Bigg Boss 19: Daily Discussion Thread - 10th Sep '25
Bigg Boss 19: Daily Discussion Thread - 11th Sept 2025
Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai Sep 11, 2025 EDT
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Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki: Episode Discussion Thread - 27
KIARA EXPOSED 11.9
🏏T20 Asia Cup 2025- BD vs HK 3rd Match, Group B, Abu Dhabi 🏏
🏠Caption Writing Contest -Bring Pictures to Life!🏠
Navri and her eternal victimisation
"I don't like women who are too thin" : Bipasha Basu
Anupamaa 10 -11 Sept 2025 Written Update & Daily Discussions Thread
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When Love Finally Grew Up ~ A Rumya Three-Shot [Completed]
MAJOR REVAMP TIME FOR STAR PLUS
Patrama Prem ~ A Gosham SS
Whew! Now that is a really long chapter. Took me two days and several hours of work to get it done. But hope it's worth it. Don't forget to leave your likes and comments. From yours, greedy writer. 😉 Love yall. 😳
~ 6 ~
The Overdrive music club. A breeding ground for musicians and enthusiasts alike. Both young and old. And at times, a place where the biggies fish for new talent. That's where Nandini, Manik, Shahid and Alya were right now. All prepared to set the stage on fire.
Dazzling strobes flashed around in the hall that was tightly packed with a wild audience. Manik and Nandini took the centre stage with their badass electric guitars whilst Shahid took the backspace and Alya stuck to the corner. Manik and Nandini exchanged devious smirks as they noticed a familiar someone who had taken up the front row in the audience - Harshad.
The crowd went ravenous as the two besties began to strum Michael Jackson's iconic hit Beat it on their guitars, filling the hall with the intense buzz of the distorted intro. Manik got behind the mic and lashed out in a high pitch voice.
They told him "don't you ever come around here.
Don't wanna see your face. You better disappear."
The fire's in their eyes and their words are really clear
So beat it. Just beat it.
Harshad's vicious glare locked with Manik's smirking ones as he sang the words. His words were really clear.
You better run, you better do what you can
Don't wanna see no blood, don't be a macho man
You wanna be tough, better do what you can
So beat it, but you wanna be bad
Just beat it! Beat it! Beat it! Beat it! (Manik, Nandini, Alya and Shahid sing in harmony)
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it - beat it - beat it - beat it!
Harshad jammed his hands into his pockets and watched their performance with a glint in his eye. Every word of the song felt like it was specially crafted for him. They wanted him to get lost. Into oblivion. But Harshad's mind was cooking up a brilliant good plan on how to pay them back.
By the middle of the song, two more guys joined the crowd, one of whom was Aryaman. They shouldered their way past the cheering audience in an attempt to get closer to the stage .The flashing strobes were making it difficult to make out the faces of the performers, but Aryaman squinted at one of the guitarists. Is that Nandini? That girl looks exactly like her! Nah! Couldn't be!
The crowd went crazy as Nandini moved to the centre and began to play the song's famous overdrive solo. The stage and the entire club was literally on fire! The wild audience put an enthralled smile on the faces of the performers as Nandini allowed herself to get lost in the explosive tones of her guitar.
"That girl killed it!" shouted Aryaman's partner as he cheered along with the crowd.
"Do you know who she is?" Aryaman shouted back. He could hardly hear himself over the hooting and howling.
"That's Nandini Murthy!" answered his mate. "And the guy Manik has got an amazing vocal range! He could easily pass for MJ!"
Aryaman was so stunned that he hardly heard any of the flowery descriptions his mate gave of Manik. So I was right! It is Nandini! She plays the guitar? And that too a badass one! He was astounded. When he had met her in the morning, he knew that she was something. But this was beyond his expectations.
The hall exploded in applause as the song came to an end. The performers disappeared backstage almost immediately but it didn't take long for their admirers to pursue them. They had begun to get offers for more performances already.
"I would like you guys to perform at the Country club next weekend. It's a paid gig. Here's my card. Talk to me in the morning!"
"You guys were awesome! And Nandini, your solo just rocked. Just like the original! Loved it!"
Appreciation flowed in from all sides. "Manik Michael Malhotra!" came some comments.
"Michael Jackson reincarnated!" came another.
Harshad was there too, waiting to give his feedback. Alya was excited to see him. But seems like she was the only one who was. The others, especially Manik and Nandini had a thunderstorm taking over their faces.
"There you are!" exclaimed Alya as she spotted her brother waiting for them. "How was it!?" she asked in exhilaration, hoping to hear something good. But...
... Harshad just glowered at Manik before replying "... so gay."
Alya's smile faded away and she quickly looked away. Her flickering eyes darted off to Manik's bruised ego and then to Nandini's boiling face. Some of their admirers who had gathered around them, laughed at Harshad's remark.
Manik gulped a huge ball that had formed in his throat as an uneasy feeling began to take over. He fidgeted on the spot and wrung his sweaty hands around his guitar's neck.
"Enough about yourself Harshad. Now let's talk about the song." Nandini had a victorious smirk on her face as she moved in to cover up Manik.
In spite of keeping a straight face, Harshad's eyes bounced away momentarily as more laughs rang in the air.
"That's right Harshad. We don't really mind if you're... different." Manik cleared his throat and shrugged as he felt a surge of confidence pulsing through him. Though he felt good to stay behind Nandini's protective covering, he gently moved her behind his towering figure.
More laughs. Alya grew increasingly tensed. She knew that this was all headed to trouble. "Guys... let's go," she interrupted, growing worried by the minute.
"I understand how difficult it must be for you Alya," rang Harshad. "Trying to cope up with defective material."
Manik's eyes shot over at Nandini. Though her level of tolerance had crossed its threshold, she was doing a good job of keeping her temper under control. Judging by the rate at which her nostrils flared, Manik could make out that it was no simple task. If Harshad had thrown up the same shit five years back, he would have probably ended up biting the dust. But Nandini's life with her step mom had probably taught her to chew up her tongue even when it was itching to scream out to high heaven.
"Can you just help me with the keyboard?" Alya spat impatiently at her brother, hoping that she could divert their minds and douse out the blazing fire in her mates.
"I only came here to see your performance," replied Harshad with an air of pride.
"With two fakes," growled Nandini in a low but threatening voice.
Though Manik, Alya and Shahid were probably the only ones who knew what Nandini was talking about, her words didn't fail to sting him instantly.
~ A quick flashback ~
Lunch hour at school.
POW!!!!
A 12th grader stumbled back and fell face flat on the dust. Harshad. He winced in agony and dabbed at the trail of blood that oozed out of the corner of his mouth. His eyes momentarily popped out in shock at the bright red that shone on his fingertips. As he tried to push himself up, two molars rolled out of his mouth followed by a streak of blood. Jeers, boos and gasps echoed around him as he tipped up to look at the one who floored him with a jaw busting punch to his face. Nandini.
~ End of flashback scene ~
Ever since he had lost his good two, Harshad was forced to fill up the void in his gums with two true to life fakes. His cheeks throbbed madly as he ground his teeth viciously. "You people are really something you know... a guy with boobs..." his smirking eyes darted off to meet Nandini's boiling ones "... and a girl... with a dick. Wow! What a combination."
There was a noticeable whisper that rose in the air when Harshad uttered the words. Many of them exchanged nervous glances.
"Say that again..." Nandini's face was throbbing with the dollop of blood that was being pumped in with full force.
Alya's eyes were so round now that it could pop out of its sockets any moment. She knew of the possibilities if ever Nandini's temper did fly off the hook. The last time, his gums had swollen to a humongous size that he couldn't eat anything for several days and the time before last, well... it was a disaster. But that never stopped him, it just increased his need to get back at them... tenfold.
"Arre yaar! Why are you getting hyper?" Manik stepped in and attempted to subdue his raging friend with an arm stretched out before her (should she ever lunge at Harshad). "He doesn't have a you-know-what, that's why he asked for one. What's there to get so pumped up about?" He turned to Harshad now whose eyes were still locked with Nandini's seething ones. "Yaar... I don't think that you've ever tried Amazon, e-bay or Flipkart, right? It's the 21st century. All of this stuff is now available at the click of a button. Whatever size you need."
Harshad smirked as he fixed his eyes upon Manik once again. "Really? So Manik Malhotra searched for a dick online. Interesting."
"Of course..." hissed Manik as closed in on Harshad and pretended to be secretive about the whole thing. "For you buddy. I know about your... " he threw nervous glances around before clearing his throat and shooting a nasty head to toe look. "...problem..."
Harshad wasn't smiling anymore. He had no more smart answers left to spill out. Alya was so mad now that she could pull her hair off. "Bhai could you please help me with this thing for God's sake!!!?" she spat desperately.
Left with no choice, Harshad turned around and walked out of there. That was when Manik realized that Nandini was no longer with them.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Nandini glowered up at the dark sky sprinkled with a generous handful of stars as she relentlessly cursed under her breath. "What the f**k do you think of yourself? Goddamn mother f****r! Bloody lame assed mo..." The merciless cussing went on as she paced up and down the almost empty parking lot.
Manik had an amused smirk on his face as he drew closer with two guitars hung over his back. He could see that she was cursing to the high heavens with a pronounced capital F. "Finished with the butchering?" he interrupted.
Nandini heaved with rage as she threw quick glances at anything and everything but Manik.
"Hello? Just calm down," he chuckled. "You've already slaughtered and buried him a hundred times in your head. Now just chill."
"Didn't you hear what that moron just said out there!!!?" she exploded. "He said that I've got a... dick!"
"Achcha baba," replied Manik calmly. "Don't worry. First thing in the morning, we'll let him know that... you've got biceps as well as triceps."
SMACK!
Manik recoiled and rubbed his arm furiously, right where he had been hit! "Owch! What did I do?" Though it hurt, he was still grinning like a fool.
"You!!! Are you here to make me feel better or worse!!?" she gnashed her teeth and wrung her hands in rage.
"I was just kidding yaar," he chuckled sheepishly.
"Wow! Really? I just can't stop laughing!!!" Blasting off with sarcasm, she hopped onto her scooty and stuffed herself into the helmet.
Manik just stood there and watched her with a silly grin whilst Nandini turned on the scooty and raced the engine.
"Are you coming or do you want me to leave you here?" she snarled furiously. That made him hop on in the blink of an eye. When Nandini was hopping mad, Manik made sure to follow her instructions extra carefully (with a foolish smile on his face or with an amused glint in his eyes). He knew that she'd cool down before getting home.
Half way through their journey, a pot-bellied cop forced them to pull over. Nandini pulled off her helmet in exasperation as the cop closed in and shot them a bunch of nasty glares. "Where are you two coming from?" he questioned suspiciously.
Nandini was in no mood to answer so she just sighed wearily whilst Manik did all the talking. "We're coming from a music gig, sir," he replied.
"What music gig?"
"Music..." Manik wasn't sure how to explain further. "Music... singing... instruments... jamming..." Manik strummed an air guitar to give the cop a better idea.
The cop glared at Nandini who was now leaning onto the handle of her scooter and staring away into oblivion. "And why is she driving?" he asked and gave Manik another head to toe glance as if he wanted to add "with a giant like you behind?"
"Because it's her scooty," answered Manik. He very well understood what the cop meant.
"Actually sir, why did you make us stop?" asked Nandini with a raised eyebrow. She was getting tired of all this quizzing.
"What's in this?" the cop ignored her and tapped on the cased guitars that were strapped over Manik's shoulder.
"Machine guns," muttered Nandini irritably to which Manik cringed. Her words could land them up in a soup.
"What?" the cop raised his voice. "Pull it out!"
"For God's sake sir, those are guitars," Nandini argued. "Like seriously? Do we look like terrorists to you?"
"I said pull it out!!!" the cop ordered sternly.
"Show it to him Manik!" she snapped whilst Manik hurriedly pulled out the guitars. But the cop didn't seem convinced.
"Keep it in the jeep," he said gruffly. "And pick it up from the station tomorrow!!!"
"Arre yaar!!!" Nandini was pissed now.
"Sir, it's just a guitar. Honest," Manik said quietly. "I swear. No bomb, no drugs, nothing of that sort. Trust me."
"I said keep it in the jeep you f**king scoundrel!!!" One yap and Manik almost cowered.
"Could you please explain why you pulled us over?" Nandini looked so little in front of the cop but that didn't back her down.
"You! You dare to question me?" The cop yelled furiously.
"Of course! We as citizens have the right to know! Why have you pulled us over? Because we look suspicious?"
All the while, Manik kept mumbling... "Nandu... just stop. Shut up! You'll get us in trouble!"
Like a much needed distraction, a biker raced past them in neck breaking speed. "Hey! You!! Stop there!" the cop yelled after him but he was already at the horizon.
Taking advantage of the situation, the duo sprung onto the scooty and had vanished with no trace.
"Are you nuts!!!" Manik yelled over the wind. "Do you have any idea what you were doing back there?"
"Are you telling me to just shut up and let people walk over our heads?" she shouted back through her open helmet.
"Arre yaar! Is that what I meant?? He was just doing his job!!"
"Really? Like confiscating guitars? For what? To stuff it up his ass!!?"
"He must have felt suspicious," replied Manik.
"Are you trying to justify him?" she yapped.
"Oof!!! Spare me sweetheart!" Manik folded his hands as if pleading for mercy. "You win! Happy?"
"We aren't done yet!!!" she snarled.
"I can't imagine your to-be hubby's plight," he snapped. "You'd literally screw him!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Moments later, Manik touched down at his home. Their arguments never took a toll on their relationship and Manik always gave in to Nandini's hot-headedness. After all, it never lasted long.
The streets were deserted and pretty dark except for a lamp or two here and there. "Well, I guess it's time to call it a day," he sighed wearily as he stood back and watched her pull off her helmet and straighten out her hair with a quick shake of her head. But there was a noticeable sense of dread that was taking over the temporary relief that had dawned upon her a while ago. Manik knew what it was. "What happened to you today?" he asked quietly.
Nandini seemed to be bottling herself up as the day's stress threatened to flood its way out. "Ahhh..." she sighed and looked away whilst she played with her helmet. "Actually... I don't... feel like... going home. Or whatever you call it."
"You could stay at my place for the night," he offered to which she just chuckled sarcastically. "I'm not kidding," he added.
"And get a bunch of losers labelled society to cook up shit? No, I don't think I can handle that. Not at the moment. I think that I've got enough on my plate already." Nandini was referring to the gruelling incident they had to face a couple of years ago. It seemed that with her mother's death, all the good things in her life had just gone with the wind. Society couldn't digest the fact that a guy and girl can actually be friends. They rumoured that the two were having an affair. That they had crossed all lines and given themselves up to each other... This went on till her father raised a question. But her shocked outcry kept him quiet until the next woman entered his life. Their lives.
"This has to stop," her stepmom had reprimanded. "I won't let you or this boy to ruin this family's reputation. Your father's reputation. You'd better change yourself. And chose your friends, words and actions wisely." While all this had happened, Manik was present. "And you..." she had spat furiously with a threatening finger pointed at Manik's face. "...from now on... never ever set your foot in this house again. And never ever call Nandini or speak to her or see her! This is your last and final warning! If ever... any of us comes to know that both of you have been seeing each other... talking to each other... then trust me, things are going to get really sour."
But Nandini had let hell loose on her. "How dare you!!! How dare you talk to him like that? And how dare you interfere in my life! Get this straight. Our father needed you. Not us. We never asked for you. So don't tell me what to do and what not to do! Do you understand? And don't push in your stinking nose and rule over my life. Get it!!!?"
But things did get really bitter when the two of them... Nandini (with her bruised ego and intruded privacy) and her stepmom (with the undying determination to break the wild and free mare called Nandini) locked horns in a fight to the death... and Manik had to pull her off whilst Murthy restrained his "wife".
At that point of time too, Nandini had refused to go back home. She spent the entire day crying her heart out whilst Manik comforted her and tried to get her to see some sense. "Listen. You got to go back. For how long are you going to stay away?"
"Forever!!!" she had spat through angry tears.
"Come on Nandini," he had tried to get her to change her mind. "Be practical. Just think about your father. He's just stuck in between the both of you. If you stay out forever, what about him? What about Rishabh? You need to be strong buddy."
"How dare she say all that shit to me!!!" she sobbed heavily.
"See look," Manik had put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her really close. "Just listen to me. Right now, you need to go home. Give it some time. It will simmer down. Trust me. Everything's going to be okay. And if she tells you something, just ignore it. Don't even listen to her."
Taking heed to his words, Nandini had returned that evening, only to face her stepmother's wrath and her father's painful silence. It had taken days for Nandini to stop crying and stand on her feet once again. All the while, her brother gave her company whilst being shattered himself. And Manik stayed out of range till Nandini found a way to stay in touch with him again... secretly.
Back to the present, Nandini seemed to be cringing as she relived those awful moments. She was struggling to stop the wetness from showing up in her eyes. "We had a row today," she said with an I don't care tone as she looked away. But Manik could say that she was burning inside. He knew her too well.
"It's about..." Nandini paused to take breaths in an attempt to douse out the pain that was building up in her chest at an alarming rate. "... These gigs. She thinks that it's shit. Useless. Crap. And I said screw your opinion. No one asked for it. Shove it up your ass. And don't dare to stand in my f**king way and my f**king life again."
Manik just listened quietly. The F-word said it all. She wanted to kill like a terrorist. He had once witnessed what happens when a "cat fight" breaks out. He had even witnessed what happens after. It was obvious to him that she had probably cried a river this evening, but she was trying to look strong. As if she didn't really care. As if she'd shed no tear. But he knew too well.
It was clear to Manik that some of the data had been censored by Nandini. Yes, the old topic mostly did spring up. The "don't talk to Manik Malhotra" instruction. But Nandini didn't want to hurt him with this piece of information. So she kept it to herself and seethed in the agony of feeling so helpless and powerless. Manik was at a loss for words. He had no idea what to do or say. He very well knew how she was feeling. He knew that she didn't want to go home and bump into her again.
Manik got closer to her, lifted her chin and pulled up the corners of her mouth. And almost instantly, the creases at her furrowed brows relaxed. "Say cheese," he chuckled to which Nandini's tensed features softened out to a smile.
"You know what..." said Manik with a smirk. "I think that they're just desperate."
"Who?" asked Nandini dubiously.
"Society and all..." he replied. "They just want to see us together forever. So they're just making up stuff hoping that it'd come true."
Nandini smiled. "Yeah, I guess that's it. They want us to hop in bed and screw to glory."
Manik laughed. "Or start with a kiss for a change."
"You know what..." said Nandini in a much brighter tone. "We should just goddamn kiss one day and shut their mouths for heaven's sake."
"Yeah," he agreed with a cute giggle. "At last! Society will be satisfied. Thank God they kissed."
Nandini laughed with an open heart. "Chalo, need to get home now," she said as she pulled on her helmet and hopped onto her scooty.
"Drive safely," he waved as he took a couple of steps back. "And think about me while you drive."
"Yeah right," she snorted and sparked up the engine. "And die laughing?"
"See you in the AM," he sneered. "And choose a different route. That fat ass cop could be lurking about. And give me a call when you get home."
"Sure, goodnight," she replied before moving off, "and you'd better be out on time in the morning or I'll drag you out!"
Manik nodded his head with a smile plastered onto his face as he stood and watched her disappear at the end of the street.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Next: Chapter 7
