I think Chetan Bhagat gets way more stick than he deserves. The truth is, he writes and India reads. Most of his criticism stems from the purists or the "hard-core literature fans" who can’t stand the fact that he is the most popular writer from India. Yes, his writing style is nothing compared to an Ayn, a Rohinton Mistry or a Khaled Hosseini, but someone who is selling so much must be doing something right. And he is.
Bhagat always takes up issues which resonate with the masses. In Half Girlfriend, the protagonist is a Bihari guy named Madhav who has a hard time speaking English. Now what can be more common than that? I can envision thousands of youth in Bihar, who will never read "To Kill a Mocking Bird", but who will readily see themselves in Madhav and will have no difficulty in comprehending Bhagat’s simplistic yet charming writing style. The beauty of this process is, some, if not many, will start seeing reading in a different light and will become become readers for life(Hopefully picking up books with more intellectual depth and profound life lessons).
This, I feel, is Bhagat’s biggest contribution. The repeated references to Madhav’s poor English is annoying at times, but almost every book has a phase where the reader fights within himself to either put it down or soldier along. I chose to read on. And the book did hold my attention. Till the last page. And mind you, I am not a guy who reads "Only Chetan Bhagat Novels". I have read my fair share of classics and some have bored me to death. Half Girlfriend had me hooked. Its a charming love story. You will end up rooting for Madhav(Well, if you don’t hold a blinkered opinion of Bhagat’s work, that is).