2 States: The Story of My Marriage....

2 States: The Story of My Marriage commonly known as 2 States is a 2009 novel written by Chetan Bhagat. It is the story about a couple coming from two different states in India, who face hardships in convincing their parents to approve of their marriage.The novel is said to be inspired from the real life story^[1] of the author and his wife Anusha SuryaNarayanan who are from Delhi and Tamil Nadu, respectively. This is the second Chetan Bhagat book based largely on his life, with the other being his first book Five Point Someone. He wrote this novel after quitting his job at an investment bank. This is his fourth book after Five Point Someone, One Night @ the Call Center and The Three Mistakes of My Life.

Synopsis

Partly autobiographical, the book revolves around Krish Malhotra and Ananya Swaminathan who hail from two states in India (Punjab and Tamil Nadu) and narrates the story of how they fall in love and get married despite family oppositon and North-South cultural barriers.
Krish Malhotra and Ananya Swaminathan meet during their first week at IIM Ahemadabad. Ananya garners a reputation of being the most popular girl in the first year and this makes Krish wary of asking her out. Ananya who is from an economics background seeks Krish's (who is from an IIT) help in some math intensive subjects and the two begin to study together. Soon their friendship blossoms into love and the two move in together. Both of them end up getting recruited by companies of their choice and Krish proposes marriage to Ananya. She accepts readily and th make their parents meet on the convocation day. Ananya's conservative Tamil Brahmin parents and Krish's over the top Punjabi mother find it difficult to get along and both sets of parents express their disapproval of the relationship.
Krish's mother forces him to see other Punjabi girls from well to do families. Ananyas' parents also do their best to get her married to a foreign educated Tamil Brahmin boy. Krish asks his company to place him in Chennai so he can be close to Ananya and embarks on a mission to win over Ananya's parents. Despite many hurdles, Krish convinces Ananya's parents of his love for their daughter. Krish and Ananya then go visit Krishs mother. Ananya saves the wedding of Krish's cousin sister through her tact and negotiation skills and wins over his family. Krish's father, with who he has a strained and troubled relationship, however refuses to accept Ananya. Krish decides to ignore him.
More trouble ensues as the parents on both sides cannot adjust to each others demands and cultures. The wedding is called off and Krish slips into depression. Krish's dad tries to mend his relationship with his son by playing peacemaker between the families and convincing Ananya's parents to agree to the wedding. The story ends with Krish and Ananya finally getting married and becoming parents to twin boys.
The story is narrated from Krish's point of view and takes digs at both Punjabi and Tamil culture. The tone of the book is mostly humorous.
The character of Krish has many similarities to the character of Hari from Bhagat's earlier book Five Point Someone^{[citation needed]}

Film adaptation

When it was first announced that director Siddharth Anand would make a film based on 2 States, the lead role was slated to be played by Saif Ali Khan and the music to be composed by Vishal Shekhar. Due to creative differences over script between Siddharth and Saif, the project was called off.
Later it was announced that the screen adaptation of 2 States would be produced by Sajid Nadiadwala with Shahrukh Khan and Asin in the leads and that Vishal Bhardwaj will be directing it.
Since Shahrukh Khan did not want to appear in back to back romantic movies, the director decided to look at other options. Later on, it was declared that Ranbir Kapoor would appear as the protagonist in the project. Kapoor later dropped out and actor Imran Khan was announced as the male lead. Due to clash of dates, producers Karan Johar and Sajid Nadiadwala later confirmed that Arjun Kapoor, son of leading producer Boney Kapoor who became an overnight hit with his 2012 debut Ishaqzaade will be essaying the lead role of Krish and Alia Bhatt,daughter of noted filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt who also had a dream debut in 2012 with Student of the Year (film) will be playing the role of Ananya Swaminathan.

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