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The photo had a back story and just like everything significant related to her social media presence started with Ashwin, even this did.
Even though Ashwin and Shivangi wouldn't love anything more than staying in their personal space after professing love, they had responsibility to their profession. They were due to appear on stage after the last performance for final goodbye and impromptu fan interaction.
Ashwin had already started to behave like a hyper kid owing to overwhelming feelings much to Shivangi's dismay. He kept poking at her, trying to rile her up and seemed to get some gratification out of seeing her glare at him or whack him secretly.
So, when Shivangi was climbing the stairs and felt a tug at her pallu, she was convinced it was Ashwin. That explains the magical look in her eyes when she turned around before realizing it was actually Anirudh who was releasing her pallu from a nail that was on the side of the stairs. Even though Shivangi's face immediately masked unaffected expression, camera was quick to catch her faraway look and Anirudh's wide eyed surprise.
In no time the photo was viral owing to the national level star status of the man involved and his history with beautiful belles.
After her call with Ashwin when Shivangi decided to take a last look at her social media for fan reaction on her latest post and stories from the event, she was caught in the whirlpool of media articles, assumptions, gossips and dissection that Shivangi was way too familiar with.
It was like she was once again going back in time to a place where she sat alone hearing thousand voices telling her what to do, how to do, why it is not okay to decide her life on her terms and in short dictating her life sometimes in name of toxic fan and love and other times just because she is a celebrity and people had time to waste on correcting her life to save themselves from the failure of not being able to correct their own life.
Maybe to an outsider Shivangi was overreacting, however, to be her, to let herself hope again was not easy. To go back to remembering old Shivangi felt like a warning bell from the universe that her life will always be loomed by shadow of the past.
"Inga paaru pattu kutty."Pugazh's voice broke her trance. "Ivlo varshama media la iruka. Unaku teriyadhadhu onnum illa. Idellam sagajam dana. Oru naal oruthara pathi pesuvanga, innoru naal innorthar kedacha marandiruvanga. Nee yenda unnaye varuthikara?"
(Listen, dear, You have been part of media since long now and you know how it is. It is common. One day it is gonna be about you and next day someone else. Don't react.)
The problem was not that Shivangi didn't understand the facts, it was that she was not ready to accept it. She didn't know how to walk on same fire path and emerge unscathed.
She knew rumours were not formed over night. She knew there has been fireless smoke about vague interest the rockstar had on her. She knew fans indulged in public banters that they considered harmless. When culminating result of everything stood in front of her, her mind coerced her to blame herself more than anything else.
"Nee oru rendu naal indha instagram twitter ellam vittutu velaya paaru. Ellame seri aaidum. Edho Hyderabad concert nu sonnaye, adhuku practice pannu. Indha social media ellam poi ulagam, adhuku poi yaaradhu ivlo feel pannuvangala. Naan vena..." A sharp intake he heard made Pugazh stop his sentence mid sentence and look at Ashwin.
(Take a break from social media. Everything will be fine. You have a concert in Hyderabad, don't you? Practice for it. Social media is a mirage, don't give it more attention than it deserves. You can....)
