Writer Chetan Bhagat says that Vidhu Vinod Chopra drove him close to suicide

Team Udayavani, Jul 21, 2020, 6:43 PM IST

New Delhi: Noted writer Chetan Bhagat on Tuesday claimed that producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra had driven him to the point of suicide.

His remarks came in response to a tweet by film critic Anupama Chopra, who is married to Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

With Sushant Singh Rajput’s Dil Bechara slated for release on Friday, Bhagat hit out at those whom he calls “snob and elitist critics” and asked them to write sensibly for the actor’s last film.

“Write sensibly. Don’t act overs mart. Don’t write rubbish. Be fair and sensible. Don’t try your dirty tricks. You have ruined enough lives. Now stop. We’ll be watching,” Bhagat tweeted.

Notably, film critics Rajeev Masand and Anupama Chopra have been blamed for being unfair to Sushant Singh for being unkind about the actor’s films in their reviews.

Responding to Bhagat’s tweet Anupama Chopra said “Each time you think the discourse can’t get lower, it does.”

Each time you think the discourse can’t get lower, it does! https://t.co/yhkBUd8VSQ

— Anupama Chopra (@anupamachopra) July 21, 2020

Bhagat retorted by accusing her of supporting her husband (Chopra) when he drove him close to suicide by publicly bullying him. “Ma’am, when your husband publicly bullied me, shamelessly collected best story awards, tried denying me credit for my story and drove me close to suicide, and you just watched, where was your discourse?” read his tweet.

Ma’am, when your husband publicly bullied me, shamelessly collected all the best story awards, tried denying me credit for my story and drove me close to suicide, and you just watched, where was your discourse? https://t.co/CeVDT2oq47

— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) July 21, 2020

In response to some tweets telling him Anupama Chopra cannot be held responsible for her husband’s activities, Chetan Bhagat wrote, “One tweet and the entire eco-system gets rattled.” He also dismissed those supporting Ms Chopra as among the “elitist snobs” of his original post.

Blockbuster movie ‘3 Idiots’ produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and directed by Rajkumar Hirani which was based on a book authored by Chetan Bhagat. While Chopra and Hirani had bought the rights to Five Point Someone and the words “based on the novel by Chetan Bhagat” do appear in the film, they are placed in the closing credits rather than the opening titles where Hirani and writer Abhijat Joshi are credited for the story and screenplay.