What I did love, though, was seeing Mr. Bhagat and Mr. Khan get just about the same level of media attention. The former is a writer, a hack who, till just a couple of years ago, was busy getting his manuscripts rejected by high and mighty editors, and had his eventual book launch attended by exactly twenty people, two of them sidekicks from the publishing outfit, and eighteen from his family, while the world lined up to get one glimpse of superstar Khan, and media moguls fawned over the movie celebrity to get a couple of soundbites. Well, whaddayaknow! The world has changed, and how! Chetan Bhagat, a mere author, gets the same TV minutes and newsprint space as the movie idol. Now the world, or at least India, is learning to take note of the writer, a media nonentity till now.

The typical image of the writer is the humble wallflower, poor and ignored, of no worth since all he does is write, while greater men do greater things. Writers are ‘respected’, not idolised. They aren’t rockstars. Well, now they are, or at least they are beginning to be. There’s hope for us hacks, when one of us can engage with ‘celebrities’ on an equal footing, and not be relegated to the stagedoor while the show carries on. So thanks, Chetan, and carry on with the good work! There’s a long queue behind you!