S̳h̳a̳k̳h̳i̳-̳l̳a̳c̳i̳o̳u̳s̳

EPISODE 2: "Ugly duckling"

Last-place student Shaurya wins his first round of the TV quiz show, wiping the smirk off of the first-place champion and surprising everyone in their class. As the audience claps and the cameras turn to him, he narrates in voiceover that after suffering those cruel events with his family, he vowed to never set foot in a broadcast station or exchange words with anyone even remotely associated with a network. He says he was so resolute that he thought he'd never break his own rule. "The reason I broke that vow and am standing here now... was for a secret I wanted to protect more than that vow." Rewind two weeks. It's an average morning at Grandpa's house, as Shaurya and Anokhi get ready for school. They try not to roll their eyes TOO hard when Grandpa makes Shaurya promise to look after his niece and for Anokhi to listen to her uncle. Anokhi bursts into a bout of aegyo to ask Grandpa for allowance money to buy a bike of her own, but Grandpa just counters that she doesn't need one when her uncle gives her rides every day. The silent look they exchange would say otherwise, but Shaurya snaps her mouth shut before she can tattle on him. Anokhi gets into the cart on the back of Shaurya's bike - the same one he was too little to pull her in as kids, which is not the case anymore. They wave to Grandpa as they leave, the very picture of sweet country charm... until they're out of sight and Anokhi demands to be let out, and Shaurya complies readily. He doesn't even hesitate before riding off without her, and she stomps in frustration.

Ha, is this what they do every morning?

Shaurya does stop eventually and looks like he might turn back to pick her up, but then he spots Dad watching them from a distance, and keeps going without her. Dad looks on as Anokhi runs to make the boat to school, and she barely makes it before take off as always, earning another complaint from the captain about making the entire group late for school again. She just glares at Shaurya who's sitting on the boat leisurely, and asks why he hates her so much - what is she, some blood feud enemy of his or something?

What a thing to ask.

He deadpans that of course she is, and she gets even huffier, if that's possible. Shaurya's quiz show opponent Anmol seems to have a little crush on Anokhi, and when she arrives at school in a funk over her lack of a bicycle, he offers to give her an extra one from his house. He warns her that it's old, but she's so excited that she just clasps his hands in delight and says she'll take it. She's over the moon when he brings her the bike, and when she sees Shaurya approaching and a puddle of water between them calling her name, she takes off with an evil glint in her eye. She runs right through the puddle to splash him... only he sees her coming and dodges out of the way, shielding the mud splash with her school forms that he was about to deliver. Foiled again. Anokhi looks over the form that asks what her dream job is, and when she sees that the counselor has suggested lawyer, prosecutor, and judge for her, she chooses lawyer and starts to write it down. But her friend asks how a person who can't lie can be a lawyer, and Shaurya asks her to consider what would happen if a Pinocchio like her had to defend a murderer.
She doesn't see what would be so hard about that, and imagines herself in a courtroom, defending serial killer Milind .

She starts by saying that if there's even a shred of doubt, he should be found not guilty... except he also told her he committed murder and wasn't sorry about it. HA. Suddenly Milind roaaaarrrrs, and familiar music cues his outburst, as he leaps over the witness stand to attack Anokhi. He strangles her neck, swearing that he'll kill her and the bastard who gave her a lawyer's badge too.

Anokhi shakes herself out of the waking nightmare and immediately erases "lawyer" from her page. Shaurya snarks that she'd be the kind of lawyer to get stabbed by the clients she defends, and when Anmol suggests she's pretty enough to be an actress, Shaurya chimes in again to ask how she'd get through scenes where she has to play dead.
Anokhi imagines herself as the heroine in a melodrama, where the hero carries her lifeless body through a field. But of course she hiccups through every single take, until the director has a total meltdown.
She sighs and erases "actress" too. Anmol encourages her that there will be lots of future careers for her to choose from, while Shaurya tells her she'll basically be unemployable.Their teacher tells the class that their school will be sending a student to a TV quiz show, and they'll all be taking a trivia test to find the contestant. After school, Anmol shows Anokhi the bike bell he installed for her, and hems and haws before blurting out that if he goes on that quiz show, he's going to confess that he likes her. She's startled and starts to answer him, but Anmol covers his ears and tells her he hasn't said it yet, so she can't answer yet.