Chapter 7
1
"Ye saala MTV mein Bharat Nirman ka ad kyun aa raha hai? Doordarshan hai kya? Mood ka kachra kar diya!" Kriya sat on her bean bag with the remote, drinking her fifth peg.
"Don't underestimate the power of doordarshan. I started my career in doordarshan. Aur MTV youth channel hai, youth ko pata chalna chahiye nah, humare sarkar ne kya kya teer mara hai, apart from all the scams!" said Swayam, who sat on the floor, pouring more whisky in their glasses.
"Talk about the scams! Pata hai yahaan pe electricity ko leke kitna bada scam chal raha hai! Maharashtra, AP, Gujarat, MP, all these states are getting affected! But who wants real news? Reyaansh Singhania is important. His affairs are veeerrry important for our readers! f**k this nation!" Kriya spoke in a single breath and gulped down her drink.
Swayam looked up. "Kya bol rahi hai? Chad gayi hai tujhe!"
"Kal I've to go cover Rey Singhania's press conference! And it's my day off! My only holiday in the whole f**king week! I hate my life! Kya zaroorat thi usse press conference bulane ki? I mean who the f**k cares about what he has got to say huh? And Malini cancelled my day off, but she didn't even go through my story idea! What a royal bitch! Chips pass kar..."
"Dude, why aren't you trying in some of the channels? I could introduce you to people."
"Dekh Swayam," Kriya spoke as she munched on Lays, "I know eventually I'll have to shift to electronic media to move up the ladder. And then there's no looking back. There's money, a lot of it. I'll never have to travel in crowded local trains again and we can rent a bigger apartment! But if I can do it on TV, why can't I move from page 3 to page 1 here? I mean what's with the notion that serious journalists are all above 40, who have no sense of fashion, and they are all essentially male?" Kriya sighed!
"You read too much of feminism into everything yaar!" Swayam finished his drink and reached out for the snacks.
"Oh please...! Btw Sharon ka kuchh reaction tha, after today's story?" asked an inquisitive Kriya.
"Nope. Agar huya bhi hoga, dikhayegi thodi wo? She is a bloody good actor."
"Yeah... I know you are not particularly fond of her, but that woman has a certain profundity to her, there's a lot more to her than meets the eye." Kriya said in a brooding manner. "I wonder what's she doing with a loser like Reyaansh!" She finished her next peg and passed her glass to Swayam for a refill.
"Excuse me! What's Reyaansh's fault here? His girlfriend is a psychotic bitch and I feel sorry for the guy."
"Yeah of course you'll feel sorry for the GUY!" Kriya argued. "Can't you see it? She's sad, hurt, angry, dejected. She's obviously aware of Reyaansh's philandering and she's hurt in love. She's just looking for some compassion in all these random men, like Ranveer, and that... that choreographer last year and then that actor from the Telugu industry..."
"Wow. I'm not so sure if she's capable of feeling anything, but it's a fascinating thought. Spoken like a true tabloid reporter, Ghai!"
Kriya threw her chappal at Swayam only to be hit back with it, followed by a couple of cushions.
Def Leppard perfomed on late night MTV.
2
Kriya was quick to grab the place, her colleague and photographer Dinesh had reserved for her. She was late. But as she had anticipated Reyaansh was still not there.
"Kab aayega yeh?" an impatient Dinesh asked Kriya.
"I don't know Dinesh, he should have been here by now. 6 baje ka time diya tha."
"Damn! Yeh actor log! Abhi iske baad mereko Kala Ghoda janeka hai, exhibition cover karne, phir Sushila Mittal ki party. Bhookh bhi lagi hai. Pata kar nah kab aayega..."
Dinesh made a sad face and pleaded with Kriya.
Kriya got up and looked around to find any of the PRs who had emailed her. The rest of the seats were already occupied by press and electronic media personnel. People were ready with their 5Ds and booms. The stage was set.
Suddenly the organizers and the PR people were running about constantly speaking in their walkie talkies. The security people had blocked the entrance and there were a lot of people talking at the same time. The security guys and the organizers ushered someone in, dressed in black suit and pants. Everyone stood up.
It was Chhabilal, the bouncer from the club.
"Yeh banda toh Reyaansh jaisa nai dikhta, nai?" casually asked Dinesh who already clicked a couple of times out of impulse.
"Shut up Dinesh!" replied Kriya who was more confused than anybody else present at the venue.
When all the eyes as well as cameras were focussed on the man on the podium, Reyaansh made an entry from the other side of the entrance, went up straight and sat next to Chhabilal. He wore blue denims and a white tee complementing his muscular built, along with a brown felt hat on his head, looking uber cool in casuals. He did not seem one bit like the man who was going to present some crucial facts of his life in public within a few minutes. It was chaos everywhere, again.
After the initial frenzy was over, all settled down. One of the organizers began the conference by addressing the media. When everyone was expecting Reyaansh to start speaking, he simply muttered something in Chhabilal's ears and then leaned back in his chair in a relaxed way, his face almost hidden under his hat.
Among all the speculations and murmurs, Chhabilal addressed the press conference.
"My employer, Mr. Singhania is here to clear the air regarding a few recent unwanted media speculations. This is not to say that he wants to justify himself or anybody he represents. He just doesn't appreciate false rumours regarding his personal life. First of all, he wants all of you to know that he and Miss Sharon RaiPrakash are very much together and there is not one reason which may have given rise to these baseless assumptions regarding their break up. Furthermore he wants to add, that the recent attempt at maligning Miss RaiPrakash's public image by one particular media establishment is condemnable and although he chooses not to sue them, it is in their best interests that they refrain from pulling such stunts for a hike in readership. These are real people and their lives you're dealing with!..."
Mr. Chhabilal continued with his speech. Kriya was noticing Reyaansh, he hadn't looked up even once all this while. His face was still hidden under the hat. Instead of noting down whatever was being said, Kriya found herself increasingly interested in that man behind the hat. The press conference didn't bring anything that she didn't expect. She eagerly wanted to know what was happening inside the head of that man who sat quietly in the same posture for the last 10 minutes.
Chhabilal had finished his speech now. It was time for the media to throw their questions at Reyaansh and dig up as much dirt as they could. Reyaansh Singhania was always known for his cool guy image, and this one conference could make or break that image of his.
"Reyaansh... Sir, so are you saying that there is nothing going on between Sharon and Ranveer?," a male reporter asked.
The man in the hat sat up now. He looked up straight at the reporter, his face hardened.
"No. I'm telling you that you should let people be. What Sharon and Ranveer do in their private lives is not for the media to discuss."
The reporter was about to ask something more but the organizers quickly asked him to sit down and let others speak. Kriya was impressed. He may be an asshole, but here he was not being a hypocrite. He didn't sugarcoat his words. Very few celebrities have it in them to reprimand the media even if they are clearly wrong.
There was another question regarding him and Sharon. "Sir, you and Sharon are doing Karan Malik's next film together. Can this be a publicity stunt to promote the film?"
"I don't know, is it? You guys should know, you're the media!" And Rey Singhania was killing it with a half smile. The angry young man had disappeared.
"If everything is okay between you and SRP then why didn't she accompany you to UK recently?" asked another one.
"That's something you should definitely ask her when you see her next. She says she hates Europe in the autumn... I mean... what the hell!" Everyone grinned.
Reyaansh was winning over the fluttering hearts of the nation again. He was back to being the favourite child of Indian media.
With few more questions regarding his upcoming projects and his father, actor Vikram Singhania's flailing health, the press conference was over.
The man of importance was leaving the venue and the bevy of journalists followed him. Kriya too was a part of that crowd- partly because it was customary, and for most parts, she wanted to know more of this colourful personality. Something very strong was pulling her towards him.
He was being led by Chhabilal towards his car, dodging every question on the way. Kriya was behind Rey now. Chhabilal was about to ask her to move, but then he hesitated, perhaps because he recognised her. Kriya held up her press card this time. Chhabilal's eyes widened with a strange expression. Kriya understood that he was trying to smile. He let her be and tried moving away the others. But did she have a question for him? What was she supposed to ask him, now that she was inches away from him?
A big white sedan was parked right outside the door. Reyaansh was about to board the car when he turned and faced Kriya.
"Have we met before?" he uttered in a low voice.
What the heck! How does he know? How can he recognize me! He remembers me!
"Mr. Daruwala's party," she managed to say almost choking.
"Yeah!! Gippy's party... are you the one who followed me to my room?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Nope. I'm the one who didn't." she said with a straight face, somehow.
"Ah! You're the one who didn't! I remember you." He smiled as this time he genuinely seemed to recollect their encounter, amused. "Well, too bad for you!" and with that he went inside the car. Chhabilal closed the door behind him and occupied the front seat.
"Kya tha kya yeh?" asked a puzzled Dinesh.
"Tujhe Kala Ghoda jana hai na? Toh jaa nah!" shouted a disturbed Kriya, looking at the white car that was speeding away now.
Marathi TV
12