The Filmmaker's Dream

Chapter 42 - The dream sequence

"I'm so sorry, Vikram." Shubha was extremely unhappy.

"No Subbu. You didn't say anything that would prove that Sandhya akka is a bad parent. Even if he uses the video as an evidence, what will it prove? It doesn't have anything that suggests that she beats them up. That sentence means nothing." Vikram tried to ease her mind. 

The fact that Ajay tried so hard to get his children back has shown an unexpected positive impact on Vikram. He was no longer the man who shivers at the thought of losing his loved ones. He understood that getting scared won't help. He had to be strong. At least for the sake of his family. He decided to shield his family from all dangers like his father. He took the mantle directly from the captain of the ship.

"But still it doesn't hurt to take precautionary measures. Let's announce to the media that we had a breakup. After that, even if Ajay produces the video in the court as evidence, we can say that I lied because I was mad at you because of the breakup and wanted to harm your family." Shubha suggested.

Vikram chuckled. "Ever considered working as a script writer? You are very talented."

"Vikram! I'm serious."

"Subbu. You don't have to do anything that tarnishes your reputation. We will handle it together. What's coming will come, and we'll meet it when it does." Vikram assured her.

"That's one of my favourite dialogues." Shubha smiled. "I forgot to tell you. Your idea of inputting all combinations to my program worked. It is giving positive results. Another fortnight and it can be presented in the lab." 

"That's great. After years of hard work, you finally get what you deserve." Vikram clapped his hands.

"It will be Rukhsar-Shubha theorem. Though she said my name should come first. I argued with her and we finally decided by tossing a coin." 

"I'm so proud of you" said Vikram, affectionately.

"I learnt this from you. Always give importance to others rather than yourself. It actually feels good." Shubha rested her head on his shoulder.

"As much as I love being your pillow, I think you should go and sleep. We have to shoot for the song tomorrow." Vikram reminded her.

"Is the song necessary?" She pouted.

"Not again, Subbu. And please don't pout." He looked away, grinning.

"The thought of lip syncing is so funny. Why does this girl have to sing in her dream? Can't she dream about something else? I don't know how I am going to manage." She was worried.

"My Subbu can do this. She is a great actress. I have faith in her." Vikram stood up. Shubha spent a lot of time thinking about the work ahead.

---***---

"Did you speak with Rukhsar? She is giving me silent treatment" said Naveen.

"Why? What did she say?" asked Shubha.

"She is not talking to me as often as she used to. When I asked her about this, she sent me this message." Naveen showed the message to his co-stars.

It read 'You are neither the nucleus of my atom, nor the sun of my solar system.'

"What does it mean?" Naveen asked them. Everyone else burst out laughing.

"You seriously don't know?" asked Chris.

"Of course I understand the meaning. My question is, why did she send me this reply for a simple question? She could have just said that she's busy" said Naveen.

"It's because she is angry. Try to recollect. Did you say anything that would have angered her?" asked Vikram.

Naveen thought for a minute before remembering their last conversation. It was in the hospital. He said they were just friends. He walked away, thinking. Vikram followed him. "I know you don't consider me as family. But I have always thought of you as a member of my family. If you want to talk about it please go ahead. I won't tell anyone. We must maintain our cool dudes reputation."

"Are you sure you want to listen?" asked Naveen.

"Yes" said Vikram.

"I... I like her."

"You don't like her. You love her." 

"What? No. I don't... you know,... I can't love anyone." Naveen was horrified at the thought.

"What's stopping you?"

"My father. What if I turn as selfish as him and hurt Rukhsar?" 

"And what if she gets married to some other man and he hurts her? Will that give you peace?" Vikram asked sternly.

"No. But..."

"Everyone has a past. We can either live in the past forever or try to get over it. Look around you. Everyone of us has had bad past. Look how happy we are now. There comes a time in everyone's life when we feel that we can never be cheerful again. But the beauty of life is, nothing is permanent. Neither happiness nor misery. You tasted miseries. Now go, experience happiness." Vikram patted him.

Naveen didn't speak for a long time. Vikram waited patiently. He finally nodded. "I think you are right. I should talk to her about this."

"Yes! That's like my best friend."

"Liar! Chris is your best friend. I am the second best friend."

"No. Who helped me copy the circuit diagrams in second year? You. If you hadn't helped I would have got a backlog and my mother would have kicked me out of the house. So, you are my best friend" said Vikram. "Don't tell Shubha that I copied. She will be horrified."

"Don't worry. This will be a secret forever" said Naveen, already planning to tell Shubha about all those times Vikram copied from him in exams.

"Back to work" said Vikram.

"I guess it will be the most enjoyable day of your work." Naveen grinned.

---***---

"Look into my eyes, Subbu. Do I scare you?" Vikram couldn't understand why she giggled and looked away every time.

"It's like this. I can't lip sync the song when I look into your eyes." 

"Why?"

"They make my heart skip a beat." She lowered her voice so that only he could hear her.

Vikram felt proud that he had such effect on her. "That's okay. I will ask one of the junior artists to work with me and edit her face with CGI to stick yours." He paused to see the effect of these words on her.

"No way. It's my song. Don't you dare bring another person in my stead. Let's try once again." She said.

He nodded. They took their position. She could hear her heart racing. Yet, she didn't stop looking into his eyes. She took a deep breath and started lip syncing. 

His intense brown eyes were so beautiful that she didn't stop staring at him even after her part was completed. He changed the scene then and there. He embraced her.

The scene was better than what the crew expected.

---***---

Wondering why everything is falling into place? The story is about to end in few more chapters.