Wherever you turned in the city of Mumbai, only one face dominated the skyline - ShivRaj Shekhar. Bollywood's hottest and most current heartthrob. Reigning supreme for the past 5 years, there was no one to overthrow him on the horizon.
Known for his stern and standoffish behavior, the charismatic SRS is alternatively abhorred (by his contemporaries) and adored by his fans. Having the face of an innocent angel and the body of a Greek god, he has dated most of B'woods eligible and not-so-eligible bachelorettes. However, recently disillusioned with the avarice, he has sworn, in print, that he is single and not ready to mingle.
Reaching his sets one day, he was greeted at the door of his van by his make-up dada, who had a slight young thing in tow. Introducing her as Anandi, one of his neighbor's daughters, he requested Shivji to let him hire her as his assistant. Anandi, a final-year student of fashion designing, needed the job desperately as her father was an invalid and she needed to help put her younger brother through school. Planning to attend only the evening classes, she wanted to assist on the first shift of the shoot.
Something kept compelling Shiv not to agree, but his well-hidden soft heart could not take that stand and he allowed her to be hired, so long as "she did not get in his hair."
Over the next couple of days, he noticed Anandi buzzing around like a well-intentioned fly, learning the ropes, so to speak. Her bubbly nature, tinkling laugh, and smile that lit up her face did not go unnoticed. But, he pushed all those thoughts away... she was too young and too innocent.
She soon made her first overture at friendship, running to get him tea/coffee/juice, whatever he needed; almost reading his mind. Starting with a shy good morning sir, the conversation increased from the casual to the personal - about why she was doing what she was and what her plans were. They were soon on first-name basis, though she did add a "ji" to the end of his name.
It soon seemed as if he looked forward to seeing her every morning. The casual jeans and T, the carelessly tied hair, the barely made-up face, all glowing with the joy of living. He thrived on her interaction with himself and all the other members of the unit - no one was below her care and regard. On her part, she was slowly falling hook, line, and sinker. Who could blame her? His awesomeness quotient was too high for a mere girl to resist! Her adoration was apparent, and the whole unit started taking note.
Being the cynic that he was, he soon started questioning himself. Why was he feeling the way he was? He was SRS, idol of millions, and he was going moony eyed over a young girl barely out of the classroom?
Brooding over this fact the whole night, he reached his set in a foul mood. Anandi came chirpily over to him, wished him a good morning, and taking his hand, almost shoved him into his seat. "Shivji, you are late. Let me start your makeup before we all have to stay back late." His ego couldn't take this and he snapped back at her, "I don't think we have the kind of relationship where you start dictating terms to me. Just because I am being kind to you, doesn't mean that you start misunderstanding things. I hope you remember your place; you are just a junior make-up artist and nothing more."
Visibly startled, Anandi stepped back a couple of paces, face dropping, and cheeks flushing. Muttering a soft sorry, she hurried off on the pretext of fetching something. Shiv was startled by the pang of regret he felt. Anandi did not return to his side that day, running all around the set like a whirlwind, playing fetch-and-carry for everybody else. At the end of the day, when the director called for pack-up, Shiv noted that Anandi was nowhere to be seen. In the past, he had sometimes dropped her off close to her institute.
The next day was a big day. A big dance sequence was planned, with the South Indian superstar Jagadeesh coming in to shake his merry hips! Shive arrived early in the morning, to be told that he needed to be bare chested for the sequence with some artistic tattoos (painted of course) on his shoulders and arms. Makeup dada laughingly told him that his clumsy hands could not do justice to the job, and Anandi would work on both his and Jagadeesh's tattoos!
Shiv's spot helped him take his shirt off and defuzzed him… Shiv realized that working in the confines of his vanity might make both him and Anandi uncomfortable, so he called for a chair to be placed under a tree. With a sigh, he settled himself down for the torture he knew would follow. Anandi approached hesitantly, with her palette of colors. Wishing him a soft good morning, she started outlining her conceived design on his shoulders. Her soft touch mesmerized Shiv and he soon lost himself in the gentle flutter of her fingers and the delicateness of her fragrance.
His eyes snapped open when she said, "It's done, sir." Sir? She hadn't called him that in ages! Before he could say anything, Anandi quickly walked off, right over to where Jagadeesh was waiting for his turn. Seething with possessiveness, Shiv watched with an upraised brow as Jagadeesh suddenly looked alert and looked at the pretty young thing in front of him with a lascivious look in his eyes. "Shiv, I didn't know your crew members were so appealing to the eyes. I would have made it a habit to come more often." Shiv glowered at the scene unfolding before him, as Anandi bent over Jagadeesh with the same softness and attention to detail. Suddenly, he saw that Jagadeesh had asked Anandi to touch up his foundation too. As Anandi worked away with the foundation, Jagadeesh suddenly grabbed her hand and bit down on her finger! "Anandi! Come here at once! I need you …" A scared Anandi rushed across… while Jagadeesh grinned at Shiv. "So that's the way the land lies, is it?" his smirk said.
As soon as Anandi reached his side, Shiv sat down and told her to go get a drink of water. "Dada, please handle Jagadeesh for today, Anandi can look after me." Throughout the day, as Anandi touched up his makeup, all he could see was her finger, and anger boiled close to the surface. At pack-up time, Anandi took up a wet sponge and bent over his face to wipe it clean of any residues. Shiv was lost in her innocent face bent over his. Suddenly, her loosely tied bun slipped its pins and fell down in a cascade over both of them. Lost in the darkness and in each other's eyes, they seemed to lose track of time (though only a couple of seconds had passed). Without his knowledge, Shiv's hands reached up to hold onto her wrists. With a catch of her breath, Anandi jerked back, muttering "Sorry" and vanished quickly.
Shiv could not sleep that night. He waited impatiently for the morning and for his next glimpse of Anandi. To his sore disappointment, she did not turn up for work that day. Consoling himself that she was probably busy with college work, Shiv waited (im)patiently for the next, and then the next, day to arrive. On the third day, he built up the courage to ask makeup dada what was wrong with Anandi. He was dismayed to learn that Anandi had told dada that the job was not working out for her and she had got a day job at the local Big Bazaar to tide things over. The day seemed interminable to Shiv.
When he reached home, Shiv could not eat, sleep, or drink… what had he done? Life had thrown him a beautiful opportunity and he had thrown it away. Striding out of his house, he got onto his monstrous Harley Davidson and set out for a long drive, wishing that the cool sea breeze would cool his thoughts. Unknowingly, his path led him straight to the road leading to Anandi's chawl. Setting his shoulders, and accepting the inevitable, he stopped off at the local store and picked up a little something. Parking his bike at the kerb outside the chawl and ignoring all the curious stares, he climbed the stairs to his ultimate destination.
At his peremptory knock, the door opened. Shiv couldn't help staring at the vision that opened the door. Clad in a simple white kurta and jeans, hair cascading around her unadorned face, Anandi blinked up at him in shock! "Aap?" "Yes, can I come in for a minute?" Anandi stepped back, and Shiv stepped into a small but extremely neat hall, leading into another room. Anandi's father was lying on the divan, while her brother almost jumped out of his chair in excitement. Shiv handed over a pack of Ferrero Rocher to Anandi, greeted both the other occupants of the room and sat down to exchange some pleasantries. After a brief while, he suddenly said, "Sir, I need to talk to Anandi for a while. Can I take her out for a while?" Though Anandi looked visibly perturbed, her father smiled and asked when they would be back.
Walking down the stairs in silence, Anandi quickly tied her hair in a knot, not knowing that Shiv was watching her from the corners of his eyes. Seeing the bike, she balked, but seeing the unspoken challenge in his eyes, she quietly hopped onto the back. Holding on for dear life to the back of the bike, she tried to keep as much distance between the two of them as possible.
Smiling mischievously to himself, Shiv stomped on the accelerator and vroomed out of the lane… As they reached the sea front, the speed of the bike only increased and Anandi slowly found herself clinging onto Shiv, first with one hand and then with both. Veering onto the sea link, Shiv looked out for a relative oasis of peace and drew up. At the slowing down, Anandi raised her head, which was by then, buried in his shoulders, and looked around dazedly. Shiv savored the slow release of her fingers, one at a time, from the confines of his jacket, and with a sense of regret, felt her slowly sliding off the bike. He watched her walk to the rails, and quietly walked up behind her.
"Anandi, I am sorry if I hurt you." She turned to look at him with deeply sorrowful eyes… Raising a hand to brush the tresses blowing in the wind away from her eyes, he said, "But I am not truly sorry because it made me realize what you mean to me. I have missed you more than life itself these past couple of days…" Anandi blushed and lowered her eyes. Taking her hands in his, he raised both to his lips, pressing a deep kiss into each palm. "Tell me I am not alone in this, Anandi, and I can count on you in my future." Sinking slightly into his embrace, Anandi relaxed and rested her head on his shoulder. "Oh, Shiv!"
PS: Though this is not true to the characterization of the CVs, seeing both serials for the past few days put these naughty thoughts in my mind. Purists, do forgive me!!😛
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