World's Best Boyfriend by Durjoy Datta: a review

Durjoy Datta. Isn’t the name enough to spark an interest? I guess so! A bestselling author, a successful entrepreneur, a ladies’ man- Durjoy Datta has it all in himself BUT does his 11^th book World’s Best Boyfriend has it within it to catch the readers grasp? It is for the readers to decide. I will be very frank and very true here; I am not a Durjoy Datta fan. Having read very few of his books, If it’s not forever is the only one that stayed with me even after I was done reading the book, many years ago. Being a ‘book buff’ I wanted to read this book because it somehow appealed to me. I felt that he has done something in this book which he hasn’t attempted in the others and that is what made me pick up the book. Of course, reviews from my fellow reader friends and the constant e-mails asking me to review this one acted as the cherry on the cake. When I picked up the book, the blurb said a lot to me.

According to the blurb- Hate, is a four letter word. So is love. And sometimes, people can’t tell the difference... Dhruv and Aranya spend a good part of their lives trying to figure out why they want to destroy each other, why they hurt each other so deeply. And, why they can’t stay away from each other. The answer is just as difficult each time because all they wanted is to do the worst, most miserable things to another. Yet there is something that tells them: THIS IS NOT IT. If you want to know the answer to it all, read the book.

I really have no idea what you are going through after reading the blurb but I somehow felt that this book should not be missed. Very unlike what people have a notion about Datta; this book had something in it which sounded a bit odd. Odd I say because, the blurb might be giving you notions about it being his regulars but I felt that there is a catch somewhere. So finally I started with the book. Here, I would take a moment to talk about the cover of the book. There are two covers. One, that was originally launched and the second is a cover that came up after it being tagged as a bestseller. For me, even though I read the book when it had its first cover, the second cover caught my eye.

Coming to the characters, Aranya is a girl who suffers from a disease called vitiligo since birth and because of which she has been subject to a lot of dislike in her life. When the first time Dhruv and Aranya meet, he too laughs at her. Kinda clichéd? Well, that is how Datta writes. Something clichéd mixed with facts with spices of humour, sex and fiction as condiments is a typical recipe for him. And boy does it work! Dhruv, on the other hand is a person who has seen a lot since childhood. After ‘falling in love all thanks to their differences in school’ they face a situation where one decision changes everything they had between each other. The other characters of the book- Raghuvir, Sanchit did a wonderful job in supporting the main leads. Even though I do not have a favourite character of the book, Raghuvir is someone who I liked. What I felt after reading the characters is that Datta could’ve written in a bit more details about the supporting characters and could’ve cut short a bit on the childhood of the main leads. Given the fact that this is the thickest of all of his books, I guess this was the maximum he could do.

Next, the story. A boy and a girl meet during their school days, they fall in love. Misunderstandings happen. They move on with their life hating each other (hating??) and then they bump into each other again during college. Trying to bring each other down and themselves on the up slot, they realise they are in love. I guess you are getting the flow here. I wouldn’t say more. In the beginning it is introduced that Aranya has a disease about which, apart from a few instances, nothing is mentioned. Either the author could’ve skipped that part or since he wanted to take the bold move, he could’ve written a bit more on it. How the girl lived her life, what she faced etc. Dhruv, too, seemed to be a very reckless person and carefree person and he could’ve brought him live but somehow something was lacking. It also goes without saying that the story was predictable.

Coming to the writing style, I would say that Datta has tried to improve himself a lot. But I personally feel, he does better with a co writer like If it’s not forever rather than writing alone. The command of his language when he is writing with a co writer is much more visible rather than him leaving it to the flow when he writes alone. Datta is known to be a writer who writes a lot of ‘sex scenes’ throughout his books. This book was no exception. Being a ‘book buff’ I would be very true here, I felt like he has to work a lot on his skills. There is a thin line between the brutal honesty in a scene and a cringe worthy scene. For me, in this book, it was the latter. Keeping all these points in mind and wishing him all the best for his future works, I would give this book 2.75 out of 5.