The Photoshoot - NC-17 version

Chapter 1: The photoshoot

Around the second hour, Ranveer realised something - he was going to die, cause of death: extreme sexual frustration.

Why had he agreed to do this? Why now, when he'd just spent four weeks away from her, shooting for a film on the other side of the country? "We'll be shooting for the cover posters," Sanjay sir had said. "Sure," he'd agreed, expecting to be shooting on set, in costume, probably with guns.

His first inkling that things were not quite what he had thought they were going to be was when he entered the studio and saw a stark white background with a couple of steps, intimate lighting and two cameras. Sanjay sir greeted him and assured him that they would be using Photoshop to add in details. Today they just wanted to get photos of him and Deepika.

Thinking back, that should have been a clue. Sanjay sir, with his attention to detail, saying they would use Photoshop to fill in the background? The posters were never going to be about anything but them.

He'd walked off to prepare and to find his lady love. They'd spoken on the phone every day, most days many times a day, but he'd missed her nevertheless. He'd gotten used to spending almost every waking moment with her before their enforced separation.

Sure, most of those moments were spent working. Both of them took their work very seriously and were also passionate about what they did. But between takes, during breaks, sometimes even during the takes when they acted out their love, they were completely immersed in each other.

He'd never fallen so far or so fast for anyone in his life. And she, though she was shy and guarded, had fallen, too. Her blushes, the way her eyes sought him wherever she looked, the way she hung on his every word, the way she said things and did things around him that she didn't around anyone else - all these things assured him that she felt, if not the same, then enough for him to ask her to be his girlfriend.

So that is what he had done, the day they finished shooting Ang Laga De, when he, and more unusually she, had made a spectacle of themselves because they had forgotten about everything in the heat of their passion. To his great joy, she'd said yes, with a caveat - it was too late to hide anything from the people on set, but she and he would remain single to the rest of the world. He knew her history, just like everyone else; he also saw the carefully guarded pain in her eyes, those transparent eyes, and he'd nodded before enfolding her in his arms.

They'd spent a blissful eight weeks together, shooting the emotionally charged scenes of the second half of the film and holding each other close between takes. He'd reluctantly let her go every day, then head home to sleep, exercise, and prepare for the next day of shooting. She was doing a last couple of scenes for Chennai Express, so sometimes he'd head over to her other set to make sure she was taking care of herself. The light in her eyes and the softness in his, not to mention his regular presence on the set, were enough for Shah Rukh to start teasing them whenever he came over. He didn't mind. He never did anything obvious, but he was incapable of hiding, either. She looked at him nervously, shyly, from the corner of her eyes, and sometimes not at all. What she didn't realise was that her behaviour only made it more obvious.

On days off, he went to her apartment where they'd spend hours talking, watching movies, and playing board games. She loved Monopoly and he was a Scrabble addict. They'd play Uno and Pictionary and somehow he'd always end up losing. He didn't mind, though. Seeing her laugh was his best reward. That, and the chocolate brownies she made to console him for losing. She wasn't far off when she accused him of losing on purpose just so he could eat her brownies. She was a fantastic baker.

He loved spending time at her place - she'd made a beautiful home full of flowers and soothing colours, and she'd quickly found out what his favourite dishes were and made sure to have her cook make them when she knew he was coming over. She seemed to take pleasure in caring for him. In return, he made it his mission to keep her smiling, to make sure she was not over-taxing herself, which she tended to do because she worked so much.