Chapter 2
A Slippery Slope
Madhubala came back home to the mess she had left behind. The floors around the tea grounds were carefully mopped. Yet, the stains left intact for her as a cruel reminder. There he was standing tall in the apology corner wearing a smile on his face.
"I bought you the blue Mazda you always wanted", his grin grew wider as she took the keys out of his hand. To her, they were not just car keys. They were a prison sentence. He made sure she could never repay him. Even with all the riches in the world, Madhubala was indebted to the man who gifted her a way to work. He now became the reason she could breathe. Her success now belonged to him.
"I can't".
As she tried handing back the present, he recoiled.
"Do you know why I get angry? Han?"
And so began the intimidation. She had become so accustomed to his act, it was carved in her memory. Only a matter of seconds before he humiliated her yet again. Or, blackmailed her. It could be anything really. He had threatened to shoot her that one time he was pissed drunk. She overlooked that incident as an isolated nightmare. But, in the back of her mind, a scared little girl still fears he will do it again. This time for real. He will shoot her, he will finish her off.
"You get angry because I don't take your money", she folded his hand into a fist securing the key between his fingers.
"Then why don't you take your new car for a spin? That way, you and I can live in peace".
She nodded her head and went back to cleaning the tea stains.
"Don't", he screamed. "I will do it. Vaise bhi, I am your free-for-all servant".
His voice grew louder and his steps got closer. Just then came a lifesaving phone call. This is what Madhu admired about her profession. The unpredictable hours often pulled her out of stressful situations at home.
"Congratulations Ms. Madhubala. You are now the official leading lady of RK's next movie. Lekin first call time is in an hour. Think you can make it to the studio in this traffic?"
She took no time getting out the door. But not without Sultan delivering his two cents:
"Had it not been for my gift, you would be struggling on the packed evening train".
(Kapoor Studios)
The unrest followed Madhubala to the sets. Her colleague was rather agitated and determined to break open the skulls of one of the camera crew.
"Get the f**king beagle out my way. I am trying to shit out these f**king dialogues in one take. I don't f**king come here to babysit your dogs. Keep the pets at home, in a cage, where they belong".
She looked around for the sign of a dog but there was none. RK was pointing to thin air. For everyone but her, this was normalcy. She sat in the director's chair watching him struggle with his monologue. This was unlike the revered genius the critics held up on a pedestal. This was a paranoid man throwing a fit. Or so she thought until he burst into tears. His actions were bizarre at best.
"He's back", screamed the ecstatic director. The camera crew quickly rushed to action as the superstar delivered a flawless performance in one take. RK threw his script for Madhubala to catch and signaled her to follow him into the vanity van.
"Sign this", he tossed a pile of documents toward her. "A confidentiality agreement. Every one of the crew has to sign one if they work with me".
"Why?" She asked a rhetorical question.
"You shitting me? You know why. I f**king lose my brains sometimes and I don't want your ass ranting on TV about it. Put pen to paper or I will find another actress".
She nodded, hiding her sympathy underneath a stern face. Madhubala promised herself she would not let curiosity get the best of her. She would refrain from asking questions. That was until RK decided to toss aside the professionalism.
"Help me focus", he said. "Tell me about your man".
"We are co-workers not BFFs Mr. Kundra".
"Sure. But it's only a matter of time until..."
"Until what?"
"Until I cast my spell on you".
These behaviours were expected of him. He was known to be a player. Just as Madhubala was beginning to believe Rishabh had a grip on reality, he would slip a little.
"Get the beagle out of here Patil", he would shout once every few minutes.
"His name is Sultan", Madhu supplied wanting to distract RK away from the issue of the non-existent beagle.
"Sultan is such a dumb name. In fact, any one named prince, angel, colonel is just showing off. You are not born those things, you earn em. He is probably a bum who lives off you", he said casually failing to notice the million colors appearing on Madhu's face. "Makeup dada".
She passed him the lipstick bullet she had been using.
"This is not an art film madam where you pas me your herpes. I have my own makeup and I don't share".
She retracted the stick back, not knowing if she could tell off a man who was not acting like himself.
"Take a walk with me", he carelessly pulled her out of her seat.
"I am not going to tell anyone. I don't want to know either. Let's just change the subject. We'll talk about Sultan".
He rejected her proposal and forcefully pulled her out the back door. When they reached a spot he was confident no one could find, he spoke into her ear.
"I am schizophrenic. They can't put a finger on what kind. Paranoid, most likely. You have to deal with it now. Well, atleast until you have this job".
"So the beagle..."
"..is a hallucination. This is the third year I am on the edge. Be careful around me, okay?"
She nodded like her usual self and they head back to the set, growing comfortable in each other's company.
Edited by DonnaHarvey - 12 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
