Everything but her

Not the best art

Aarushi landed at the Mumbai airport really excited to meet everyone associated with the movie. She was also quite nervous at the same time, though. She had organised hundreds of fashion shows but this was different. What if she couldn't do it right? She might never get this opportunity again. Her mind was a turmoil of questions right now but she needed to be calm at least on the face of it.

The associated members of the movie surprised her by sending a car to pick up Aarushi and her crew. Virat had several cars in Mumbai but Aarushi never used them until she was all alone. When with her team, she liked to stay with her team. That was professionalism for her where everyone was treated as equals. And she definitely wasn't spoiling them with cars all around them. They were all young interns mostly her age or a little younger than her. She wanted them to give a feel of the real world and tell them that this business was not as pretty as it looked from the outside. Hard Work was the key even here. You could not  run away from it. But this had come as a reward. She asked all of them to hop on. There were 7 of them including Aarushi and they made a pretty good team.

After about an hour's drive, the car came to a halt. Aarushi was guided to a room while the other members of her team were asked to wait in one. Aarushi met the casting director of the movie and listened intently as to what he wanted in terms of the costumes of the cast. He introduced himself as Roshan.

'So, all ready to meet the person for whom you will be designing extensively?', he asked her with a smile.

'Yes, sir would love to', Aarushi replied.

Roshan was a man in his mid forties. He, however, defied age with his pleasant smile and twinkling eyes. He seemed too interested in his work to look somewhere else. He truly looked as a hardworking guy and Aarushi was pleased to meet him.

'Well, she is running a little late, actually. Would you like to have anything while you are waiting?', he asked her politely.

'No, sir I am fine', she answered with a smile.

'Sure?', he asked her once again.

'Yes, sir', Aarushi told him.

'Ok, Chitra is right here if you change your mind. I have to make a phone call. It'll just take a minute or so. I'll be back. Please excuse me'

'Yeah, absolutely no problem', Aarushi said with a smile.

'Ma'am should I switch on the television?', a lady in her early 20s whom Roshan had called Chitra, asked her.

'No, thank you but I am alright', Aarushi was surprised at the way she was being taken care of.

After around half an hour Aarushi was summoned to another room to meet the celebrity. She got in there and found no one. She assumed as though she had entered the wrong room. However, she realised that the star in question was in the other room attached to the room she was in. She waited intently for another 15 minutes playing a game on her mobile phone. She was still busy in it when she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

'Hello, so you are Aarushi?', she quizzed.

Aarushi looked up and got the surprise of her life. As luck would have it, it was none other than Anushka Sharma, the woman her husband had dated for a good two years. She was pretty, she concluded, for the moment.

'I am sorry to keep you waiting. I was actually stuck in a bad traffic jam. Let's have a coffee and I hear there are few members in your team. Ritika, please look to it that they get whatever they want too. Talk to Roshan, if need be', she said to her manager.

'Sure, Anushka', she replied.

'And could you please bring two cups of coffee for us?'

'Yes, sure'

'Thank you!', she said to her and then shifted her gaze back to Aarushi. 'So, I guess Roshan explained everything to you right?'

'Yes', Aarushi replied meekly.

'Let's have this coffee and then you can take my measurements and get going. I feel so sorry to have kept you waiting but this traffic of Mumbai can sometimes be unpredictable', Anushka said explaining it to her.

'No, I understand. There is nothing to feel sorry about', Aarushi replied warmly.

'So, would you like to tell me something about yourself?', she asked her sipping her coffee.

'Yeah well, whatever you wish to know', Aarushi said sounding a little skeptical as to what to tell her. She told her all about her journey as a fashion designer and the various shows that she had organised and was happy to see her listening intently.

'Wow, all that sounds pretty interesting. Congratulations on that', she said.

'Yeah, well thanks. You are an inspiration too for many', Aarushi spoke diligently.

'We, as actors, become inspirations really easily. No one gets our emotions and the journey behind where we are today. They are just attracted to the glamour of this industry. The truth is that there is so much more to it. Without hard work, you cannot reach anywhere. That's what the youth needs to get, isn't it?'

'Yes, you're right'

'Ok, so now you can take my measurements. I could have sent them to you but you know there is an array of costumes to be designed all in different ways. So, I thought it was better to come here and also get a chance to meet you. Karan was really crazy about your designs', Anushka spoke without a possible break in between.

'Thank you. That would be all', Aarushi said having finished taking the measurements.

'It was fun meeting you and I would like to meet your team too, if that's possible.'

'Yeah. Yeah, I would call them. They are just outside.'

And that followed a round of never ending selfies. Anushka was kind enough to oblige to everyone. Aarushi, though, decided to stay a little away from all this. Anushka, however, called her up.

'Come here, one photograph for the keeps', she said to her.

'Ok', Aarushi came up to her. They both clicked a photograph together and Anushka was quick enough to send it to her Whatsapp. They parted as long lost buddies with a hug but Aarushi did not know what Virat would make of this. She didn't have any second thoughts because for her it was all work and nothing else but she didn't know how things stood between him and her. That troubled her. For the moment she decided not to tell him anything. But, hiding was not her best art. And that too from the person she loved the most. She, however, convinced herself that she would tell him as soon as he got back to India.