1. A Start of Something New

Read the story, feel it, fall in love.

Chapter 1

It was a long, dark day.

It has been raining heavily for three hours straight. She could feel the wind blowing on her face, gliding through her hair, sending chills to her body. She pulled a blanket she brought from home, wrapping herself up and was sitting at a corner of the set, after finishing a scene.

It’s always days like these one usually starts to think about life, the decisions and everything that they have been through since then.

She looked out the window and seemed to be enjoying the pouring rain. She recalled how she used to play in the rain and how her dad usually scolds her but ends up playing with her in the rain. It was one of those days where there were a lot of sequences that needed to be shot since the movie was scheduled to be released in a month’s time. Things have never been this hard for her before. Her dad always made sure everything was taken care of for her. He always made sure everything was easy and that she would never have the need to go through anything that could possibly hurt her.

Maybe choosing to pursue badminton would have made her dad happier, but she couldn’t do it. She always knew that this is where her heart lies. This is what she always had passion for and this is what she always dreamt herself doing in future.

“Papa will understand. He knows I’ll make him proud one day. He believes in me,” she thought to herself.

She had a debut that every girl would ever dream of getting. Her first movie was opposite the Shah Rukh Khan under Farah Khan’s production. She had two amazing mentors in her life that was such a strong support for her. They made sure she was always comfortable with whatever she was asked to do. Better yet, they even had a special rehearsal session just for her so she could get use to what they wanted.

 “Deepika,” she turned as soon as she heard her name being called out from across the room, distracting herself from her thoughts. It was Karishma, her manager. 

“It’s a wrap. You have been in this set for almost two days. Please go and get some sleep now. You definitely need it. I’ll inform you when the driver is here.” Karishma said while giving her, her favorite Green Tea Latte from Starbucks.

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It was a dark, closely packed set with about 200 people around. One can hardly even breathe in here. Like as if that wasn’t enough, the set was divided into two different work space areas as there was another shoot going on in the same area, at the same time.

Apparently it’s Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s latest flick. He is launching two newcomers through this movie. Everyone knows how it is always amazing to work with Bhansali sahab. It has always been her wish too. She always wished she would get a chance to work with such amazing directors one day, but she knew she had a long way to go.

 “Sweetheart, have you had your lunch? Gauri is here with the kids and you’re more than welcome to join us,” Shah Rukh came up to Deepika, hugging from the back.

“Why are you always dreamy?” he added while imitating her.

She looked at him and laughed. She remembered how he did the same thing when she first met him. He is actually the first person who actually made her feel so comfortable when she started. He always cared for her.

"I can't. I have to go home. I have to call my mum. I haven’t talked to her since yesterday and she’ll be worried. She hasn’t gotten used to it yet,” she said while pouting her lips. "Thanks for asking though."