RiMa SS- YOU MADE ME BREATHE AGAIN [COMPLETE]-- EPILOGUE -- PAGE 83

~*~YOU MADE ME BREATHE AGAIN~*~

PART 1

The morning sunrays fell on her sweet white milky face making it glow more just as sunshine glows up the dewdrop, thus brightening the entire room. She immediately put her palm in front of her face, stopping the rays to not fall on her face anymore. She stretched her limbs and yawned slightly, which made her more beautiful. Suddenly, her phone rang. Hearing the ringtone, she grabbed her pillow and threw on the other side of the bed in frustration and picked up her phone, without even seeing the screen for the number. "Hello!" She spoke yawningly. "Hello! Good Morning Ma'am!" "What is this Neha...? Have you ever taken a vow to irritate me with your voice every morning??" Madhu bursted. "I am sorry Mam! But it's 8 and your shoot is scheduled at 9. So, I have just called to inform you. I am leaving to pick you up." Neha replied politely. Hearing her reply, Madhu's anger flew away and she felt sorry for her rudeness but still she maintained her stern voice. "OK... OK... I am getting ready. And listen... Leave after 15 minutes so that as soon as you reach here, we can leave for the studio without wasting time. And one more thing Neha... Strictly warn the studio manager, producers and the director to not to call the media on the sets. I don't want any media personnel there on the sets... Understood!!" And she hanged up the phone. She quickly got up from the bed and went to the bathroom to get freshen up.

Neha Sharma, was the Manager of Madhu aka Madhubala aka SUPERTSTAR MADHUBALA- the heartbeat of every individual, dream of millions. And this love of the people had made her the QUEEN of BOLLYWOOD and that too in such a short span of 5 years which every heroine dreams of. 5 years... yes... these 5 years had given her this fame, stardom, name and a crown- Belle of the tinsel town. These 5 years had given her many things and changed everything. This "EVERYTHING" included her too. Now, she was more of Superstar Madhubala and less of Madhu... much lesser! Being the Manager, Neha handled everything- Madhu's schedule, her meetings, photo shoots, and interviews. But, besides being a Manager, she had an emotional bond with her too. It was a daily routine of Neha to call her in the morning- waking her up and to pick her up from her Mansion- Madhubala Mansion.

Madhu came out of her bathroom, rubbing her wet hair with the towel, in a bath robe. She opened her wardrobe and start searching for her outfit. Within a few seconds, she quickly picked a white pink Anarkali and went to wear it. It might be the only thing that hadn't changed in her- her simplicity. In spite of being a successful actress, she never went beyond her dignity and always wore traditional clothes off-screen. She quickly dressed herself up and went near the dressing table to do a little touch up. She did the touch up and checked herself from head to toe through the mirror. After settling herself, she turned to leave downstairs but stopped in midway. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and turned towards the dressing again. She saw herself in the mirror for few minutes then she turned her gaze to the drawer. She opened it and took out a folded paper. Suddenly, her vision blurred- because tears filled her eyes. She opened it slowly. The moment she opened it, a manly voice started echoing in her ears- "Forget everything Madhu! Forget yourself! Whenever you have to give a shot, just think that you are alone- nobody is watching you, feel the character, mould the surroundings according to your wish, put your soul to it and give the shot. And then you'll see, you've given a perfect shot...!!" Suddenly, her trance broke when she felt a drop of tear on her palm. She crushed the paper to her chest and closed her eyes. All the tears that had brimmed her eyes, now found their path to flow out. It was her daily routine to read that piece of paper before going for a shoot. Unknowingly, those words would charge her up with strength to face the camera. In spite of being a wonderful actress and having a great work experience, she still needed to gather courage to face the eyes of the camera lens every day. "Ma'am, are you ready?" Neha's voice broke her trance and she shot opened her eyes. She quickly folded the paper back and put it in the drawer and straightened herself. She wiped her tears and re-touched her make up. Till then, Neha entered her room. "Ma'am, shall we leave now? It's getting late!" Neha spoke. Madhu nodded and quickly picked her goggles up and wore them so that her Manager could not see her red teary eyes. Soon, they left for the studio.

The car stopped in front of the studio. Neha immediately came out and move to the other side to open the door. Madhu stepped out of the car looking all around. Suddenly, a small rabble near the studio entrance caught her eye. The mob made her frown. They were the reporters from various News channels and print media. She looked at Neha with anger and question filled eyes of which she had no answers. Neha almost ran towards the entrance to move the media aside and to give Madhu her way. As soon as Madhu reached near them, all the reporters encircled her and threw all their questions on her which they had controlled inside them for many hours. "Madhubala ji, how are you feeling after doing that action sequence by yourself?" "Madhubala, is there any dispute between you and the production house?" Madhu kept on walking without answering to any of the query. "Madhubala, are the rumours true about your affair with your movie hero Rohan Kapoor?" Madhu stopped in midway. Neha got panicked. Madhu turned towards the reporter who asked that question and removed her sunglasses. "Ma'am, please ignore them! Please!" Neha tried to stop her but she signalled her to keep quiet. "Your question has its answer in itself..." She politely replied, though with full attitude. "Mr Whatever, you yourself have answered to your query! It's a rumour..." She wore her glasses back with a stern smile on her face and walked off almost pushing the reporters in her way.

"I am warning you Mr Singhania for the last time!" Madhu was shouting at the top of her voice. "I'll not tolerate this anymore. If you want to work with me then you have to fulfil my demands. I have already told you many times that I don't want the media around my sets then why don't you understand that?" The producer was speechless in front of her anger. "This is the last time. If it happens again then its better, you start searching for the new heroine..." And she walked off to her vanity leaving behind a defeated producer.

A spot boy came to her vanity, "Madam, shot is ready." Madhu nodded and signalled him to leave. Later, she reached for the shoot. The director explained her entire sequence and everyone got ready to shoot it. In the scene, the heroine has to slap the hero and leave him. Madhu slapped the hero, Rohan Kapoor, "How dare you!! What do you think of yourself? Am I a punching bag? I sacrificed everything for you, for your family but what I got in return?? Blames... Taunts... And that too from you!! My husband!! You've never loved me Karan! You've always loved yourself, your status!! And now, I can't take it anymore. I can't live with a person like you! I am leaving!! Good Bye Mr Karan Arora!!" And she walked off. The entire studio thudded with a huge round of applause. Everyone was praising her for an excellent shot. The director came near her and patted her shoulder. Every mouth, every eye was busy in praising her skills but she was lost somewhere. A slight pat from the director got her back. Madhu excused herself and quickly went to her vanity and shut the door. Neha was all watching it from some distance.

After few minutes, Neha thought to talk to her. She knocked at the vanity door, " Ma'am, it's me, Neha!" After few moments, the door opened. "Aammm... ma'am! Are you alright?" She asked. "Of course Neha!" Madhu smiled back at her. "I was not feeling well after such crying scene so came here to get relaxed." "Ma'am, I want to talk to you." "And what is it?" Madhu asked. "Ma'am, since many days, a new writer cum director is calling me and he wants to meet you in person regarding his movie." "Hmm... OK! Give him the appointment according to my schedule!" Madhu replied. "Ma'am, I have given him the date but he was so eager to meet you that he reached here today and is waiting for your consent to meet him!" Neha spoke helplessly. "What!!" Madhu gave a disgusted look. After a thought, she spoke, "OK! Send him inside!" Neha went out and sent him to Madhu. "Hello Madhubala ji!" A man with a Bradman hat and black solid frame spectacles entered the van. He forwarded his hand to Madhu, "I am Jay Mehta. I have just started my career in this industry and had made few short films. I want to debut in the core film making by directing you as the heroine in my first movie!" Madhu shook her hand with his and smiled. "Hello Mr Mehta!" He was delighted to meet her dream heroine. "I have seen your first movie and I was really impressed to see your chemistry with RK Sir!!" Suddenly, the smile flew away from her face. Mr Mehta continued, "I really wished to make my first movie by directing both of you as the main leads but..." "Mr Mehta, First of all, thanks a lot for appreciating my skills and secondly, currently I have a number of commitments to complete so I won't be able to work with you but I promise as soon as I am free, I'll let you know and then we'll have a meeting!" Madhu clearly cut him in between and blurted herself in single breathe. Hearing this, Mr Mehta's face dropped in disappointment. "Ahh! Please don't get disheartened! I'm not rejecting you proposal. You can give your contact number and other details to Neha. She is outside!" A smile crept over his face with some hope. He took a leave from her and went to Neha. As soon as he left, Madhu's eyes filled with tears. She hid her face in her palms and sobbed quietly. The entire day went peaceful. Madhu gave all her shots in single take, as usual. After collecting her week schedule chart from the director, both of them left for their places in the evening.

In the night, Madhu was sitting near the window, staring at the moon, lost in her thoughts. The words of that new director were ringing in her ears. She trailed her hands in her hair and closed her eyes in frustration. Suddenly, her phone rang. She saw the screen. It was Neha. "Hello Neha!" She asked confusingly that why she had called her so late. "Ma'am, I have urgent news for you!" Neha replied in a hurry tone. "What??" Madhu asked curiously. "Ma'am, the news is that I HAVE TRACED HIM FINALLY!!" Madhu's world stopped for a moment. She didn't spoke anything. A tear rolled down her cheek and small smile crept on her face.