Five-Thirty AM - XXIV

A camera mounted on a round trolley swung into action on the directors call, rotating around the couple, while they glared into each other’s eyes, and then slowed to a stop. The camera framed both their faces, side profile looking at each other, the intense tension palpable between them.

Mitul held her breath as she watched.

Noel spun on his heels, turning away from Aarti. She held out a hand, her face distressed, holding his shoulder.

‘Please, Rahul,’ her voice broke, tears in her eyes. ‘Please listen to me. Try to understand how I feel,’ she bit her lip, her head bowing. He straightened his back, lifting his chin up, swallowing, holding himself painfully still. He lifted a hand, and held hers, slowly prising it off his shoulder.

‘Cut!’ yelled the director. They held still for five more seconds and then broke apart.

The crew clapped. It was a perfect shot.

Mitul released the breath she’d been holding. The entire set had been still and quiet, but now there was a sudden rush of movement. People swarmed all over the place, seemingly working like a well-oiled machine.

Dev came out of nowhere and said, ‘they’re going to shoot Noel’s close up now. Are you okay with waiting?’ he asked solicitously.

‘Yes, I’m fine,’ she was wondering why Dev had agreed to 2 p.m. when it was obvious that Noel wasn’t going to be free any time soon. She turned around to ask him, but he’d vanished, again.

She sat there waiting, while Noel had vanished again.

It took sometime before the next shot was ready. Like the last time, Noel magically appeared, looking much like he had done in the last shot. The director stopped him and they went into a small consultation. Noel nodded and then walked into the lights.

Once agin, the director called for silence. A hush fell on the set. A sense of anticipation built in Mitul. She held her breath, leaning forward in her chair, until the director called again.

‘And ... Action!’

Noel stood facing the camera, Aarti’s hand on his shoulder. He lifted his other hand, and prised it off his shoulder, dropping it. She let it fall limply. The camera moved in slowly, until only his face filled the screen. He looked straight into the lens, unblinking. In a pain filled voice, he began to speak.

‘I tried, Kajal. I tried to come close to you. And each time we came a little bit closer, I ... I was happy. I thought WE were happy together. Every moment,’ his voice broke, ‘we spent together, is etched in my memory. My days were spent thinking of you. Waiting for the moment when I could come back to you and hold you in my arms. My nights were spent dreaming of you,’ he dropped his voice.

His lowered his chin, his eyes still looking into the camera, until he was looking up from under his brows. Tears formed in his eyes, glittering in the lights, as he continued, the raw emotions cutting through.

Mitul swallowed, unable to bear the pain in his eyes. She drew in a deep breath. His eyes were looking right into hers, boring into her soul.

‘I laid myself bare for you, Kajal. I put everything out there for you. You know all the secrets of my soul. My deepest, darkest pain I have shared with you. But you doubted my love for you.’ He paused for a millisecond. ‘And now, this ... this indifference ... this distance ... I don’t even know why there is this distance between us. This yawning chasm that I can’t leap over. I can’t take it any more,’ his voice was a husky plea, as he paused and then said, ‘Kajal.’

Every syllable he uttered, hit Mitul hard in the gut. Every word he said, he was saying it to her. Speaking at her, no one else. Her heart was breaking as he spoke. She put a fist against her mouth, muffling back the moan.

The camera panned on a tight close until only his tortured green eyes filled the screen, the tears still held back.

‘So let me go. I don’t want this anymore,’ he whispered, his voice trembling with pain held back.

The camera slowly pulled back, as he closed his eyes, and then followed the tear which slowly rolled down his cheek.

The set was quiet as he finished his monologue, everyone caught in the spell he had woven. It was a good five seconds before the director called, ‘Cut!’

Mitul got up and dashed out the building, furiously wiping her eyes. Behind her she heard people congratulating Noel on the shot. She stopped outside in the sunshine, gulping air in huge breaths, as she tried to stop the sobs choking her.

‘Looks so real, doesn’t it?’ Dev spoke behind her. ‘You wouldn’t even think he was acting!’

She spun around, the pain clearly visible on her face, as she looked up at him with tear-drenched eyes. He smiled carelessly at her, arms folded, leaning against the side of the building.

‘You know, the thing is, Noel didn’t even use glycerine for that shot. Those tears were real. He’s that good an actor,’ he went on mercilessly.

She swallowed hard. ‘I ... yes ... he’s very good,’ she stammered.

‘Are you coming back in?’ he asked politely, smiling at her. ‘They’re continuing in a bit.’

‘N ... no, I think ... I’m ... I gotta go ..’ she turned around, trying to find composure.

‘Oh, but Mitul, you didn’t even get to meet Noel,’ he called, sounding concerned.

‘That’s okay,’ she kept her back turned. ‘Can you please set up another appointment for me?’

‘Sure,’ he kept his voice light. Noel wasn’t the only one who could act. ‘I’ll let you know.’

‘Thanks,’ she said, and hurried off, head bent.

Run, Mitul, he thought. How far are you going to run from your heart? and his? Come to your senses, already, woman!

He’d specifically asked Mitul to come down this week, ever since he’d found out that they would be shooting this particular scene. It was a matter of timing and Mitul had played right into it!

Up next. The green monster.

******

Mitul was having a hard time explaining to her mother, why Noel and she still hadn’t made up. She’d spent the rest of the afternoon in her room crying her eyes out. His eyes had haunted her, the pain in them tearing her heart out. She wanted to call him. His voice rang in her ears. ‘Let me go. I don’t want this anymore.’

She’d blown it! she thought. There was no going back. She’d lost him for good! And then she cried some more.

Her mother was worried, but let her be, knowing that to ask any questions at this time would only agitate her daughter further.

The next day, she woke up and decided to focus back on work. She was good at this, and that’s what she was going to do. She was going to work. By mid-morning, she’d barely written a para. She gave up and went to the living room, turning on the TV and slumping on the couch.

Just her luck, Parda Faash was on!

She was about to hit the channel change button, when Noel’s face flashed on the screen. She sat up and stared at the screen. The voiceover began speaking.

‘Bollywood’s newest hunk, Noel James, seems to be quite a hit with the ladies. The actor, who kept his life quite private so far, was spotted at a party this week with none other than the gorgeous model, Sonia Mehra, who’s also looking for a foothold in Bollywood.’

The screen split in two, one half showing a full length canned shot of Noel, and the other of the tall leggy model, walking down the runway.

‘Sources tell us that the two were getting very cosy at the party. Page 3 even caught them kissing on the dance floor.’

The damning picture from Page 3 was displayed in HD perfection on her screen, with strategic pixillation making it difficult to see if they were really kissing or not!

Mitul sat there dry-eyed, with a deer caught in the headlights look on her face.

‘Earlier this year, the actor was seen in Toronto with a different lady on his arm.’ Cut to Noel and Mitul on the ferry!

She couldn’t breathe, her heart slamming within her chest.

‘Looks like the handsome hunk believes in keeping a lady at every port!’ the announcer chortled.

Kamini had stepped out the kitchen when she’d heard Noel’s name. The audio-visual treat that she had been served with was something she had not expected. Uh-oh! Looks like Noel had gone overboard with pushing Mitul away. Her heart bled for her little one. But then she saw a picture of someone that looked distinctly like her daughter and her mouth fell open. She watched her daughter rush off to her room and sighed. Oh dear! This was getting more and more complicated.

These two were acting like children, sitting and sulking in their different corners. She needed someone who knew both of them. And that someone - well more than one person - was arriving on the weekend.

She couldn’t wait till her jiji and her nieces came to town.

*****

Dev looked at the called ID on his phone. Noel.

‘Hey Noel,’ he said cheerily. ‘How are you? Are you up for a party tonight?’

‘Party? Party?! You want me to go for a party?’ Noel was literally hopping in anger.

‘Chill, Noel. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to,’ Dev lounged back on his couch, lazily flicking through the pages of a magazine.

‘Dev. I’m not talking about the party!’ Noel was yelling in frustration.

‘Oh? Then what exactly are you talking about?’ he blew a puff of air on his well-manicured nails.

‘Parda Faash!’ Noel calmed down enough to say. ‘They aired a segment on me today.’

‘It’s their job, you know,’ Dev was surprisingly calm. ‘You should be used to it by now. They gossip. That’s their bread and butter.’

‘Gossip? They aired the Page 3 picture of me, and then they aired the picture of me and Mitul in Toronto! I thought that was pulled off the air!’

‘Hmmm. They didn’t inform me about it,’ Dev grinned keeping his voice serious. ‘It was supposed to be destroyed!’

‘Well then, do something, Dev. Isn’t this what managers are supposed to do? Handle things? What if Mitul saw it?’

‘I thought you didn’t care if Mitul saw the picture of you and Sonia kissing!’ Dev couldn’t resist that one.

Noel could feel himself losing it. His control, his temper, everything. If Dev had been around Noel would have strangled him. No wait! He would have hung, drawn and quartered him!

Which is why Dev had avoided Noel all day and he would be avoiding him all day tomorrow too.

Noel breathed deeply and said, ‘I don’t care if she sees those pics of Sonia and me. Just ensure that her picture isn’t aired anymore,’ he finished curtly and hung up.

Dev grinned as he hit the end button. Thinking for a bit, he dialed another number.

‘Hello, aunty? It’s Dev,’ he said. ‘I been a long time since you’ll came to Mumbai to visit your sons ... Really? That’s marvelous! ... Sunday? ... Yes, yes of course, I’ll come and pick you up. Yes ... Noel stays really busy these days ... No, no, don’t worry about that. I’ll tell him. See you on Sunday then, aunty. Bye.’

He disconnected and called Noel’s home number, ‘Shomu? I just talked to aunty. They’re coming on Sunday. No need to tell Noel. Okay? I want it to be a surprise for him. Okay, Shomu. Bye.’

Feeling highly satisfied with himself, Dev opened a bottle of beer, and sipped it, suddenly feeling a little lost and a little lonely. The fact that Noel was suffering with his love life wasn’t a source of amusement for him. He actually envied Noel and Mitul for what they had, and he wanted them to recognize it for the blessing it was.

Plus, he also wanted a little bit of that magic in his own life.

Maina. The name floated into his mind. He shook his head. He hadn’t seen her in weeks and there was no reason why he should be thinking of her now. He’d given up hope of finding her. Perhaps she was just a figment of his imagination. Something that could have been. Perhaps it was better to leave it at that. A sweet little memory. Time for him to move on, too.

*****

Mitul opened the front door on Sunday to find the one person she had not expected in town that weekend.

‘Myna!’ she gasped. ‘What are you doing here? Are you alone?’

‘Hi, Mitul di,’ she hugged her. ‘Yes, I came alone,’ she lugged her suitcase into the house. ‘I knew you guys would be doing some heavy duty shopping for the wedding once Piya and Jiya arrived. And you know me, I can’t stay away from shopping. So here I am!’ she said, holding out her arms, waiting for her Badi-ma to hug her.

Mitul laughed. She had to give it to her cousin. Much as she disliked some of the things her cousin did, she still did love her. A wedding was as good a time as any to forgive and forget. Having her along would be fun. After all, a wedding is all about fun, isn’t it? With two brides in the family, it should be double the fun.

Except she didn’t feel like much fun these days. She hadn’t seen or spoken to Noel in days. Her book was getting delayed. Joyce was getting antsy. And did I mention, she hadn’t seen or spoken to Noel in days! Which made her miserable. She was determined, though, to snap out of it and having Myna around might just do that.

*****

Piya called later that day. They’d arrived in the early hours of the morning and were staying at their uncle’s house, not far from Mitul’s place.

Mitul settled down for a comfortable chat with her, sitting down cross-legged on her bed as they talked.

‘So tell me, are things between you and Noel any better now?’ Piya finally asked broaching the topic that Mitul had usually brushed off before. But Piya being Piya had figured out that something was dreadfully wrong between the two of them.

‘It’s fine,’ she heard Mitul say. She wasn’t convinced. ‘He’s very busy these days, so I haven’t talked to him in a while,’ Mitul’s voice was quiet.

‘Never mind, Mitul,’ Piya was determined not to let Mitul wallow. ‘We’ll see him before the wedding anyway. Mum and Dad are going over to invite him tomorrow,’ she said.

‘Oh!’ was Mitul’s only comment.

‘Have you seen any of the shooting?’ Piya asked.

‘Yes. Quite a bit. I’ve been on the set a few times,’ she said.

‘That would be fun to do, but I doubt we’d have the time to do so,’ Piya grumbled. ‘There’s so much to do. But listen. Tomorrow night, we’re all going out, and you’re joining us, no excuses!’ she ordered.

‘But..there is a problem,’ Mitul said.

‘What?’

‘Myna.’

‘She’s here?’

‘Yes. She arrived today, too.’

‘Well, then bring her along as well. What’s the problem? The more the merrier,’ said Piya. She didn’t particularly care for Myna, but she tolerated her, because she was Mitul’s cousin, and also, because Myna could be fun when she let herself forget her pretentiousness.

She also didn’t care because she was thinking devious thoughts, about one more person that she wanted to add to the party.

*****

Noel opened the door on Sunday to see his parents standing there, with Dev grinning widely in the background.

‘Mom, Papa,’ he exclaimed, hugging his petite mother, before being caught up in bear hug by his father. ‘This is a surprise!’

They all settled in the living room while a beaming Shomu brought out cups of tea and samosas.

‘So, tell me, Mom, what’re you doing here?’ Noel was sitting next to his mother, as his dad had occupied his favorite lazy-boy.

‘We hadn’t seen our son in a while, so we thought we’d come visit,’ they said.

‘This is marvelous! Mom, can you please make xacutti tomorrow? Not today. Today you take rest,’ he qualified. ‘But it’s been so long since I had your xacutti that I can’t wait,’ practically salivating at the thought.

Dev wondered what his female fans would make of that! ‘There goes all those ‘I heart Noel’ clubs, Noel!’ he grinned.

‘Who cares?’ grumbled the heartthrob of thousands, as they all laughed.

To say the Figueiredos were happy to see him like that would be an understatement. He had gone through so much, and now to see him so healthy, so happy, so successful! They silently thanked the Lord for His miracles. Their Noel was truly a miracle child.

‘Noel, since when did you start keeping a stubble?’ his mother ran a hand over his rough jaw.

For the life of him, he could not control the blush. ‘Ah! In America,’ he replied. ‘For the movie. Once it’s done, it’s gone,’ he said.

A slow smile spread over Dev’s face. My. My. My.

It was just after lunch; they were all still sitting and chatting when Noel’s phone rang. He picked it up without looking at the number.

‘Noel?’ the voice was female and familiar!

‘Yes?’ he said.

‘It’s Piya,’ she said.

‘Hey! Piya! Welcome to India. When did you get in?’ Noel was genuinely delighted to hear from her.

‘Just today. Early morning. Listen I have something to ask you. Will you be at home tomorrow morning?’ she asked.

‘Tomorrow morning?’ he looked at Dev and raised an eyebrow.

‘You’re free,’ mouthed Dev.

‘Yeah, I’m free,’ he reported.

‘Good! My parents want to come over with the wedding invitations,’ she said.

‘Oh. Yes. Absolutely. It would be good to see them again,’ he said. He gave her the address.

‘Noel, one more thing,’ Piya said.

‘What?’

‘We’re going out tomorrow evening. You know, the couples, and we wanted to know if you could join us. It’s not going to be a big group, Rajan and Anuj will also be there,’ she said, crossing her fingers.

‘Er ...’ he was hesitating, wanting to ask if Mitul will be there. ‘Can I bring a friend?’ he asked, instead.

‘Sure,’ she said. Oh shit! She thought. What if he brought a date? ‘Great!’ she added enthusiastically. She gave him the time and place and hung up. Then she chewed on her nails while she tried to figure out what to do.

‘Dev,’ Noel turned to him and said. ‘We’ve been invited for a party tomorrow.’

‘We have?’ Dev was well and truly surprised.

‘Remember the twins? They are here in India and a bunch of friends, so ...’ Noel said, hoping Dev wouldn’t ask who the twins were.

As it was, it was his mother who asked the question, ‘Oh! the people in Toronto?’

‘Yes, Mom. So they have a party thing tomorrow and wanted me to join in,’ he said apologetically. ‘I couldn’t say no.’

‘No. No.’ His mother was adamant. ‘You should go.’ She waved him off. ‘So who’s coming tomorrow?’

‘Piya-Jiya’s parents, with the invitations,’ he replied.

*****