New FF- Unexpected Love-Part 25 Pg 86- 11/12/2015 - Page 11

Kalpana and Vihaan's relationship had improved after the day he had eaten her lunch. Their relationship had become more comfortable, even though it could not be said that they were best of friends.

Vihaan had started appreciating her work and Kalpi had started admiring Vihaan's work. She was not really into Hindi movies and inspite of her father working for Vihaan, she had watched only one of Vihaan's movies. Her friends had made a huge fuss about him, but she had not felt very impressed.

Once she started working him, she decided to watch all his movies. She was really impressed with what she saw. He had an impeccable timing for comedy, but at the same time was excellent at emotional scenes too. She could not but agree with all the pundits who had anointed him as the Superstar of his generation.

She had thought him to be very lazy and not totally committed. But once she started attending shootings, she saw the effort that he put in his work. He still was not the most punctual of people, but once he reached the shooting he gave more than 100%.

Kalpi was sitting in her office going through the scripts of movies being offered to him. Some were interesting, but many were plain stupid and Kalpi who always had a devilish and wry sense of humour could not help laughing. On the side of the script she made sarcastic notes like,

.How much did they pay for your brains? Because you seem to have sold it before writing this script"

."Knock, Knock",

"Who's there?",

"Logic?"

"Logic, who?"

Someone you seem to have never met before".

.Don't let your mind wander. It's too little to be let out alone.

If you were any more stupid, you'd have to be watered twice week.

People say laughter is the best medicine, so you can cure the entire world with your stupid script.

Vihaan walked into her office and she was so engrossed in tabulating her feedback about the script that she did not even notice his entrance till he came near her and said ,"Hello".

She suddenly got flustered and said, "I am sorry I did not hear you come".

"So what were you so busy doing that you did not hear me come in."

"I was just collating the feedback about the scripts I read." Saying this she printed out a sheet of paper and handed it over to Vihaan.

Vihaan glanced through it and asked "what is this comment you have put against this script."

"Kalpi went and looked at it and it read "Utter BS" and she lowered her eyes and said, "Utter Bullshit".

"Oh My God, Miss Goody two shoes uses such words, I can't believe this" Vihaan said sarcastically.

"I am not goody too shoes and I have never professed to be perfect", Kalpi answered back.

"But you think you know everything about scripts and movies, so that you can write such a comment about a person's effort", Vihaan asked.

"I am sorry, it was just my feedback. I am not saying that I know everything, but I did not like the script. I know the words were really harsh and I should not have used those words, but it was instinctive." Kalpi said.

"Give me those scripts, I will go through them. I am not going to trust a Miss-Know-it all with my movie decisions." Vihaan put out his hand and Kalpi handed over the scripts to him without saying a word.

Vihaan did not know why he got angry at Kalpana for such trivial matters and it really bothered him.

They had dinner together during which both barely looked at each other. His Naani noticed the tense atmosphere but wisely did not say anything.

After dinner Vihaan went to the study cum library, which was one of his favourite places in his house to read the scripts.

Kalpi went to her bedroom ranting about Vihaan's behaviour. "Why is he so weird with me? I thought our relationship was getting better, and today he was so rude to me again. What is his problem" she wondered.

Suddenly a thought stuck her. She had given Vihaan the copy of the script that had her sarcastic comments written on them.

"Oh God, now Vihaan is going to blast me again. He must not have read it as yet. I will just replace it with a fresh copy," she thought. She printed out a fresh copy and went to find Vihaan.

One of the servants directed her to the library. She prayed with all her heart and hoped that Vihaan had not read her comments.

As she reached the library she heard the sound of the loud laughter coming from them room. She wondered if Vihaan was with someone and she knocked tentatively. Vihaan looked at the door with a smile still on his face and seeing Kalpi still laughing he says, "I take back all my words, you are no miss goody too shoes. My dear, you are cruelly sarcastic, but still damn funny."

"Sorry, I have another copy of the script, I am sorry for ruining that copy with my comments", she said and extended the script to him.

"No way am I giving you back this script. Your comments were a million times more entertaining than the script. If the scriptwriter read your script he would give up writing scripts forever". Vihaan said all animosity forgotten.

Kalpi said without thinking, "Wouldn't that be a good thing. He should not be torturing anyone with such drivel". Immediately she felt embarrassed and bit her tongue and looked down.

"I agree" said Vihaan and asked her to sit down.

She sat across him silently not knowing why he wanted her there.

"Kalpana I really underestimated you. You are full of mysteries, I did not expect you to be so funny and sarcastic." Vihaan said.

"I work for you, we are not friends that we need to know everything about each other" Kalpi said.

"Why do you make things so difficult between us, Kalpana", he asked angrily.

"I make things difficult, you jump on me for no reason and insult me and make it out to be my fault." Kalpana said.

Vihaan did not apologize but said, "Let's call it a truce. We have to work together. Let's not fight anymore" and extended a hand in her direction.

She took his hand and gave him a dazzling smile and Vihaan was temporarily totally enraptured. She has an amazing smile, it looks so genuine and it reaches her eyes, he thought.

Suddenly she removed her hands from his hand and walked towards the shelves and asked Vihaan, "Do you mind, if I take some book from here. I love reading, it is my passion and your library is amazing?"

"Sure, go ahead. I love reading too and this is my favourite place in the house", Vihaan said.

She picked up a book and sat back across Vihaan and soon they were deep in discussion about books.

They had read many of the same books and had loved many of the same ones. They found they both loved reading autobiographies. The discussion continued to books which they did not like and Kalpi vigorously argued with Vihaan if she loved one of the books he hated. Vihaan stared at her in wonder seeing how passionate she would get about things she loved and hated. She was full of surprises, he thought.

They were soon discussing other things like sports and music. They found that both loved the same type of music, but were fans of rival football teams. Kalpi told Vihaan how it was her dream to see an English Premier league match featuring her favourite team in their home ground in England. Vihaan who had already done it told her about his experience and she listened to him absolutely fascinated. Suddenly Vihaan had a thought, "I would love to see a match with her, even if she is supporting my rival team. I am sure the experience would not be dull". Immediately he shook if this thought and said to himself, "Am I crazy, wanting to spend one additional minute more than necessary with her" not acknowledging that he had already spent an enjoyable couple of hours talking to her.

Suddenly she looked at the clock and got up and said, "It so late, I am sorry for having taken so much of your time. You still have to go through the scripts. Goodnight."

Vihaan realized that he did not want her to go and said, "Since you are already here, why don't you give me your feedback about the scripts".

Kalpi sat down again and started talking about the script she liked best, as passionate as ever. With her expressive face and eyes it was a pleasure watching her talk and Vihaan was soon engrossed. Finally she said, "I really feel that this will be a good script for you to do, different from the movies you have already done, but still exciting."

"Kalpana have you seen any of my movies", Vihaan said.

"I have watched all of them", Kalpi said.

"All of them, I am grateful", Vihaan said.

"Once I started working for you, I had to see them to understand your work." Kalpi replied.

"So it was just a part of your work, you did not like them", he asked.

"I liked them, I think you were really good" Kalpi said.

"You seem surprised, as if you did not expect to like them" Vihaan asked.

"To tell the truth, I did not expect to like them, but I really did", she said and then got embarrassed about her blunt manner and blushed.

Vihaan watched her and smiled. She is really weird, she says things which she does not mean to say and then blushes, he thought. But her heartfelt praise warmed his heart.

"I really think your parents would have been proud of you. They were great actors and I am sure you will take their legacy forward," she said sincerely.

"My dad was a great actor, but have you seen my mom act. She was a really bad actress. She was beautiful, but totally wooden", he said smiling.

"How can you say that?" she asked shocked.

"I say it because it is true. You know, why my mom became an actress, it was because she fell in love with my dad" Vihaan said.

Kalpi was fascinated and it showed in her face and Vihaan suddenly felt the need to open up to her.

"My mom met my father the first time when he was shooting at her palace in Rajasthan. You know my mom belonged to the royal family. My mom told me it was love at first sight for her when she met my dad. During the shooting my mom who was just 18 then, tried everything to attract my dad. Dad told me later that he was also attracted to her, but he tried to avoid her as he thought she was too young and innocent for him. But my mom could be very persistent. My mom was gorgeous to look at and the director of the movie offered her a chance to star in his next movie. My mom convinced my Naani somehow that she loved acting and she had to do the movie as it was her destiny. My mother's brothers, were totally unhappy that their only sister was going to act in the movies which was totally against their upbringing, but my mom convinced my Naani somehow and they came to Mumbai. My mom did not know anything about acting, but she was lovely to look at and her only job in her first movie was to look pretty, which she did well. Offers started pouring in, but my mom was just waiting for an opportunity to work with my dad. Once she received that offer she jumped on it. You know funnily my father had tried convincing the director of the movie to sign some other actress, but the director was adamant. My dad says he tried every trick in the book to avoid falling in love with my mother, but by the end of the shooting he had fallen irrevocably in love with her and proposed marriage and there ended my mom's movie career." Vihaan told her story with all his heart.

Kalpana kept staring at Vihaan fascinated as if she was hearing a fairy-tale. "Oh Vihaan, this is such a lovely story, so heartwarming and romantic." There was a catch in her voice as she felt totally emotional.

"Yes, my parents were always crazy about each other. It was a good thing that they passed away together, I don't think they could have lived without each other", Vihaan voice suddenly broke as he recollected the horrific day when he had seen the dead bodies of his parents lying next to each other.

Kalpi could feel his palpable pain and she swiftly moved towards the couch where he was sitting and took his hand in hers. It was an instinctive gesture from Kalpi who could not bear to see anyone in pain.

"I am really sorry, I can't even imagine the pain you have undergone. Seeing my father in the ICCU was enough to destroy me, but you have gone through pain which was enough for a lifetime" she said with a teary voice, because at that instant she felt his pain in her heart.

In a dead voice Vihaan, as if talking himself said "It was the worst day of my life. I was at the Uni in USA when I received the call. I don't even remember the entire travel from USA to India and when I entered the house where their bodies were laid,". He could not complete the sentence and broke down.
Unthinkingly Kalpi gathered him in her arms and hugged him tight trying to soothe him. Initially Vihaan resisted, but soon hugged her back as if she was the anchor he required at that moment. They were locked in each other's arms for a pretty long moment.

"Vihaan, I know the irrevocable loss that you experienced in irreplaceable, but you still have come out as such a strong and successful person. I don't know whether I could have done that." Kalpi said moving out of his arms.

"I was not strong, Kalpana. I broke down completely. In the 6 months after my parent's death I experimented with drugs and alcohol. I stopped going to Uni completely. I wanted to die along with my parents and I worked hard towards that goal. It was my Naani who came down to USA and drilled sense into my brains. She told me that how proud my parents had been of me and how disappointed they would be now. She also told me after losing my mom, she was living just for me and I could not put her through another loss. I resisted her initially, but slowly began to see sense. I went into rehab for a month and came out clean and sober. My Naani is only reason I am alive today. I live for my Naani and I love her more than anything." Vihaan told Kalpi.

"Vihaan, I can't believe you have been through so much horror", she said with tears rolling down her cheeks as she imagined young Vihaan going through these struggles.

Vihaan suddenly realized the enormity of what had happened. He had shared intimate details of his life with a girl who was practically a stranger. He was really surprised at his stupidity. How could he have made himself so vulnerable in front of her? Vihaan realized it was her genuine and sincere sympathy which proved to be his undoing, but he felt totally exposed and did not like the feeling.

He looked down and found that her hands were still clasped in his and he hurriedly removed his hands and told her gruffly, "I need to be alone now, I would like you to leave".

Kalpana who was floating in the shared moment of empathy with him was totally shocked with his rude manner and she walked away without looking back.