Our (Famous) Love

SURPRISE SHOOTS

Newcomer Annika Trivedi casted in 'King Of Hearts' starring Heartthrob Shivaay Singh Oberoi. Is she a possible new love interest for Oberoi's character Devesh Maurya?

Annika sat in the Trivedi's warm and tidy kitchen and held her breath as she handed over the entertainment section from the paper she'd grabbed from the box for them. She'd already read the story on her phone this morning but naturally, her parents still had the paper delivered every morning.

She often came over on Sundays to have breakfast with her parents. It had become a little tradition of sorts since she'd moved out...and it beat the hell out of simple bread butter all by her lonesome in her crappy little apartment.

She stirred her coffee and bit her lower lip as she anxiously waited for her parents to finish reading the article. She waited and waited. Apparently, they were really slow readers this early.

Harsh Trivedi finished first and took a sip of his own coffee before asking if she'd pass the cookies. Annika sighed and did as her father asked.

Her mother's brow was furrowed and she squinted without her reading glasses as she read and reread the article.

"Well?" Annika asked nervously once her mother had finally laid the article down.

Vanshika Trivedi glanced at her husband who was steadily champing at his omelette and toast and looking pointedly at the clock hanging over the sink.

"Isn't 'King Of Hearts' that soap opera with all the steamy sex scenes?" her mother asked...never one to beat about the bush.

"Wuh-ell...it has a few romantic scenes, I suppose," Annika said cagily, "but I wouldn't call it a soap opera. It's a very popular OTT platform historical drama with kings, queens and political machinations...and back stabbing, family struggles and triumphs and..."

"Nudie scenes," her father said, munching on a bit of toast now. "What did Rakesh call it? 'Fames and Shames'...something like that."

"Annika," her mother said, "did you really spend all those years doing theatre and taking film classes just to show off your...your breasts to half the country?"

Her father started choking on his toast and Annika self-consciously crossed her arms over her chest and wondered why she'd been so excited to share this news with her old-fashioned parents.

"No, Mom," she sighed. "I just...look, this is a big break for me to get this kind of exposure." Her father's choking spell renewed at that last word but Annika rallied and carried on. "And no one has said anything about me doing any romantic...alright, sex scenes. I'm playing the supposed daughter of one of the show's biggest villains."

"And that's this, uh...Shivaay Singh Oberoi fellow?" her mother asked, peering down at the article as though she'd never heard of one of the hottest young actors in India.

Likely, she hasn't.

"No, he's one of the biggest stars on the show but that article's all wrong about me being a love interest. I'm not doing any scenes with him. No, the villain is played by Veer Pratap Chouhan. And he's not really my father. I'm actually the daughter of one of the heroes that was killed off a few seasons ago. The last actress who had my role wasn't available when they decided to bring Aishani back," she replied informatively.

"Where did Aishani go, love?" her father asked.

A: "When her hero father was killed, her evil uncle who wanted the throne for himself declared her and all her sibling illegitimate by manipulating the court and declaring her parents' marriage illegal. When her uncle realized that the dowager queen might have some supporters left in the court he murdered half of her family. Aishani was among few who escaped but she disappeared the night of the assassination and no one's seen her in two years. Many of the fans thought she might be dead and..."