It was 11:20 a.m. and Shantanu he was lying in bed, too lazy to get up. It had been days since he had been able to sleep till so late in the morning. For everyone else, it was a nice long weekend with Eid and Republic Day holidays back-to-back. But he had to go for shooting even on those days.
His brother had gone out for lunch with a few of his colleagues and Shantanu was alone at home.
He sat up straight on the bed and reached for the TV remote on the side table. He switched the television on. Dil Dostii Dance was playing on Channel V.
Shantanu selected Channel V excitedly. He hadn't watched his own show since more than a month now.
The scene where the gang meets the new dancers was playing. Shantanu recalled how long they had taken to shoot that scene. Priyesh and the other guys were totally new to the acting business and they kept goofing up, poor things. Their goof – ups had made him remember all those times he had made mistakes while shooting scenes, especially the intense SwaRon scenes with Sneha.
It was so hard for him, to be all lovey-dovey when he was totally not used to such stuff. But he had tried, and had finally been able to get over his fear and nervousness.
The episode got over. The precap was going on and Sharon was slapping Swayam.
Ouch! That had been a hard slap Vrushika had given him. He still felt his upper jaw had moved a little after the slap. It had hurt a lot, but thankfully she slapped him just once. It didn't have to be re-shot again and again.
He switched off the TV and decided to finally get off the bed. He quickly got himself ready. He ate a sandwich and collected all the mail that had been kept outside the door before going abck into his room and switching on his laptop.
He wanted to know what everyone's reaction had been regarding the slap. He was sure all the fans were going to be really upset.
He read multiple reviews, articles and comments on various websites about how frustrating the current SwaRon track was.
Shantanu felt really low when he read such posts.
He was going through a very difficult phase. After Sneha had left the show, all the work had come on him. Even though he tried to give his best to each and every scene, people would still talk about how there was no Sharon for such a long time.
This is why he generally tried to avoid going on any such websites.
Well, they finally got him a new Sharon. But it was very difficult for him to get comfortable with someone he barely knew. They hardly got tome to interact and get to know each other. They had to shoot many of the old SwaRon songs sequences and scenes all over again.
He was a shy guy; it was difficult for him to have intimate scenes with somebody especially for the second time.
Shantanu switched off the laptop and placed it on the bed. He rubbed his forehead. It was aching like crazy since he hadn't worn his spectacles while using the laptop.
He jumped onto the bed and lay down. He closed his eyes, trying to make the pain in his forehead go away. Tears welled up in his eyes as the pain increased. It wasn't just physical pain he was facing now.
It was times like this when he felt like losing all hope and giving up. The money, the fame, the popularity wasn't worth all this. He was constantly trying to prove himself but in vain. If there were people who praise him, then there were double the number of people around to make fun of him.
Hot tears spilled out of his eyes. He lay on the bed, crying for a long time. It made him feel better, atleast he was letting out his frustration in some way. He had no one in the big, lonely city with whom he could share his problems with. So this is what he had to resort to.
He cried till there were nothing more left to cry about. Once he had calmed down, he rolled over to the right and picked up the mail he had placed on the table. He scanned the mail, desperately trying to divert his mind.
There seemed to be nothing interesting in the mail. There were only bills and wedding invitations. Boring! But the last letter caught his attention. The envelope was deep red in colour.
Shantanu kept the rest of the mail aside and slowly opened up the envelope.
It was a letter, from his mother.
Shantanu was surprised. Since when had his mother begun writing letters? They usually communicated only via video chatting or the phone.
Strange, Shantanu thought.
He opened up the letter .
Dear Shantanu,
I know you might find it odd receiving a letter from your mother like this. It has been ages since I have last seen you son. Your dad and I miss you a lot. The other day I was listening to some songs on the iPod or whatever you sent for me on my birthday. Dad has put in all the songs you had in our computer. I chanced upon this song by Richard Marx and remembered you when I heard it.
And I'm ready to fly,
Over the sun.
Like a rocket to heaven
And I'm ready to soar
Right through the sky
Never dreamed I'd find something,
To lift me so high.
I've always had wings.
But I wasn't ready to fly.
The answer to all of my wonder,
Is right in my hands.
Now it's time for me to discover,
All that I am.
I've always had wings.
Now I'm finally ready to fly.
Both of us just want to tell you that we are very proud of you, beta. And we know you're going achieve greater heights in life. You deserve all the success you are getting Shantanu. Keep working as hard as you are now and God will fulfil all your wishes. And whenever you feel down, just remember we will always be there for you.
Give our love to Shashank as well.
Love,
Mama and Papa.
P.S – We are coming to Mumbai in February!
Shantanu eyes filled up with tears once again. But this time, they were tears of ecstasy. He was so happy! His mother's words had truly made his day. The letter had come for him just when he needed encouraging words more than anything else. It was as if his mother had seen how upset he was and had sent him a letter to cheer him up.
Shatanu re-read his mother's letter. The song which his mother had mentioned played in his mind. He had loved that song back when he was a teenager.
Shantanu closed his eyes, humming the song slowly with a smile on his lips and a hope in his heart that everything would be alright very soon.
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
