Chetan Bhagat was a clown in campus; I'd crack up at his jokes, says wife Anusha

New Delhi: Over a decade ago, Tamilian girl Anusha Suryanarayanan fell for Punjabi boy Chetan Bhagat on the campus of Ahmedabad's Indian Institute of Management (IIM). And yes, she didn't like Chetan for his love for books and huge intellectual aspirations. Instead, it was Chetan's sense of humor and ability to spot the lighter side of things that helped them interact easily and made Anusha grow fond of him. "He was a clown in campus, and I'd crack up at his jokes while the other guys were too busy studying or trying to impress me," she recalls. While this is how Chetan was years back, wife Anusha also gives us a sneak peek into how much he has changed over the years. "He is still driven by his inner self-belief and is very caring; but he's become a bit tougher as a person now I feel, in order to deal with putting his views and his writing out there."

The fact that Chetan never came across as a 'typical Punjabi' to Anusha and didn't have any pre-conceived notions about South Indians, which have been mentioned quite explicitly in '2 States: The Story of My Marriage', which is partly autobiographical, love blossomed between them. "He thinks we (South Indians) are in general too controlled and formal... which I agree with," she replies.

Does she ever have any clash of ideas with Chetan because they belong to two different communities? "Yes we do have clashes at times due to different values and upbringing. What is considered respectful or disrespectful when dealing with each other's parents, agreeing on teaching children one/ both parents' mother tongue to name a few," she replies. "The key to a happy and content life is to take the positives from each others' culture, and like everyone else, work on investing in the relationship," she added.

Since Anusha and Chetan too had to combat difficulties to earn parents' consent for their marriage, she can understand the ordeal one has to experience to convince them, and doesn't take too long to share some gyaan that could prove beneficial. "Give it a fair try, and eventually, listen to your heart," she says. And as Anusha tells us, having a film like '2 States', which is based on Chetan Bhagat's semi-autobiographical novel '2 States: The Story of My Marriage' isn't easy to deal with. "2 States' isn't autobiographical ... the characters and the setting are based on us, but not the plot evolution, which is fictionalized. But there are indeed many similarities, so I do struggle with it at times, because I am quite a private individual," she says.