Chapter 3
1
Karan Malik stood up as the heroine graced the floor. She indeed looked ravishing in the white short dress, Swayam admitted to himself, although he absolutely loathed the woman. In fact he was disgusted with himself for checking out her butt after all the trouble she was creating for him.
"How are you doing Sharon?" Karan asked with a smile.
"I'm okay. I would've been better if I could drink my coffee, but..."
"Arrey heroine ko coffee do yaar!" KM was already yelling, sending a couple of spot boys hither and thither.
"... I hear the shot is ready," continued Sharon, "and you know I don't like to keep people waiting for me. Time is money after all."
Swayam was overwhelmed by the level of hypocrisy.
"Of course, of course. Sharon why don't you sit?"
"Arrey koi coffee lao yaar!!" KM roared again, this time looking at Swayam. Now did he expect him to get coffee for her as well? Swayam was baffled.
Sharon smirked as Swayam ran to see what was taking so long. Sharon didn't hate Swayam, but she had this urge to break him. Ever since she met him, she felt he had this air around him, a kind of condescension with which he looked around, the intellectual air of arrogance that he carried with him as a film school legacy. The other day when he was rectifying her Urdu pronunciation as she read the script, she knew exactly how his brain worked. He must've thought since her dad is Gautam RaiPrakash, the biggest filmmaker and producer in the industry, everything was a cakewalk for her. But she didn't become the Diva overnight. It took a lot from her. She too had scars but she wouldn't show it to the world. She won't go proving herself to everyone else, she didn't need to, and certainly not to a bloody assistant, who is actually her dad's employee and thinks too highly of himself because he had read two theory books and gorged on French cinema!
Bloody hell! Why don't these people shoot in the f**king CCD! Swayam was exasperated, something that was a part of his daily schedule now, when his phone rang. It was Kriya. Not now!
"Kya hai?" Swayam answered .
"Abey bhadak kyun raha hai! I need help."
"I'm in the middle of work and I'm not gonna supply you with any juicy gossip, I told you. Hang up right now!" Swayam was shouting.
"Hey, just calm the f**k down. And feel free to denigrate my work too, if it pleases you. But you've got to find me Reyaansh Singhania."
"What!"
"Yes. I've to find him Shekhawat, by hook or by crook. Please... P.L.E.A.S.E... I need at least one quote from him to keep my job." Kriya pleaded.
Swayam understood from her voice that his friend was making her puppydog face now, which meant she was desperate. Which meant he had to do something!
"Okay okay cut it out drama queen. But I already told you that we'll begin shooting with him only on 25th so I've no idea where he is now."
"Yeah okay but you're shooting with his girlfriend currently. She must know!"
"Whoa! Hello! We're talking about dragonlady here- the woman who's driving me crazy right now! Well NO. I'll not ask her about her boyfriend, I'm sorry."
"That's kay, just check her phone or something and get back to me."
"What the hell..!" Swayam thought for a moment. "Fine. But you do the laundry this week.
"Done."
"You also make coffee in the morning for the next two weeks including your day offs."
"That's completely unfair and... " Kriya was shouting.
"Non-negotiable." Swayam hung up.
"Asshole!" Kriya shouted in frustration which resonated rather loudly in the quiet, cool and sophisticated interior of the corporate media house, raising a few eyebrows. She smiled awkwardly at the elderly senior sub-editor sitting in the cubicle next to hers, who looked at her with disdain.
2
"Coffee kahan hai?" Second AD Harshit came hurriedly, inquiring.
"Ban rahi hai. Ab coffee hai, sutta nai ki har kissike jeb mein hoga," Swayam replied.
Harshit Pandey had spent 5 years in the industry and went to the same film school as Swayam. Although he was much senior, he was the only friend Swayam had in the unit so far.
"Abbey samajh, producer ki beti hai. Agar ye film pit bhi jati hai, next film yehi produce karega. Tu pasand aa jaye to Karan ki jagah tujhe director ki kursi mein bitha denge. Door ki soch, door ki!"
"Yeah! Kal billi, aaj coffee ke chakkar mein shot ruki hai." Swayam said angrily.
"Shot koi ruki nai hai, light set up ho raha hai. Earlier we decided track back, now Karan says round trolley. Chill. Jaldi se coffee bhej bas." Harshit smiled and left.
Kuchh bhi ho jaye, I'll never cast Sharon RaiPrakash in my film. And with that pledge Swayam proceeded towards the floor.
Sharon and Karan were laughing about something when a spot gave her the coffee. She had a white shawl wrapped around her, waist down. Swayam stood behind KM when he explained the shot to Sharon. Chief AD Nazir and DOP Vijay Kurian joined him and explained the camera angles. As Sharon sipped her coffee and listened to the three men simultaneously, nodding her head, Swayam wondered what it took be Sharon RaiPrakash. Utter disregard of professional ethics, arrogance to boot, a greater degree of hypocrisy and the delusion that the world revolved around her, concluded Swayam.
"Roll camera" instructed Karan.
"Rolling" replied assistant cameraman Ashok.
"Action!"
"Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai 53A by 1 Take 1" announced Swayam.
Shreya had reached Rohan's house but he was nowhere to be found. She looked around in the hallway, searching for him. The camera was going round her, a whole 360 degrees, with Vijay and his assistant Ashok in the trolley. Swayam was running behind the trolley with a blower in his hand, blowing Sharon's hair as she played the lovestruck Shreya, who had just come to realize her love for Rohan.
"An...d... Cut it!" Shouted the director.
11