They call her the lucky charm when it comes to dance. But that is not why he partners with her. He's never been one to believe in the hype anyway.
And if he was to be honest, very honest, it wasn't like it was a conscious decision on his part to begin with. He is a part of a reality show for crying out loud. He has no say in anything. It is like any other job in the world where you are allotted a team, an objective and left to do the best you can even when you know you aren't going to win. Even when you know you are there just to make others look good, or bad, or however those pulling their strings from behind the scenes deem fit, as the TRPs dictate. He hates that word. He hates all the grandeur and the hype and the drama and the dialogues and scenes they force him to be a part of. The weekly circus that happens between all those acts. But he stays anyway. Because it is only during the act' that he is not acting at all. That he remembers why he is here to begin with. Why he signs on the dotted line year after year.
They pay him to dance. And put up with the shenanigans along the way and then lose gracefully. But they let him dance however he wants and just for that, there is nowhere else he would rather be.
But when they tell him he'll be partnering with her, he almost bulks. For a minute or two he doesn't know how to react. Then he remembers that they were telling him, informing him not asking him. His views, opinions and feelings didn't matter at all. No matter how he felt about this, about her, about them performing together it didn't matter. All he had to do, all he could do, was do what he did best and look good while doing it. With her.
He's heard of her. Has even met her on various occasions. She is one of the best young dancers in the country and no matter how much of a low profile you keep, and he keeps a very low one, you cannot survive in this industry in isolation. So he knows of her. Has seen her glide through the air and move as if the entire universe is in sync with her. As if her body isn't even hers. And he appreciates her determination and passion, sees the hard work that's gone into molding her body to her whims. Her control and precision is impressive.
In all honesty, they are right. This has been a long time coming. That this, her, may finally be the big opportunity he was waiting for all his life, his make or break chance but the stakes are just too high.
She'll be the best he's ever worked with. He knows this. But also the most complicated. Because unlike every one of his partners before, she shares a very complicated history with the same man he shares a very complex rivalry with. And while he's used to living in the shadows and she comes with her own share of camera lights.
And even as he nods his head in approval, like he knows he's meant to do, he finds himself reconsidering his choices.
There's going to be excessive media attention, something he's always tried to avoid. He's heard of her fan following - it was what pulled her back to her daily show after all. And then there are her pet projects running on the side and if that wasn't enough, he knows she too like him, is notorious for never being okay until it's perfectly all right, for being a perfectionist under the spotlight.
He's going to have to work harder, push for more, her time and his attention. Will have to get used to the pressure their team will surely be under. But the biggest challenge of all and the hardest job, he knows, will be to stay hidden and aloof with her by his side.
Because while they can create magic and chemistry on the dance floor and she might just prove to be his big ticket to fame; their combination, he knows instinctively, could prove to be lethal to the quiet sanctity he so loves in his life.
Hindi TV Shows
Kumkum Bhagya
Cricket
