In Sahitya Aaj Tak 2025, popular author Chetan Bhagat discussed his new book ’12 Years: My Messed-up Love Story’. He said that this book is different from his earlier works. On the last day of Sahitya Aaj Tak 2025 at Major Dhyanchand Stadium in the capital, popular writer Chetan Bhagat addressed the session titled ‘Return of Ishq Ke Rajkumar’. During the session, Bhagat discussed his new book, ’12 Years: My Messed-Up Love Story’. He said that this book is different from his previous works like ‘Half Girlfriend’ and ‘Two States’.

The protagonist of Chetan Bhagat’s new book is a 33-year-old divorcee who works as a stand-up comedian and his 21-year-old girlfriend who works in the finance sector. The book defines their relationship. Bhagat said that this book is a reflection of new age relationships. He called this relationship a “situation” where two people are in a relationship but are confused about whether they should stay in it or not.

Chetan Bhagat said that at the age of 50, it was a big challenge for him to take this love story to the Millennial generation. But then he realized that age does not matter when it comes to connecting with people. He said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is older than the main contender of the opposition party. Moreover, in Bihar elections we saw that Nitish Kumar is much older than Tejashwi Yadav. This means that age is just a number.”

About writing a book for the younger generation, Chetan Bhagat said that it was important for him to keep in mind that the subject should not be approached with a sense of superiority. He said, “I didn’t do that and that’s when I got the confidence to write this book. I tried to understand this generation and present a human perspective in the story. As a result, I succeeded and today the young generation is reading this book.”

Chetan Bhagat said that the biggest problem with love stories is that all romances are the same. But the unique thing about this love story is that the couples themselves are confused about whether they should stay in a relationship or not. He said, “When this idea came to my mind, I started writing the book.”

Bhagat also answered the question whether this book would be made a feature like many of his previous bestsellers. He said, “Wherever I go, people often ask me if this book is being made into a film. I tell them it doesn’t matter much to me. This is the age of screens and AI and I am writing books that people are happy to read. For me, this is more important than making a film. My priority is books. Movies can be a side business.”