My Mr. Artist

Chapter 17

Kiyah

'"Oh my God! MIHIR! What is he doing here?" I was internally screaming.

I was starstruck, like literally starstruck, because the person in front of me right now was a new, famous actor who played the second male lead in one of the most talked-about blockbuster movies in the entertainment world. Mihir Saksena, a handsome and popular actor, was also my classmate and my first crush in school. He had been in the same boys' gang as Tanish, who is Ashi's fiancé, Rohan, and others who were part of our group of friends. You could almost say he had been my best friend until the age of twelve, but then puberty hit, I started crushing on him, got shy, and began avoiding him. He, being the most good-looking guy in our school with almost all girls crushing on him, started behaving like a playboy, and slowly we lost connection and moved on with our lives.

I think he was in the same college as Ashi and Tanish, doing engineering, but later got selected in an audition and his journey as an actor began. There were times when we would coincide at the same parties, but that was back in college, before he became an actor.

"Ahhhhh, OMG! You are Mihir, right?!" Reva almost screamed in excitement, both hands covering her mouth, her eyes as wide as possible. She had been in a different school, so she didn't know much about him, but she was now a true fan. Everyone was looking in our direction, and before either of us could speak, Reva continued, "I'm your huge fan, Mihir! Can I get a picture with you?"

He nodded hesitantly, still with a gentle smile, and Reva handed me her camera and started posing with him.

After I clicked a few photos of them together, she immediately ran away, saying "thank you" as she rushed to show the photos to her boyfriend.

"Sorry about that," I said when it was just the two of us standing opposite the pani puri stall. I was half-distracted by my pani puri but still kept my smile.

"No, it's my pleasure to meet my fans. By the way, you are looking beautiful," he said, looking me up and down after the second half of the sentence. I rolled my eyes at his flirting.

"Yeah, you also look fine," I immediately blurted out, then looked up to see his smile widen at my praise. "I mean, congratulations on your success! You finally made it," I said, giving him a genuine smile. He was handsome and talented in acting, and he knew it very well, but his family had always opposed the idea of him becoming an actor, so he had chosen engineering.

"Thank you," he said, dramatically bowing his head, earning a chuckle from me. We started talking casually, meandering here and there, and eventually reached the open garden. I could feel the curious gazes of our friends and could even imagine their teasing in my mind. At first, it was awkward — we hadn't talked one-on-one for more than a decade, but then the conversation flowed.

"I heard from Rohan that you shifted to City R and are working with Awasthi Group now. That's quite an achievement," he said, flashing a smile at passersby who kept staring at him.

"I also think you have quite a bit of leisure time to listen to Rohan's rants," I teased him. I knew only an extrovert like Rohan and sometimes Tanish were in touch with him, so how did he know so much about me? I thought maybe I'd been too lenient with Rohan these past few months.

"Oh, he's my only entertainment these days," he replied with a low chuckle. We talked for almost an hour before Ashi sent someone to find us; she wanted to take group photos with all our friends.

"We should go," he gestured toward our friends' direction.

"Are you okay with group photos?" I asked, knowing actors often need to be cautious while taking or giving photos.