Chapter 6
1
"Cut, cut, cut! Swayam! Saale ******, saree ka pallu kyun nai ud raha hai? Nazir kya kar rahe ho yaar tum log? Dekha karo yeh sab!"
It was post-lunch. Half the unit was in slumber after a biryani session, when KM decided to throw his choicest expletives through the microphone.
Nazir and Harshit rushed to see what the problem was. Swayam walked towards the monitor to see the previous take, with the blower in his hand.
"Swayam," KM made a grave face. "What do you think is essential in a romantic scene?"
"Uh.. expressions...?"
"Bullshit! Expressions kiss kaam ke hote hai bbe! It's that thing in your hand- a blower. Use it properly. Romantic scene mein baal, pallu, sab kuchh udna chahiye, samjha! Go, run!"
"But... Sir..." Swayam hesitated. "baal aur pallu eksaath... I mean, nai ho raha..."
"What do you mean nai ho raha? Hona padega ******! Don't ever tell me 'nahi hoga!' ******! Tum saale film school walo ka yahi problem hai! You know shit about commercial cinema!" KM was shouting at the top of his voice now.
Harshit ran towards him and gestured Swayam to move back. "Ho jayega Karan," he assured.
"Okay we'll go for another one," Chief ad Nazir announced.
"Karan...!" Sharon walked towards the director and his unit.
"Yeah Sharon..."
"Karan my hair is in a mess. It's already wet. Tell your assistant na... ki mere baal saamne se udaye. Pichhe ke should remain as it is."
"Sure sure Sharon," said Karan. "Swayam, sun liya na tune? Saamne se baal udana samjha?"
What the f**k!
"Got it sir... but pallu bhi udana hai, to..." Swayam paused.
"Toh kya? Baal udana pallu udana, bas baal aage ke udne chahiye. Simple."
Swayam nodded, but he was clueless on how to actually do it. It was not as simple as Karan made it sound. He threw one look at Sharon who was doing her touch up. Swayam knew it was a ridiculous thought, but there were times when he felt that Sharon purposely put him in trouble, like she was harbouring a vendetta against him.
"Karan suno..." the Diva spoke again, "Mujh pe jo baarish ka paani dal rahe ho, that's mineral water right? Please make sure it's mineral water. My skin is very sensitive."
Yeah right! Mumbai mein half the population doesn't get clean water to drink, and her majesty wants tankers of mineral water to be poured upon her for a five second scene!
Swayam was disgusted.
"Of course of course Sharon." KM did what he does best, nod to Sharon. Then he again turned at Swayam.
"Go check if it's mineral water. Mineral water nahi hua to pack up!"
2
"Hmm..." Malini shook her head reading the article in her mail. Kriya was tense.
"So actor Ranveer Shergill spent an hour with Sharon RaiPrakash in her vanity van, and nobody was allowed inside, including the director... Who's the source here?"
Malini looked up.
"You know... the usual. Little birdie!" Kriya smiled nervously.
"Yeah that's what we tell the readers, but you do have a source right? Someone on the inside?"
"Yeah, yeah I do." Kriya nodded.
"Somebody in the unit?"
"Yeah," she nodded again, this time confident that her story won't be spiked.
"Good. I like it. But your story can be better. Why don't you try pegging it in a different way... instead of writing it as a gossip story, you can pass it on as breaking news. Why don't we say that, it's confirmed: Reyaansh and Sharon, no longer a couple and then a highlight stating that she is dating Ranveer now... makes it so much stronger, eh! We'll be the first to break the news."
Malini's eyes gleamed, but Kriya wasn't convinced.
"Errrm... can we do that? I mean..."
"Hell yeah we can do that. Who's stopping us? Come on rewrite this and show me. Fast! And did you get in touch with Reyaansh on this, now that he's back? What's the reaction?"
"He's still not available actually..." Kriya looked down.
"Yeah he must be tired after partying all night! That's cool. Just say that he refused to comment on the matter."
"But, Malini, he doesn't know why we were calling him in the first place. May be he would have a comment on this... I mean, isn't it ethically wrong?"
"Ethics!" Malini looked up at Kriya and removed her glasses. She smiled sardonically at the twenty-something nervous yet confident girl in front of her.
"Kriya, just do your job. Leave the ethics to me. This organization pays a hefty sum to top lawyers of the country so that they keep the ethics in its place. We earn plenty of lawsuits every year but we don't let our employees lose their sleep over those. Okay?"
"Right Malini," said Kriya immediately regretting letting out the last words.
"And Malini..." she turned once before leaving the glass house, "I've also mailed you an idea regarding a story on the power crisis in Maharashtra. I've been doing my research for a while now, and this..."
"Kriya, I would take a look at it. Now finish this story, fast!"
Saying this she turned her attention to her iMac again. Kriya left for her desk.
3
Swayam held the umbrella on Sharon's face as she was lying on marble steps before a fountain in a yellow chiffon saree. It was a rain sequence and since this was a close shot, the rain had to be there in the background as well as the foreground. Hence Swayam was completely drenched himself, protecting the diva's rather sensitive skin. He would have to borrow clothes from the dresser guy as there was no way these clothes would dry off, he thought.
He'll never introduce his heroine in a cliched rain sequence. He would rather show her on a busy street, on her way to work, or in public transport. As for the aesthetics there could be other ways of beautifying the frame than the pedestrian work of an unimaginative art department! And with an actress as expressive as Sharon one could do wonders even with the most commonplace dialogues or backdrop. He looked at her hazel eyes which were looking back at him now. Although he was almost shivering now, with water dripping from his hair, lips, and every inch of his body, he couldn't take his eyes off her. She looked radiant in yellow. Those eyes held so much of fire, and such passion for life.
"Cut it! That's brilliant! Pack up!"
Swayam realized that the fire was actually because of Sharon's angry glare at him. He didn't hear Karan say 'cut' the first time and still held the umbrella over her although the director had already declared 'pack up'.
What had gotten into him! He was ogling at Sharon RaiPrakash in her father's studio, in front of the whole unit, in the middle of a shot, worse, in front of her!
He quickly moved away. Sharon stood up, took a towel from the dresser and wrapped it around herself as she too was drenched in a wet saree. Throwing one last angry glance at Swayam, she ran inside.
Swayam was moving to dry himself, when Karan called him.
"Swayam sun, I want to include some more dialogues in Bengali to establish Shreya's character properly. She has to seem convincing as a Bengali girl. You have to write those. I'll tell you which ones. Just translate them from Hindi to Bengali."
"Cool. Ho jayega."
"Also I need Sharon to work on her Bengali. I want her to sound like a Bengali and not as a Bombay girl trying to speak Bengali. And you have to supervise her. You know how these stars are, you constantly need to drive them. Tujhe usse tuition dena hai. You know... teach her the basics, a little grammar, and pronunciations, very important."
You gotta be f**kin kiddin' me!!!
"But I hope you know that I'm not a Bengali," Swayam tried in a desperate attempt to free himself from the debacle he was about to face on a regular basis.
"You're from Calcutta right? That's as good as being a Bengali! And listen, I know it's difficult but don't give into her tantrums okay. We let these people think that they are stars, but we can't let them have their way all the time. You're the captain of the ship. Be a man and take control!"
Swayam was surprised and KM seemed to read his thoughts.
"Dekh I know main tum logon pe, khas kar ke tujhe pe bahat zulm karta hoon. But that's only cuz you guys are my team, my family. I can't shout at these bloody actors. We have to satisfy their star ego all the time. We have to make them deliver what we want. But hamare liye koi taali nai peetaga. Ours is a thankless job, Swayam!" he sighed.
Sharon had already removed her makeup and was ready to leave. She was walking towards her car when KM called out to her.
"Hey Sharon, I spoke to Swayam here, he'll be helping you with the Bengali lessons. So you guys decide regarding the classes and all. And why don't you people begin with food? That's a great way of foraying into a new culture! Swayam," he turned towards Swayam, "get her some Bengali food when you begin with your coaching."
"Right Karan. That's a good idea!" Sharon smiled.
"I'll be waiting!" she said looking at Swayam. Swayam knew that expression meant War!
Bring it on!
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This was a long update! I know you guys want your couple to romance. But as a writer I feel that these chapters are important to the plot. So bear with me for a while.
-Rini
Edited by -bLEu98- - 11 years ago
Pati Patni Aur Panga
Kumkum Bhagya
12