Behind the Frame

Act I - His Coy Co-star

"Cut!"

He did not have to turn around and look at the Director's face to know that the man was upset.

"Another take. This time, please don't mess up. We have a tight schedule to work with, especially with the TRPs being the way they are right now." The Director's voice was strained.

He knew there was a limit to the man's patience. After all, they'd only done what? Fifteen takes in the past hour? Thirty takes in total?

She was never like this, never so flustered.

If anything, she was the most diligent of all his co-actors. Always perfect with her lines and her character. Even when her character was the complete opposite of who she was. She was always gave the scene her all.

What was wrong this time?

"Take 31" the other members of the crew were also starting to show signs of impatience. The boy who brought the tea had fled when the camera man had given him a glare. So here they all were, overworked, frustrated and confused.

He heard his name being called and forced himself to focus on the scene.

It had looked simple enough on paper.

His name slipped from her lips. Correction, that wasn't his name. That was the name of the character he was playing.

Her eyes were big. Anticipating something.

Oh right. The rest of the scene.

He carefully let his fingers touch her hair, making sure the action would not discomfort her. This was meant to be his character seducing his very willing girlfriend.

She shivered just as his lips met her neck.

"Cut! That's it. We'll be taking a break." The director got up from his chair. "Everyone, get something to eat. After this, we'll be shooting the scene between the main leads"

The focus on 'main leads' did not go unnoticed by either of the 'supporting leads' who were clearly facing problems.

"Look, either you two sort this out by the end of the day or we'll have to cut this scene and scrap the idea of more of your scenes together" the writer had tired eyes "You've been gaining a great fan following and it would hurt the show and your careers if you can't find a way to work together without these problems. Neither of you are needed for the next few scenes. I think you should try and work this out" With a disappointed look, the writer walked out, leaving the two actors alone.

"We should probably get something to eat" her voice was slightly shaky.

"Yes. We can't stay here anyway. They've got a major romantic scene to shoot. You know how those two laugh if I'm in the room"

"That's because you three have been friends for a long time." She pointed out.

"Right." He nodded.

He wasn't done with the issue of them both. Him and her.

She didn't speak to him often, but she did not talk to the rest of the cast and crew either. His best friend, the lead actor had nicknamed her 'Invisi-girl' because she preferred to spend her time silently instead of the loud and cheerful conversations that he and the rest of the cast had.

Yes, she was definitely an introvert: shy and gentle. But that had never stopped her from playing the bold outspoken vixen of character the script demanded.

The script?

He looked at the scene again.

All that happened was that his character had to move closer to her so that her character was backed up against the wall. Simple. A staple scene of most Hindi TV shows. To follow up, he had to cage her in and push her hair away from the nape of her neck and place a kiss there.

A kiss.

He looked at her carefully. She was eating a sandwich. Oblivious to his eyes on her.

She'd been fine with him backing her into the wall. Alright with his arms on either side of her. But when he pushed her hair back and placed his lips on her neck, the director always called cut.

Was she uncomfortable with him doing that?

He felt a tinge of sadness at the thought. They'd been working together for more than a year and if he still made her uncomfortable he had to fix it. Before it affected their professional relationship or worse, the TRPs and directly, their jobs. He didn't want to lose his job nor did he wish that she would lose hers.

He had to fix this, and he couldn't do it alone.

He needed to talk to her.

And this time, she would have to respond.