Junak Baruah wants to win the prestigious short film competition in his university. But with hundreds of participants and a stellar jury on board, winning means making a film that's never been made before.
And that means breaking the rules and taki...
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"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Junak beamed at his laptop screen, at Banhi grinning back at him with an awfully decorated chocolate cake held in her hands. There were three candles on it that she blew out the exact moment Junak blew at the camera.
"I'm sorry, I'm late," she cried, cutting a piece of the cake and eating it. She was sitting on a couch, with sunlight pouring across the side of her face. "It's the damned time zones."
"Uh huh," Junak pretended to be upset as he absently petted Satan who was lying on his lap, eyeing Banhi with unwavering interest. "Or you just don't love me anymore."
"Hey! I baked you this cake. That's love."
"The cake that you're eating right in front of me, all on your own?"
"It's not my fault you live in that dump, halfway across the world."
Junak laughed. "You could've had a cake delivered to–"
"Hey!!" Niribili appeared on the screen, dressed in pyjamas, with her hair wet around her shoulders. "Happy birthday." Satan barked at the screen. "Hello to you too, Satan." She sat on the couch beside her girlfriend and cut a piece of cake for herself. Banhi was not the best cook around but Junak was starting to crave that cake now, supposedly his birthday cake. "How was your day? It must be evening for you, right?"
"Yup, it's... a little past six." He was sitting in his room, on a double bed that was all tucked in, neat and tidy, due to his mother and Dikhou. The wall behind him was decorated with pictures of his friends and family, especially those from Nonrong. The table and shelves were cluttered with books, film equipment, Satan's toys and lamps that Dikhou had recently gotten obsessed with collecting. On the couch were half a dozen shopping bags – gifts from his mother.
"What'd you do today?" Niribili asked, while Banhi wriggled her eyebrows and said, "Did Dikhou do anything special?"
Junak blushed while Satan perked on hearing Dikhou's name. "No, uh... he had work today. I mostly hung out with Ma. We went to a photo exhibit, then went shopping with Puhor and Faiza-di. The lunch was on Puhor, which was a cheap-ass gift because he took us to the restaurant where he had discount points."
Junak's friends laughed.
"I seriously don't know what Faiza-di sees in him."
"Come on, Puhor-da is adorable," Niribili said, earning a look of disgust from Junak.
"Anyway, they are all here now, for dinner. Dikhou should be here soon. Oh, and Jiri-ba's in Delhi, did I tell you? She's visiting for a week. They are coming over too."
"Please, I also wanna attend the party now," Banhi whined.
Junak preened. "Have fun eating that cake all on your own."
"You're mean. I still love you though."
"So you say when–"
"JUNAK!!" came his father's shout from outside his room. "THE WIFI ISN'T WORKING AGAIN."
