After Twitter fight with Chetan Bhagat and mocking his books, R Madhavan offers clarification

R Madhavan set the record straight after he took digs at Chetan Bhagat and his writing in a series of tweets on Monday.

Actor R Madhavan set the record straight after his seemingly nasty spat with author Chetan Bhagat on Twitter. He confirmed speculation that it was part of the ‘publicity drill’ for their recently-released Netflix series Decoupled.

Chetan Bhagat plays himself in Decoupled, which stars R Madhavan in the lead role.

Replying to a fan, Madhavan wrote, “Hey of course it’s scripted. @chetan_bhagat is my bro… we are just doing the publicity drill.” Chetan replied to the actor, “(Heart emoji) you bro.”

R Madhavan revealed that his fight with Chetan Bhagat was scripted.

Twitter users reacted to the revelation. “Great tactic ngl, searching about the series now after watching y’all beef,” one said. “The usage of emojis gave it up. Should have adopted a more passive-aggressive emoji,” another advised him. “A friendly banter doesn’t hurt much even if it’s scripted,” a third wrote.

“YES! 3 Idiots,” Madhavan replied. The film, in which the actor played an engineering student, was based on Chetan’s book Five Point Someone.

Chetan also took a dig at awards in Bollywood, saying that he would rather win a Pulitzer than something at a ‘pan masala branded award show’. He also suggested that Madhavan was remembered as ‘Farhan from that one movie’.

Madhavan said that he preferred the ‘ ₹300 crore club’ to a bestseller and reminded Chetan of his iconic roles over the years. “I’m not known just as Farhan. I’m also known as Manu from Tanu Weds Manu, Kartikh from Alaipayuthey, and my favourite, Maddy kyunki mein rehta hoon sab ke dil mein (because I live in everyone’s hearts),” he wrote, adding a reference to Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, his debut Bollywood film, in the end.

Also see: R Madhavan says 3 Idiots was ‘better than the book’, Chetan Bhagat hits back with dig at ‘pan masala branded award show’

Chetan plays himself in Decoupled, while Madhavan essays the role of a misanthropic writer named Arya Iyer, who is constantly in competition with him.