May 1985
The guy looked at her again. Towards his right, dressed in a
white salwar kameez with tiny black polka dots, was this
beautiful girl. She looked tensed. Both of them were at the bus stop waiting
for their bus. The whole place looked deserted except for these two people, a
bus stop and a street light.
Right in front of the bus stop there was a large bill board
carrying the poster of the movie ‘Yeh Zindagi ab tere naam’. Coincidently, the
movie heroine in the poster– Madhumala was wearing a dress similar to that of
this girl.
She had managed to create ripples in his heart, like a beautiful
swan in the lake. His feelings took the form of words and were fighting
hard to find their way out.
‘Enough is enough. The bus can arrive at any moment now and
then, I would never see her again.’ he thought and decided to express his
feelings to her then and there.
He adjusted his bell bottom trousers and finally spoke to her.
“Excuse me”, he said.
******************************************************************
“It’s not at all appealing, the story”, Nitya placed her cup on the table.
“It’s not at all appealing, the story”, Nitya placed her cup on the table.
“Why? What happened?”
“First of all, let’s not go the retro way please. Wouldn’t it be
too difficult to shoot?. Secondly, this usual ‘love at first sight’ thing.
People might find it boring.”
“True that”, he seconded her opinion. “Do you have something in
mind?” Akshay asked.
“Hmm I do. But I’ll stick to the opening scene, sans the retro
thing and the concept of love at first sight”, said she and added “And let us
keep it in first person narrative. It helps in keeping the story engaging. And
I don’t want to call the characters Mohit and Neetu. I’ll change that”.
He nodded.
“Okay... Here it goes” and she started narrating the story.
*****************************************************************
May 2014
May 2014
I looked at my watch again. It read 9 PM. The place looked
completely deserted except for the bus stop, a howling dog under the street
light and a girl who was standing at the other corner of the bus stop.
It was almost half an hour since we both stood there waiting for
the bus and not even a vehicle had passed by us. I couldn’t catch a glimpse of
her face, but her body language suggested that she was quite tensed.
I felt pity on her. It’s not that I was attracted to her but at
that time in the night; any girl in her place would have drawn the same
emotions from me. I felt like assuring her that she needn’t worry and that I’ll
make sure that she makes it home safe. Not sure of how well that would be
perceived by her, I decided to stay quite.
She was wearing a thick grey jacket and had a small woolen cap
sitting lightly on her head, covering her ears. Under the street light, her
hair looked silky and straight but her face was not clearly visible.
She looked at her phone again and then at her right, hoping the
bus to come. Yes, she was tensed.
The next moment, I could see a faint light of an auto
approaching towards us from the left. The girl turned towards my direction
anxiously. It was then that I saw her- the girl filled with innocence, beauty,
anxiousness and a pair of beautiful eyes. I wish I could freeze that moment
right there and look at her forever and ever.
The auto driver honked the horn and stopped next to me first.
“Kaha Jaana hai Sir?” (Where do you want to go?), the auto driver asked me.
I could see it, the disappointment on her face about losing the
auto. She quickly looked back into her mobile acting as if she was least
bothered.
I asked the driver to wait for a second. Then I turned towards
her and called out to her in a loud voice or at least I thought that it was
loud.
“Madam!” I tried to shout barely. But I was way too nervous that
the word had hardly escaped my throat. She didn’t turn.
I took a deep breath and called her again.
“Excuse me...!” I said. She finally heard and looked at me.
For a second I turned pale and started stammering, “You
look alone and tensed. It is really late. You can go in this auto. I can wait
for another”.
“Nah..! It’s okay”, she responded with a faint smile. She had a
dimple on her right cheek, I noticed. All that I hoped for was that she doesn’t
mistake my act to be a desperate attempt to impress her. It was just my genuine
concern for a woman’s safety.
“Night… Dark... Not safe” I spoke in broken words. ‘I speak better English’ I wanted to add.
“Thank you”, she smiled. Ah! I was wrong earlier; she had
dimples on both of her cheeks. And suddenly I realized that I should smile back.
“Welcome” I tried smiling back. But my cheeks were frozen and my
heart was pumping blood at a record pace.
As she got into the auto, I simply kept wondering if I should
have smiled back at her. The auto started moving. I stared at it disappearing
into the dark and kept wondering why is it that I always fail at making any
conversation with a girl.
**************************************************************
“I think this is going to be lazy”, Akshay interrupted.
“Lazy?? I didn’t get you”, Nitya frowned.
“I meant that it’s not going to work. Not going to work…lazy….!
Did you get the joke?” Akshay put to display all his 32 teeth.
“Oh. What happened to its legs?” Nitya asked.
“Legs..! Who’s Legs? I didn’t get you”, Now it was his turn to
pose his doubt.
“Legs of the joke. It was lame. No legs.. Lame.. Did you get the
joke?”, she imitated him.
“Ah..! Stop acting like me. And I think it would be better if you
make the lady ask him also to get into the auto”
“Oh. Please..! The audience would find it sooo boring”
“Earlier you had said the same regarding the ‘love at first sight’
concept. And then you ended up having it in your narration as well”
“Excuse me..! He is yet to fall in love. He is just attracted to
her. Moreover he is very innocent. And regarding travelling in the same auto,
it’s so predictable”.
“No..! At times you have to keep it that way, because sometimes
the audience would love to see what they expect to see. And it’s not always
genius to deviate from their expectations.” he said in a cold voice.
She could easily notice that for the first time in the past one
hour he was being serious in what he spoke.
“Fine... So let’s go the audience way”, she said and smiled.
******************************************************************
I just stood there staring blankly into the darkness in front of
me, cursing myself for reasons unknown. My mind was debating hard on what I
should do- Attend ‘Art of
Living’ or read ‘You can win’. It kept telling me that it’s time that
I start working on my confidence level.
After about a minute I saw a vehicle heading towards me. A few
seconds later I could make out that it was an auto, a couple of seconds later I
could see the same driver and when it stopped, I was taken aback to see the
same girl still there sitting in the auto.
“It’s late. I think even you should come along”, she said. This
time I had decided against stuttering.
“It’s okay. I’ll manage”, I smiled nervously.
It’s possible that even she was thinking about me in the past
one minute, I assumed. The fundamental difference
between physics and me is that my assumptions are always beautiful and gets me
excited.
“It’s already dark. Please get in”, she insisted.
“I hope you didn’t mistake me. I just felt that it’s not safe to
travel alone in an auto at this time. So...” she whispered into my ears as soon
as I got into the auto. She had just mocked at my assumptions.
“Ohh.. No problem..!” I lied and pressed myself against the
corner of the auto- I felt the need to maintain a certain distance between us. I
was utterly conscious and nervous.
Seeing me occupying lesser space than what an iPad would have
occupied, she smiled and said, “Sir.! I think you should sit comfortably. There
is enough space, please make yourself comfortable”.
There is no such word as Gentlelady and as far as my vocabulary
is concerned, there isn’t any word that is a female equivalent for ‘Gentleman’.
She was polite, pleasant and sweet. I felt like extending the same gesture.
“Don’t call me Sir! My name is Raj!” I half smiled and made
myself comfortable by occupying another six inch of the seat.
“I think you have forgotten something!” She replied with a hint
of laughter and left me wondering for a few seconds.
“What is that?”, I asked.
“Raj..! Naam to suna hi hoga” (Raaj.! I assume that you
have heard this name before) said
she and laughed innocently. Her dimples teased me and aroused a strong urge in
me to touch them.
****************************************************************
“Was there a necessity to add this? Let me tell you, I hate
Shahrukh Khan”, Akshay smirked.
“Please..!! I love himmmm..!! He is the best! And any romantic
story is incomplete without him” Nitya spoke in Shahrukh’s defense.
“Fine..! But only if you agree to follow up that dialogue, with
the one that I have in my mind right now”, he threw an evil smile.
“And what is that?” she was curious.
“Raj smiles at her and asks her name” said he and adjusted his
throat.
“What is your name?” he spoke in a different voice and adjusted
his throat again.
“Kiran”, he spoke in a female voice and started blushing.
All of a sudden he changed his expressions into a villainous one
and stammered in shahrukh’s voice.
“Kkk Kkkii iiiii kki kkiran”, and he
started laughing.
“Stupid”, said she. “Fine! I will remove that dialogue. Let us not
have any”, she sounded a little upset.
Akshay felt that he had disappointed her.
“Sorry! I was just kidding. We will stick to your dialogue. It’s
good. I just felt like annoying you a little”. He kept his fork down and wiped
his mouth with the tissue paper.
“Thank you”, she said and her eyes shone.
**************************************************************
“Raj..! Naam to suna hi hoga” (Raaj.! I assume that you
have heard this name before) said
she and laughed innocently. Her dimples teased me and aroused a strong urge in
me to touch them.
I was about to ask her name and her phone rang. The four point
something screen of her mobile lit up. It said ‘Dad’ and displayed the picture of a fat
and half bald old man in a polo t-shirt. Going by her looks, it was difficult
to believe that the fat chap was her dad.
“Dad is calling”, she said looking at the screen. ‘I know’, I felt like telling
her.
“Hello Papa..!” she said as soon as she answered the call. I
felt that it won’t be right on my part to overhear the conversation. I tried
hard not to but still I could hear her in bits and parts.
“Yeah Dad! On my way..!”
“Yeah I had!”
“Don’t worry!”
“No.. No..It would get late. Be near VM road. I will get down
there”.
“Yeah. Told na. Hmm. A friend of mine is here with me”. All of sudden I felt that, ‘friend’ is the world’s most beautiful word.
“I am going to be safe with him”, said she looking at me.
I think there is no better compliment for a guy than a girl
believing in him that he would assure her safety. I felt happy and proud and
not sure as how to react to this. I just smiled at her and quickly looked
outside to hide my emotions. In my entire life, rarely had I ever spoken to a
girl. But this girl was a rarity and with each second passing by, she was
leaving an impression on me. The night was turning out to be the most memorable
one of my life.
“Yeah! Dad. See you! Bye”, she said and hung up the call.
“My Dad. He was a bit worried about me and once I told him that
you’re with me, he was quite relieved. He would pick me up from VM Road. My
home is half an hour drive from there” she said and cleared those few strands
of hair that were disturbing her face.
“Oh. Okay”, I said. I wanted to talk to her more, but
I couldn't.
“And Sorry! I forgot to ask you, where are you headed? I think
you should tell the autowala the place!” She reminded me.
I asked the auto driver to drop me near Bhagat Singh layout.
***********************************************************
“Why did you stop?”, Akshay asked her as he took back his card
from the waiter.
“Thank you sir. Please do visit us again”, the waiter spoke the
well-rehearsed lines.
They both smiled in response and started walking towards the exit.
“What next?”, Akshay asked her.
“I am still figuring out. Hmmm actually we can jump to the point
where she gets down from the auto and her dad picks her up” , she replied
without looking at him. She was still thinking.
“No..! I think they should talk for some more time. There should
be some magical and pleasant conversations, add to it a romantic background
score and it will evoke tingly feelings in the viewers”, he paused briefly.
“Yes, we should get some romantic moments in place”, Akshay’s eyes brightened
up as he spoke.
“And what next? A romantic number?”
“Why not? What’s wrong in having a romantic song in a short movie?”
“And then you would add some more commercial elements,
fights etc. Right?” There was sarcasm in her voice.
“Look!” He said. There was a noticeable change in his voice. He
continued “I don’t believe in this concept of Class and Commercial movies. I
just believe in entertaining the audience. And the way you enthrall them might
vary. You can either chose to make them laugh, get them anxious or leave them
wondering. You can even make them cry or smile. At the end of the day, it’s all
about making them forget the real world existence and make them experience the
world that you have created for those two hours. And that’s the principle that
I believe in”.
She could easily notice that the passion that he carried about
film making. For the second time in the day, he had sounded that serious. ‘He is not all that stupid. He is
something more than what he appears to be’, she
spoke to herself. He had managed to make his first impression and win her first
admiration. But she chose not to show it to him. She kept looking at him for a
few seconds, after he was done with his mini speech.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing”, she shook her head and laughed. “It’s just that these
emotional words don’t suit you. You look funny. I mean it sounds funny”, she
lied and continued laughing.
He didn’t react to it and there was a brief moment of silence as
they walked out together. After a minute he quickly went a few steps ahead of
her and turned around.
She also stopped and looked at him. They were half a meter apart
and he was now staring at her with all seriousness.
“What?” she asked in a nervous tone.
“What do you think?” he asked. After two seconds he spread out his
arms and then his lips, revealing the cunning smile of his. He then asked his
second question, “Now does this suit me, romance?” and started laughing.
“Stupid.!”, she shouted. “I thought you were going to hit me. You
looked so serious”, she added and left out a heavy breath.
“Whatever! But any cost, there will be a romantic conversation in
place” he said.
“Fine. But I have to leave now. I have got some shopping to do. Is
it fine if we meet up tomorrow? Same place.” She said. “And we will try penning
down some romantic dialogues tomorrow”, she added.
******************************************************************
“What? You agreed that we will meet tomorrow right?” she asked.
They were in the parking lot now. Five minutes ago they had wished each other a
goodbye and had decided to meet the next day. When she had looked up after
taking out the helmet from her scooty’s belly, he was again seen standing right
there- smiling awkwardly at her.
“There seems to be a problem with my vehicle. It’s just not
starting. It would be nice, if you could just drop me”, he tried to make it
look as if he was pleading.
“Oh! Is it?” she paused. “So where is your vehicle?” she asked.
He quickly looked around and when he saw a Duster, he immediately pointed
towards it.
“There it is”, he said. The next moment, a guy was seen getting
out of it.
She smirked at Akshay.
“It’s the bike. The bike that’s parked next to the car. I was yet
to complete my sentence” , he lied and followed it up with a wide grin.
She wasn't convinced.
“Fine!!” he threw his hands up in air. “I was lying. But
that doesn't mean that you shouldn't drop me, does
it?” he asked innocently.
“Okay! I will drop you till Blue Water Mart. Clear?” she sounded
like a teacher.
“Fine Madam!” He made it sound like a student.
******************************************************************
“Do you really think Santoor soap helps people stay younger? I
mean, since my childhood they have only one thing to show in their ads. A kid
who comes running and says Mummy..!! And there will be this guy who exclaims Mummy, with a question mark on his face” said
Akshay looking at the range of bathing soaps. She chose to ignore him.
As soon as they had reached the supermarket, he offered to
accompany her. It was just hours since they had met, but they had already built
a comfort zone between them. It appeared as if they knew each other for years.
She had no qualms about him accompanying her in the store. Hence, he followed
her into the supermarket.
Nitya was busy putting things into her cart. Seeing her picking up
a shampoo bottle from the shelf, Akshay quickly came closer to her.
“Are you suffering from Dandruff, hair fall or split hair?” he
flashed his teeth after imitating the TV commercial. “Tan ta naaaa” he moved
his hands like a magician and pulled a shampoo bottle in front of her. “Dabur
Vatika Shampoo” said he and dropped the shampoo bottle in her cart.
“Akshay..!! Pleasee..!” said she and kept the shampoo bottle back
on the shelf. He realized that he should now stop irritating her for a while.
“Nitya..! I can understand that you are in no mood to enjoy my
humor. But can I suggest something useful, interesting and crazy to you?” he
asked.
“Hmm go ahead!” she replied and continued shopping.
“Anyway we are supposed to come up with dialogues for their
conversation right?”
“Yes. But I told you that we will do it tomorrow”
“I know. But don’t you think it will be a little challenging for
us to frame the dialogues?”
“It might be. So?” she started arranging the items in the
cart.
“Here is what I have in my mind. Till you do your shopping,
meanwhile we can also play the roles of those characters ourselves. And we will
start conversing as though we are them. Later we can select the best parts from
our conversation and use it in our script. What do you think?”. He looked
excited.
“That’s a great idea” her eyes lit up but turned narrow the very
next second. “The idea is good. But I don’t want you to crack those lame jokes.
I want you to get into the skin of the character and act like him- shy, silent,
timid and soft spoken. You got to think and speak like Raj” she instructed him
sharply.
“Don’t you worry about that, Madam” he assured.
“Well then, it’s going to be fun. I am game” she said smiling at
him. “Let’s begin” she added. He nodded in response.
- To be continued…….
[Proof Read By Archi Garg..]
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