DUSKY PATH
STARRING HARROLD BANES AS ROBERT
MARY HUGHES AS JANE
DIRECTED BY- MARK STEVENS
The
movie was on for some time now and Robert, aka Harrold Bane, the lead
had made his entry in jet black tuxedos, gelled hair and heroic
charms..
Khushi-
*pink. Red. And redder *
Arnav
raised his eyes towards Khushi's face, lightly illuminated by the
light falling on it from the brightly lit up screen. He didn't miss
the changing shades of his favorite color adorn her face..
He
checked out Robert momentarily. WHAT was so extraordinary about this
whateverhisname? Cheesy, talked too much(Perhaps that's why she likes
him. Likes attract or something? No,that was opposites attract.
Opposites like them.hold on. What? Ok, forget the damn idiom)...as
long as this Harrold Bane was behind the screen, he didn't give a
shot to whether Khushi turned red, yellow, or green seeing him. As
long as he was behind the screen..what was this guy by the way?
British? Why would Khushi ever go to Britain? Even if she did, when
would this whateverhisname meet her? Even if he did, so what?... Ok,
so A LOT! He would positively make sure she never visited
Britain..what if-
His
thought process was interrupted by the sight of Nihaal and Anjali on
the seats below.Anjali was sharing some joke or something with Nihaal
while he nodded, grinning..and touched her hand.
Touched.her.hand.
How dare he touch.her.hand. Di is smiling? How. Can. She.smile.
"by
the wa-" Khushi turned her face towards him as she spoke
She
stopped mid-way as she had a look at exactly what Arnav was focusing
his eyes on. Nihaal and Anjali.
She
cleared her throat audibly.. "Arnav?"
"what?"
he spoke without shifting his gaze..
"i
guess you are having a small misunderstanding..the movie's going on
over there" she pointed towards the screen...then rolled her
eyes...
"whatever.."
Meanwhile
in the living room, nani looked at Mrs Raizada as she spoke..
"Manu,
I still can't believe you actually went all the way to a library
to spy upon Payal bitiya"
Blowing
slightly over her well manicured nails, still wet with polish Mrs
Raizada spoke with a huff..
"i
had NO idea she was the one. I just heard Aaaksh meets someone in
the central library and i-"
"went
all the way to SPY on her?? what if she comes to know of it Manu!"
"big
deal..i can't believe in Aakash's choice...in fact, when I came to know
SHE was Payal, I was flabbergasted"
nani
sighed..
later-
Khushi
was nearing a high level of impatience , as the leads just refused to
admit their feelings for each other..
"why
can't they just ADMIT it!! ONLY a fool would miss the fact that they
are TOTALLY in love!! WHY can't they just realize it!!"
Arnav
raised his eyes from his blackberry to the screen. The leads were
together staring into each other's eyes without a word. There was a
tense silence before Robert slowly began moving towards Jane.
Khushi
immediately had a rush of delight as she bit her nails with one hand
while with the other, she unconsciously gripped Arnav's hand..
Arnav
widened his eyes at her but she seemed to be too lost in the movie. A
slow smile lit up his face as he saw her almost bubbling with
excitement..
"he
is going to say it! I am damn sure he will say it. I-" she giggled
and stopped mid sentence as she felt a tightening grip on her left
palm. She realized it was under the grip of Arnav's own and her eyes
widened as she tried to catch his expressions in the dim light..
what
she saw had Khushi Kumari Gupta flabbergasted. Arnav was eying her
with an exceptionally teasing smirk on his face and the grip on her
hand just tightened as she felt his index finger move lightly over
the golden band of her engagement ring..
going
red till the roots of her hair, Khushi tried to withdraw her
hand..she had seen a mad Arnav, an angry Arnav, an amused Arnav, a
worried Arnav..but a...flirty Arnav??
"wh..what
are you doing?" she hissed..
"what?"
he asked, cool amusement in his eyes as a devilish smirk ruled his
face.. "you held it first and I just held it back"
"i..um..i
didn't know yo-" she flustered..
he
slowly let the hand loose and she immediately brought it back to her
lap. WHAT was wrong with this cement pile? Khushi immediately
regretted her consent upon the seating arrangements.
The
movie soon took upon a tragic note and Khushi's mind was thus
diverted from the incident of a while ago..Aakash and Nihaal were
twisting and turning uncomfortably in their seats. The movie had
turned out to be a total chick flick. A teary one at that. The kind a lot of men are generally allergic to..Arnav, as we know, was hardly watching
the movie..
Nihaal-
"F.E I can't believe you picked this movie"
Aakash-
"believe me when I say,i had NO idea..wait a sec, F.E.?"
Nihaal-
"Fire Extinguisher"
silence..
Aakash-
"Payal , I think we need to talk about this"
Payal-
"just ignore him"
Anjali-
"i can't have any idea why you would call Aakash a fire
extinguisher"
Aakash-
"do you hear me seconding you on that di?"
Nihaal-
"L.O.L"
Khushi-
"Can you all just let me watch the movie?"
Payal-
"Thanks Khushi! But don't think I miss the fact that it's just
because Harrold has made an entry"
Khushi-
"it's not that"
Anjali-
*giggle *
Nihaal-
"why can't I hear your fiance Khushi?"
Arnav-
* takes a break from blackberry *
Khushi-
"that's because he is not watching the movie, *turns to Arnav *
will you just STOP that 'blackberrying' "
Arnav-
*continues 'blackberrying' *
Payal-
"will you guys just SHUT UP?"
Silence..
Nihaal-
"ooo..bookworm rules"
"but
really" Anjali whispered to Nihaal.. "this is not exactly to my
liking..i am more interested in rom coms"
"you
bet!" Nihaal agreed..then mimicked the style in which the heroine
of the play was ululating and Anjali burst into laughter..
"exactly!
Gosh! You just completely replicate her!"
"i
have an old past with acting. I have been a witch in a play once.."
"witch?
I am sure you mean wizard"
"no.
witch. In kindergarten. I was supposed to be a tree,banyan tree but
the witch gave the final day a miss, so I was the witch. A crying
witch who insisted till the last moment on being a banyan tree"
"aww...do
you have the picture? Do show me..o gosh! Nihaal! Can you believe she
is still crying?"
"oh
hell man, why doesn't she just attach two water hoses in place of her
tear glands? Or mini water fountains. Imagine Robert's expression if
that actually happens. Buy lover, get indoor fountain
free.free.free.."
"shut
up Nihaal.."
Jane..Jane..
Robert!
Please don't go! Robert!
Darling..
Robert!!
Arnav-
what the!
Khushi-
*sniff *
Nihaal-
L.O.L
Anjali-
shut up Nihaal
Payal-
Harrold emotes well doesn't he..he is doing Robert complete
justice..
Aakash-
yeah right..but there could have been better direction
Payal-
hmm...
Khushi-
I can't believe THE HERO is dying and you are checking your
blackberry
Arnav-
he's not dead as yet?
Khushi-
you are unbelievable *snifff *
Arnav-
(back to blackberry)
Nihaal-
Jane looks more like laughing than crying to me..
Anjali-
great! Thanks for ruining the final scene for me ! Now she looks
like laughing to me too!
Nihaal-
I mean seriously! Who cries like that?
Robert!
No! Robert! Wake up! I can't live without you...Robert!!
Nihaal-
and the tube light lights up, albeit a little too late, rotten luck Jane,
that romeo is *whistle *
Anjali-
Like seriously? That is how you react to people dying? Whistling?
Khushi-
*sniff *..* sniff *
Arnav-
Khushi stop crying dammit!
"Nihaal
for heaven's sake shut up..you are making me look like a total
sadist. The hero is dying for God's sake and here I am, giggling like
a fool!"
"oh
by the way" Nihaal turned and raised his head to the seat above
them..
"ARNAV!
BRO! Has Khushi started her elephant trumpeting as yet?tissues won't
do.just warning! She requires bed sheet size handkerchiefs"
while
Khushi darted visual daggers at her brother,Anjali came in between.
"Nihaal,
two people out here are ACTUALLY interested in the movie! Let's
respect their presence at least!" Anjali gestured towards Aakash and
Payal , two people giving the four of them- 'for heaven's sake shut
up!' looks..
"ok..ok.."
Nihaal sighed and looked at the screen yet again..
Robert
was dying, a heart broken Jane by his side, Khushi meanwhile was an
emotional mess at having to see the hero take his last breaths..
while
Arnav still couldn't get even a remote idea of why Jane wouldn't tell
Robert that she loved him and not Rupert when the damn guy was dying
anyway. And he had almost as much idea of why Khushi was close to
shedding buckets on the same..
"Khushi!"
"hmm?"
she stared at him with her teary eyes..large.teary.eyes.
(Arnav
Singh Raizada- note to self- Harrold Bane is an idiotic moron)
"you
are crying because that fool is dying?"
"can
you please be a little sensitive!" Khushi widened his eyes at him
as if he was the angel of death standing on Robert's head "he's
dying!"
"he
should. Cuz he's a jerk" he spoke with immense conviction..
"he
shouldn't! Because he loves her! And she loves him! Love stories are
supposed to have happy endings! Why can't.. *
sniff * they
get such a simple thing?"
"Khushi,
you knew
it was a tragedy. Then
why the hell did you watch it?"
Khushi sniffed into his
handkerchief as she slowly muttered..
"well..Harrold
Bane is a very..good *sniff * actor.."
"unbelievable.."
Arnav muttered as he sat helplessly before a movie, which he couldn't
alter, and beside a fiance, he couldn't understand.
"They
won't kill him right?" she asked him with such hope in her voice
and 'you have the crystal ball' look in her eyes that Arnav gulped..
"he
won't die k? Jus' stop crying!"
he said in a soothing voice as he
raised his right arm from his lap and slowly, carefully snaked it
across her shoulders..he was clueless why he did it, it just came as
the first instinct within him upon seeing her distraught state, a
sudden urge to kill that idiotic Robert on the other side of the
screen with bare hands for approaching death(yeah, I know, ironic)
and to console her in distress as if it were a very obvious
responsibility..he suddenly hesitated..what was he doing? What if
she... as if in sudden realization he immediately moved to withdraw
it to himself,when Khushi, on her own accord, snuggled closer within
his enveloping arm , not consciously, but as if it was the most
natural thing in the world..
To say Arnav was shocked, would
be an understatement. He still hadn't recovered from his sudden urge
to act superman (of course, sans costume) for her ,and her
reaction was, to say the least, far from what he had remotely
expected it to be..
(note to self. Arnav Singh
Raizada- Harrold Bane is a ROCK STAR!)
Khushi was too immersed in the
story to give two hoots to her current position, she had assumed it
very naturally and sought a pleasing ,comforting refuge in the strong
arm around her.
Arnav Singh Raizada had not given
one damn to the movie the entire while , which could be very well
attributed to the mail-checking he had been indulging in all through.
But
currently he knew just one thing. This whateveritsname movie had some
weird guy in it who was NOT supposed to die. Damn him if he did..
moments
later,Robert died.
Was there any way he could
re-kill the guy? Arnav had all kinds of sadistic thoughts floating in
his mind. Any way he could ensure that moron never attained salvation
after death?
He heard Khushi's light moan
"they keeeld *sniff * him"
Not knowing what else to do, he
just patted comfortingly on her arm..as he grumbled..
"stupid
movie"
"exactly"
she vehemently agreed "stupid stupid movie"
"he's
a moron"
"excuse
me?" Khushi lifted her red eyes to his face "HE is not stupid. He
is the perfect lover"
"you
mean he was"
he immediately regretted that as
she blew into his handkerchief again at that...
"Khushi
that guy is very much alive and might probably be doing salsa
somewhere in America. Shut .up" he spoke trying to ignore the
increasing dampness of his shirt as well as the weird sensations
erupting within him as with his other hand, he removed the strands of
her hair from his face and tightened his hold around her...
Anjali, despite having totally
lost the essence of the movie by now, was trying to concentrate on
the final few scenes when suddenly a thought of apprising Khushi on a
particular thing crossed her mind and she moved to turn her head
around when she felt a tight grip on her wrist...
She widened her eyes at Nihaal
who gently whispered in her ears.. "don't look back"
she eyed him with a confused
look.. "why?"
he simply looked into her eyes,
amusement and mischief shone clearly in those deep brown orbs as he
slightly cleared his throat..
She gazed into his eyes for a
moment ,and then,as if infectious, his amusement soon enough was
shared by an Anjali who bit her lower lip in mirth, as she whispered
an 'I see..' and still smiling glued her eyes upon the screen in
front..
after two seconds ,they looked
back at each other and then quickly looked away, in a desperate
attempt to restrict the laughter bubbling within them, from finding
an escape..
The light slowly faded away as
the credentials started appearing on the screen..
Before they knew Aakash had lit
up the lights back..
everyone slowly blinked their
eyes adjusting to the light..and that's when reality hit Khushi. And
yes, Arnav.
The
radius of the slits of her eyes kept on increasing dramatically as
she grew conscious of the fact that she was comfortably snuggled
beside Arnav , within his arm, the left of his coat, damp with all
her weeping..conscious of the sudden proximity suddenly too palpable
in the harsh light..
her
internal sanctuary in all its mighty glory making its presence felt,
she drew in a sharp breath..
Arnav,
who had been displaying saintly levels of control all the while
stiffened himself as she gasped..
Panic at being caught, overcame
any other emotion as she suddenly shrugged her shoulders to free
herself from the hold, which itself loosened as quickly...
When the rest saw them, they saw
a tomato red Khushi, partly by virtue of crying, mainly by virtue of
her intense blush, and an Arnav who had a look akin to a one who
suddenly realizes at the submission time in an examination, that he
had been answering the wrong paper all along..
"Enjoyed
the movie?" Anjali questioned the tomato before her..
"yes..i...no..i..mean..wonderful...horrible..movie"
"wonderful,
horrible, movie" Anjali turned to look at Nihaal.. "i guess we
are left at that to decide for ourselves what exactly was 'wonderful'
and what 'horrible'"
Aakash scratched his forehead
with his index finger trying to conceal his amusement at Nihaal's
statement while Payal pretended to remove a pop corn from the seat,
giggling with her head bent as she did that..
for why, she knew her sister too
well...
Nani
and Mrs Raizada turned their heads to have a look at the couples
descending down the stairs..
"i
guess it was a comedy"
Mrs
Raizada muttered as she cast a look at the Nihaal- Anjali duo which
was descending down with Anjali laughing and Nihaal having a wide
grin on his face..
"comedy?
I guess it was a tragedy"
Nani
exclaimed as the next couple of Arnav and Khushi descended down..with
Khushi, her nose bright red, eyes moist and an Arnav making an 'I am
responsible for dodo extinction' kind of expression..
"or...an
educational documentary"
Mrs
Raizada muttered as Aakash and Payal made their way down..engrossed
in deep discussion, she expressing views on the critical, analytical,
moral, ethical, social aspects of the film and he, on it's chances of
bombing on or hitting the box office charts..
Nani
and Mrs Raizada shrugged shoulders and exchanged bewildered looks as
nani slowly muttered..
"they
watched 3 different films in the same theater?"
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Oh God!What a story so far ,just awesome .The best I hv read ever .ROM- com @ its best.I wish I had words to describe how wonderful n gifted as a writer u r .All d bst
ReplyDeleteHey Sabi..i m here again...
ReplyDeleteIt was one awesome chapter..