The beginning

Chapter 1

Ranveer had always loved the movies, especially the big, over-the-top, masala movies that were classic Bollywood fare. He returned from his four years of college in the US with a burning desire to be a part of those movies. To get a foot in the door, he got a job as an assistant director. And to keep himself abreast of what was going on, and also because he simply loved the movies, he watched every film that came out. B-movies, arthouse films, mainstream masala - everything. But some movies were extra special, because they were the kind of movies that had always been his first love - the big mass entertainers.

One such movie came out a few months after he returned. Shah Rukh Khan played the lead role in it and there was a tremendous buzz about it. The director, Farah Khan, had made one movie already which had been hugely successful. He'd loved that movie and all its sly nods to famous films of the past. This one, Om Shanti Om, was supposedly set in old Bollywood, and he couldn't wait.

He watched the movie in a packed theatre, laughing, clapping and whistling with his friends. Then came the scene at the movie premier. He saw her step out of the car onto the screen and he heard a collective sigh go through the theatre. She was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. That smile, the innocence in her eyes, the grace in her every movement - he fell for her completely, just as millions of others did. He read her name in the end credits - Deepika Padukone. The movie ended and his friends and he found themselves talking about her in tones of hushed reverence and genuine passion. She was beautiful and she was clearly talented as well. That night Ranveer dreamt of her, of being in a movie with her, of romancing a beauty like her on screen.

A few years passed, he got his big break, she had a few ups and downs personally and professionally. He'd kept up with her career out of personal and professional interest. Here was someone who, like him, wasn't from a film background and was trying to make it in a ruthless industry. Someone who, like him, tended to wear her heart on her sleeve before she'd had it crushed. Who was now guarded and reserved for the most part except for streaks of mischievousness that suddenly shone through. He observed her experimentation with roles and gave her credit for trying to do different things.

He finished Band Baja Baraat and was hugely gratified and relieved when it was received well. He found it all a bit surreal, especially when he was invited to an international awards function and asked to present a minor award.

He walked into the awards ceremony feeling star struck. All around him were the people he idolized. The only person he knew well enough to talk comfortably with was Anushka, his co-star of two films. They had an on-again, off-again semi-relationship. Neither of them was looking for anything serious. He respected her skill, focus and drive. He liked her as a person, and they'd become good friends. That they were attracted to each other was incidental and a perk they were happy to take advantage of whenever the mood struck them, no expectations or strings attached.

He walked around looking for Anushka, chatting with people he met, accepting compliments from a few for his performance in Band Baaja Baraat and letting them know about the progress of his next film.

As his eyes scanned the crowd they fell on a woman standing a few rows ahead. He could see a large swathe of her silky bare back and her face in side profile. What he saw made his heart thump. She was wearing a silver gown and it made her skin glow. He moved so he could see her properly. She was flawless. Her name finally registered in his brain - Deepika Padukone. He was stunned. She was even more beautiful in person. He stared at her for a good few minutes before becoming aware of his behaviour.

He was embarrassed at what he had been doing and thinking. He'd always endeavoured to not be that guy who objectified a woman based on her physical appearance. He had no qualms in admitting that he admired the physical form of a woman - but he tried to be respectful and mind his gaze and words. He was ashamed of himself for staring unabashedly at her, for the heat in his gaze and the thoughts running through his mind as he stood there. He shook himself and determinedly turned away.