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Half Boyfriend
"Sharp, funny and warm, Half Boyfriend works not just as a parody and a gentle takedown of mainstream Indian pop culture but as a story in itself" - Samit Basu
A fun and clever (and shameless!) parody of Chetan Bhagat's Half Girlfriend.
In Half Boyfriend, a feudal rich boy from a village courts a gorgeous city brat who has a weakness for lost causes. They go through a series of pointless events and unbelievable coincidences in a dead-end plot that has to end with the chauvinist sleeping with the girl.
A fun and clever (and shameless!) parody of Chetan Bhagat's Half Girlfriend.
In Half Boyfriend, a feudal rich boy from a village courts a gorgeous city brat who has a weakness for lost causes. They go through a series of pointless events and unbelievable coincidences in a dead-end plot that has to end with the chauvinist sleeping with the girl.
182 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2016
18 people are currently reading
337 people want to read
About the author
Judy Balan
9 books79 followersAuthor of Two Fates: The Story of My Divorce, Sophie Says: Memoirs of a Breakup Coach, How to Stop Your Grownup From Making Bad Decisions (Nina the Philosopher #1), Tweenache in the Time of Hashtags (Nina the Philosopher #2) and Half Boyfriend.
Genre: Comedy
Hop over to the website www.judybalan.com for the long version.
Genre: Comedy
Hop over to the website www.judybalan.com for the long version.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 24, 2016
“We like the wrong sorts of girls, they wrote. They are usually the ones worth writing about.”
----Catherynne M. Valente
Judy Balan and Kishore Manohar, two Indian writers, pen a sarcastic tale in contrast to the popular India writer, Chetan Bhagat's book, Half Girlfriend in their new book, Half Boyfriend. This book, in short, is a parody to Bhagat's book and the authors have diligently portrayed the sarcasm and the criticism of Bhagat's story thereby inventing a hilarious tale of a boy-girl love story.
Synopsis:
A fun and clever (and shameless!) parody of Chetan Bhagat's Half Girlfriend.
In Half Boyfriend, a feudal rich boy from a village courts a gorgeous city brat who has a weakness for lost causes. They go through a series of pointless events and unbelievable coincidences in a dead-end plot that has to end with the chauvinist sleeping with the girl.
Manav, a rural Prince of a village in Bihar, meets the rich and posh Delhi girl, Rhea. Manav uses his charm of not speaking correct English to befriend Rhea but things get worse, when he practically starts stalking her and the girl had to get a restraining order, but Manav knows that Rhea is the one for his heart and no matter what, he will wait for her till she understands that she too loves him. Yes the climax is predictable if you have read the book that is based on, but the story is so entertaining and funny, that it will keep the readers rooted.
Okay for my non-Indian friends, I must clarify a bit about Indian marriage system. Well in our country, people often marry within their or higher than their social strata, so most of the time, if a village guy, irrespective of his financial condition, proposes to a posh city girl, then it is obvious that he will get rejected by the girl. Moreover, the society will judge the girl if she marries someone below her social status. What to do, this is way, how our narrow-minded Indian society works! And kudos to such culture!!
So back to the review. The authors have penned the tale with a myriad of emotions ranging from fun to poignant to anger and have strikingly portrayed them thus making their readers to feel the story deeply. The authors writing style is strong yet it lacked from expressiveness. The narrative is light and at times will make the readers go completely ROFL. And thank god, the authors have not used that crappy Hinglish (Hindi + English) language in the book. The readers will be impressed with the quality of the speech used in this book. The pacing is really fast as the story has an ability to arrest the minds of the readers right from the beginning and will keep them hooked till the very end.
The authors have used so many references in their book that point directly to Bhagat's book, Half Girlfriend, that will definitely amuse the readers, both a Bhagat fan and a non-Bhagat fan. This is a parody but that gives birth to a witty story laced with criticism to the original book.
The characters are an absolute fun and are highly realistic. The protagonist, Manav, is a determined young man, whose only aim is to win the heart of the girl who will be the princess/queen of his village. He used improper English to stalking to waiting patiently to using people to other such slightly evil means to charm his lady love. Manav will warm the hearts of the readers and will keep them glued till the very end. The rest of the supporting characters, like the three friends of Manav, to Manav's mother, they all will make the readers feel like reading about everyday flawed characters. Overall, the characters of this book will keep the readers interested to the story.
Overall, this is an absolute treat for Chetan Bhagat haters and they must not miss out this book.
Verdict: An entertaining and hysterically funny parody of Chetan Bhagat's latest book.
Courtesy: Thanks to both Goodreads and Bloomsbury India for the book.
----Catherynne M. Valente
Judy Balan and Kishore Manohar, two Indian writers, pen a sarcastic tale in contrast to the popular India writer, Chetan Bhagat's book, Half Girlfriend in their new book, Half Boyfriend. This book, in short, is a parody to Bhagat's book and the authors have diligently portrayed the sarcasm and the criticism of Bhagat's story thereby inventing a hilarious tale of a boy-girl love story.
Synopsis:
A fun and clever (and shameless!) parody of Chetan Bhagat's Half Girlfriend.
In Half Boyfriend, a feudal rich boy from a village courts a gorgeous city brat who has a weakness for lost causes. They go through a series of pointless events and unbelievable coincidences in a dead-end plot that has to end with the chauvinist sleeping with the girl.
Manav, a rural Prince of a village in Bihar, meets the rich and posh Delhi girl, Rhea. Manav uses his charm of not speaking correct English to befriend Rhea but things get worse, when he practically starts stalking her and the girl had to get a restraining order, but Manav knows that Rhea is the one for his heart and no matter what, he will wait for her till she understands that she too loves him. Yes the climax is predictable if you have read the book that is based on, but the story is so entertaining and funny, that it will keep the readers rooted.
Okay for my non-Indian friends, I must clarify a bit about Indian marriage system. Well in our country, people often marry within their or higher than their social strata, so most of the time, if a village guy, irrespective of his financial condition, proposes to a posh city girl, then it is obvious that he will get rejected by the girl. Moreover, the society will judge the girl if she marries someone below her social status. What to do, this is way, how our narrow-minded Indian society works! And kudos to such culture!!
So back to the review. The authors have penned the tale with a myriad of emotions ranging from fun to poignant to anger and have strikingly portrayed them thus making their readers to feel the story deeply. The authors writing style is strong yet it lacked from expressiveness. The narrative is light and at times will make the readers go completely ROFL. And thank god, the authors have not used that crappy Hinglish (Hindi + English) language in the book. The readers will be impressed with the quality of the speech used in this book. The pacing is really fast as the story has an ability to arrest the minds of the readers right from the beginning and will keep them hooked till the very end.
The authors have used so many references in their book that point directly to Bhagat's book, Half Girlfriend, that will definitely amuse the readers, both a Bhagat fan and a non-Bhagat fan. This is a parody but that gives birth to a witty story laced with criticism to the original book.
The characters are an absolute fun and are highly realistic. The protagonist, Manav, is a determined young man, whose only aim is to win the heart of the girl who will be the princess/queen of his village. He used improper English to stalking to waiting patiently to using people to other such slightly evil means to charm his lady love. Manav will warm the hearts of the readers and will keep them glued till the very end. The rest of the supporting characters, like the three friends of Manav, to Manav's mother, they all will make the readers feel like reading about everyday flawed characters. Overall, the characters of this book will keep the readers interested to the story.
Overall, this is an absolute treat for Chetan Bhagat haters and they must not miss out this book.
Verdict: An entertaining and hysterically funny parody of Chetan Bhagat's latest book.
Courtesy: Thanks to both Goodreads and Bloomsbury India for the book.
February 1, 2022
I wish I came across this author earlier. I've never read Parody's before, this is my first time and I'm pretty much impressed with the level of accuracy the Authors went about mocking the choices D-Bag made in his books. How he uses the typical trope and never grew as an author and everything not only Bollywood but every other Indian movie take for granted. Such a joyful read this book is.
May 17, 2016
A shameless parody that cracks you up in every chapter, I am simply in love with Half Boyfriend! It is hilarious, cheeky, and very innocently it has ripped apart mainstream novels by Chetan Bhagat that we secretly love to read.
As the name suggests, Half Boyfriend is a parody of Chetan Bhagat's (don't know how!) famous novel, Half Girlfriend which was released with much fanfare. Written by Judy Balan and Kishore Manohar, Half Boyfriend follows the story of a feudal rich boy from a village, Manav, who is basically a Prince and a gorgeous city girl Rhea who hails from a rich family and has a weakness for "Lost Causes".
Manav meets Rhea and falls in love with her. I am sorry, he doesn't fall in love, instead, he decides within minutes that he has found the next queen for his little kingdom. Shamelessly, he starts stalking Rhea in an attempt to court her, woo her and then as cliched novels end, sleep with her into a marriage.
In between this awesome parody, you come across series of pointless events and unbelievable coincidences that make Mr. Bhagat what he is today. You see Rhea trying to get rid of Manav and her psychopathic behavior, you see her "lost cause" weakness taking over her brain sometimes, you meet a "Queen Villain" who doesn't want her son to replace her place in the kingdom. (She reminds me of Cersei Lannister of Game of Thrones but in an Indian way). Even the President of America graces the reader with his presence!
The beauty of Half Boyfriend is the "short version" at the start of each chapter. Within few lines, the writers share with you what you will come across in the chapter. And these 3-4 lines only will make you laugh! I mean I have never come across such creativity! Another point to note that Half Boyfriend is not just a parody of Chetan Bhagat's Half Girlfriend, it gives a bigger message related to Indian pop culture wherein there is a thin line between persistence and stalking, but is still pretty much ignored in Bhagat's writing. As an important influencer, one should practice a little caution when it comes to writing on a mass scale.
Just like his books, prologue, and epilogue in Half Boyfriend has Chetan Bhagat visiting the protagonist. And out of the two, epilogue is something that you simply cannot miss! It has all the masala! The only place I felt stuck was in Chapter 26. But then Judy and Kishore made it pretty clear in the short version that I will be like "Who the fuck is Allen" every time I read Allen!
All in all, Half Boyfriend was like one amazing break from serious reading for me. It has Bollywood drama, villains, cheesy sidekicks, crazy cross-country chases, a psychotic hero and damsel in distress. And for others, this is one book that you simply cannot miss.
And any which ways, secretly we all have a soft spot for Bhagat's books, so why not devour into the other (awesome) half of the story?
As the name suggests, Half Boyfriend is a parody of Chetan Bhagat's (don't know how!) famous novel, Half Girlfriend which was released with much fanfare. Written by Judy Balan and Kishore Manohar, Half Boyfriend follows the story of a feudal rich boy from a village, Manav, who is basically a Prince and a gorgeous city girl Rhea who hails from a rich family and has a weakness for "Lost Causes".
Manav meets Rhea and falls in love with her. I am sorry, he doesn't fall in love, instead, he decides within minutes that he has found the next queen for his little kingdom. Shamelessly, he starts stalking Rhea in an attempt to court her, woo her and then as cliched novels end, sleep with her into a marriage.
In between this awesome parody, you come across series of pointless events and unbelievable coincidences that make Mr. Bhagat what he is today. You see Rhea trying to get rid of Manav and her psychopathic behavior, you see her "lost cause" weakness taking over her brain sometimes, you meet a "Queen Villain" who doesn't want her son to replace her place in the kingdom. (She reminds me of Cersei Lannister of Game of Thrones but in an Indian way). Even the President of America graces the reader with his presence!
The beauty of Half Boyfriend is the "short version" at the start of each chapter. Within few lines, the writers share with you what you will come across in the chapter. And these 3-4 lines only will make you laugh! I mean I have never come across such creativity! Another point to note that Half Boyfriend is not just a parody of Chetan Bhagat's Half Girlfriend, it gives a bigger message related to Indian pop culture wherein there is a thin line between persistence and stalking, but is still pretty much ignored in Bhagat's writing. As an important influencer, one should practice a little caution when it comes to writing on a mass scale.
Just like his books, prologue, and epilogue in Half Boyfriend has Chetan Bhagat visiting the protagonist. And out of the two, epilogue is something that you simply cannot miss! It has all the masala! The only place I felt stuck was in Chapter 26. But then Judy and Kishore made it pretty clear in the short version that I will be like "Who the fuck is Allen" every time I read Allen!
All in all, Half Boyfriend was like one amazing break from serious reading for me. It has Bollywood drama, villains, cheesy sidekicks, crazy cross-country chases, a psychotic hero and damsel in distress. And for others, this is one book that you simply cannot miss.
And any which ways, secretly we all have a soft spot for Bhagat's books, so why not devour into the other (awesome) half of the story?
May 1, 2016
I haven't read a parody before. This one was a first and let's say not the last. I enjoyed it a lot. I have come to a stage where I have read more than enough share of Chetan Bhagat's books and thus needed something different. Then this book sprang up (Thank You Bloomsbury India) and my curiosity forced me to read it.
Half Boyfriend is a typical Bollywood movie but in the form of a book. You will be introduced to the macho hero who loves dramatic romantic gestures and living a life of 50's, a heroine who is delicate as a flower (the hero is intent on protecting the flower too) but can suddenly switch on the smartness mode to get her way, and obviously how can a good old Bollywood love story end without a scheming mother-in-law who thinks her darling stalker son is too good for any girl that isn't of her choice.
This book is funny, sarcastic, and a light read. Couple all this with a sprinkle of music, dramatic gestures, typical Bollywood sidekicks and world famous politician who seem to not know how they have fallen into our characters romantic mess of a life but are hell bent on getting out of it even if it means helping them silly out.
It isn't a long book so you can finish it within a day, which is what I did. I sat through the day and devoured it like a Bollywood maniac I am. It's not original but it is what you need to escape the reality. If you like the old clichè Bollywood, then this is what you need. Don't miss the epilogue, it's the best part of the book. =D
Half Boyfriend is a typical Bollywood movie but in the form of a book. You will be introduced to the macho hero who loves dramatic romantic gestures and living a life of 50's, a heroine who is delicate as a flower (the hero is intent on protecting the flower too) but can suddenly switch on the smartness mode to get her way, and obviously how can a good old Bollywood love story end without a scheming mother-in-law who thinks her darling stalker son is too good for any girl that isn't of her choice.
This book is funny, sarcastic, and a light read. Couple all this with a sprinkle of music, dramatic gestures, typical Bollywood sidekicks and world famous politician who seem to not know how they have fallen into our characters romantic mess of a life but are hell bent on getting out of it even if it means helping them silly out.
It isn't a long book so you can finish it within a day, which is what I did. I sat through the day and devoured it like a Bollywood maniac I am. It's not original but it is what you need to escape the reality. If you like the old clichè Bollywood, then this is what you need. Don't miss the epilogue, it's the best part of the book. =D
March 9, 2023
absolutely ballshit bad lmao
November 27, 2018
Book 89, week 48
Half Boyfriend by Judy Balan
Rating: 3/5
A funny, witty, sarcastic book, a spoof of CB's Half girlfriend. An inane storyline with a guy who can't take no for an answer and a girl willing to go to any lengths to say no. Throw in the hero's sidekicks called Amar Akbar Anthony, a Lalita Pawar-esque sasu ma, some elephants, and the American President orchestrating a 'non-love' story from across the world, and you've got yourself a laugh riot.
Each chapter begins with a single sentence description. You can actually just read these one-liners to get a gist, but then you will miss out on the witty writing. The writing is smooth and engaging, although the book seems to lag in the second half. But I can't blame the author's much, as the original story was too blah itself, so a spoof that stays pretty true to the storyline would obviously get frustrating for anyone with basic common sense. (Which seems to be missing from CB books lately, but that is another debate I don't wanna have here :p).
All in all, a fun light book, good for a quick read between heavy tomes.
Half Boyfriend by Judy Balan
Rating: 3/5
A funny, witty, sarcastic book, a spoof of CB's Half girlfriend. An inane storyline with a guy who can't take no for an answer and a girl willing to go to any lengths to say no. Throw in the hero's sidekicks called Amar Akbar Anthony, a Lalita Pawar-esque sasu ma, some elephants, and the American President orchestrating a 'non-love' story from across the world, and you've got yourself a laugh riot.
Each chapter begins with a single sentence description. You can actually just read these one-liners to get a gist, but then you will miss out on the witty writing. The writing is smooth and engaging, although the book seems to lag in the second half. But I can't blame the author's much, as the original story was too blah itself, so a spoof that stays pretty true to the storyline would obviously get frustrating for anyone with basic common sense. (Which seems to be missing from CB books lately, but that is another debate I don't wanna have here :p).
All in all, a fun light book, good for a quick read between heavy tomes.
December 12, 2019
act 1(71 pages) is good.
act 2(76 pages) very bed, boring. just trying to keep story going.
act 3(27 pages) this is the main act where you regrat to buy it. if you like romantic, cute love stories, then you gonna hate whole book in act 3. at the end of act 2, i was ganna give this book 2 stars, but act 3 is so absurd. Rhea's so mean charactor in last act, ruined everything. although book wasn't good at the end of act 2 but it's horrible in climax.
whole book :- POV changes abruptly. that's something confusing & annoying.
half gf was ok read, but this book sucks, too much boring after act 1. neither her writing style was good. a few jokes was laughable. that's all.
overall don't even think to buy it.
act 2(76 pages) very bed, boring. just trying to keep story going.
act 3(27 pages) this is the main act where you regrat to buy it. if you like romantic, cute love stories, then you gonna hate whole book in act 3. at the end of act 2, i was ganna give this book 2 stars, but act 3 is so absurd. Rhea's so mean charactor in last act, ruined everything. although book wasn't good at the end of act 2 but it's horrible in climax.
whole book :- POV changes abruptly. that's something confusing & annoying.
half gf was ok read, but this book sucks, too much boring after act 1. neither her writing style was good. a few jokes was laughable. that's all.
overall don't even think to buy it.
February 15, 2019
'What are coincidences & how they're created?' A coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances which have no apparent casual connection with each other. The perception of remarkable coincidences may lead to supernatural, occult or paranormal claims!
Disclaimer - The above quote is the only thing I liked about this book.
There're lots of things I would like to discuss. Most importantly, the writing style is what really intrigued & kept me hooked till the end of the book. Especially the sense of humour which has been encapsulated into it in a very refined & propounded manner defines how satirical writing can be. I liked the idea of writing a parody version of a previously published novel 'half girlfriend' by Chetan Bhagat.
However, there're certain traits that this book also inherits from it's predecessor.
What I disliked in this book & upto a large extent, you any call it 'despise' is the objectification of women. I loathe those books which objectify a woman based on her external/physical features in terms of sex/lust. The book passes comments like de-flowering a girl, where the flower symbolises a girl's chastity/virginity. If that's not all the damage that needs to be done, the book further instigates this fact by claiming that if a man manages to sleep with a women or apparently, steals her virginity. Then she for a matter of fact belongs to him forever. Like seriously, would you believe that? A girl is a property of man irrespective of her wish or not. And the blatant claim lies in the fact of her sleeping with him or not without even bothering about her consent.
Disclaimer - The above quote is the only thing I liked about this book.
There're lots of things I would like to discuss. Most importantly, the writing style is what really intrigued & kept me hooked till the end of the book. Especially the sense of humour which has been encapsulated into it in a very refined & propounded manner defines how satirical writing can be. I liked the idea of writing a parody version of a previously published novel 'half girlfriend' by Chetan Bhagat.
However, there're certain traits that this book also inherits from it's predecessor.
What I disliked in this book & upto a large extent, you any call it 'despise' is the objectification of women. I loathe those books which objectify a woman based on her external/physical features in terms of sex/lust. The book passes comments like de-flowering a girl, where the flower symbolises a girl's chastity/virginity. If that's not all the damage that needs to be done, the book further instigates this fact by claiming that if a man manages to sleep with a women or apparently, steals her virginity. Then she for a matter of fact belongs to him forever. Like seriously, would you believe that? A girl is a property of man irrespective of her wish or not. And the blatant claim lies in the fact of her sleeping with him or not without even bothering about her consent.
June 2, 2025
Its a parody, to a famous book, and a motion picture by @judy.balan and Kishore manohar , and this show the Manav jha as an innocent, dumb and anti-hero for many deeds that is not actually in the book, and refer Chetan Bhagat as a douce bag, and an ass who is just change the story. He want to take revenge in this where he love is. From basketball episode to show her that he is a loser and English lesson to stacker incident ,, they are all connected, his friends make him went to stage to talk to her after the dorm incident to have sex with him or leave. They show him smart when she get into fake marriage, with Rohan and he used his sources to get her, he make acquaintance with some sourceful people to get to know about the truth and they drugged her which make her see weird dreams, after that they locked her in the basement when rohan want to have a piece of her as she is his half wife and he have some right, but she left London and return he plan everything to get her, and finally his mother become villian and he found her even in New-york because of her dream to sing in bars of New-york and he take her back with. And this show many black humour in the novel that was quite disturbing for some. And this end that prophecy that Rhea somany will marry a prince in the end..
May 14, 2017
Seems funny at the starting but it then gets you where it starts making no sense. Overall, ok. Read only you have to much time to waste. At the end, of course you might end up asking why I picked this book.
May 19, 2018
terrible.
July 2, 2019
First half keeps you hooked but second half is quite tiresome. The climax is blah. The story takes a direction in second half where it makes no sense at all. Too over the top hyperbole.
July 17, 2019
**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** Nyc
July 22, 2021
Culture is dazzling! Enjoyed it.
May 17, 2016
Judy Balan and Kishore Manohar deliver a half-baked parody based on Chetan Bhagat’s Half Girlfriend which is filled with sarcasm and wit that hide the slightly ridiculous story line.
Read full review at https://theramblingsofabookaholic.wor...
Read full review at https://theramblingsofabookaholic.wor...
May 27, 2016
A TOTAL FLOP! Come'n hating Chetan Bhagat doesn't means to write useless stories!
January 23, 2017
The spoof is better than the original !!!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews