 per cent of the film '3 Idiots' is based on his novel 'Five Point Someone', contradicting Aamir's claim that he was trying to take away the credit from the film's scriptwriter, Abhijat Joshi.
"From the very beginning the film has been promoted on the lines that it is based on 'Five Point Someone' but when I saw the film, I found out that my name was nowhere to be seen in the credit line," Chetan Bhagat said.
Aamir, who plays the lead in the Rajkumar Hirani directed film, had said, "Abhijat has written the script and Raju Hirani worked on it. Raju and Abhijat took the idea from Chetan's book. The starting point is 'Five Point Someone', but after that the script has been completely changed."
But Bhagat has a different take on it, saying that the credit for the story has been given to Abhijat and Hirani while he has been left out entirely.
"For the past two years I have trusted Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Aamir blindly and this is what I get in return. Now I am being threatened with legal action but I am ready for it," Bhagat said.
Aamir said he had advised Chopra and Hirani to file a case against Bhagat as he has defamed them with "false" allegations.

Reacting to this, Bhagat said, "The film's setting, characters, dialogues, theme and all the other characteristics have been taken from my book. There are some changes but they were necessary for the book's adaptation into the film."
When asked whether he had tried to talk to Hirani and Chopra on the issue, Bhagat said, "I tried my best but they are not ready to talk."
Bhagat's name appears at the film's end credits. The film, produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and directed by Hirani has already created box office history by raking in more than Rs 170 crore within days of its release.