The Unsaid Dreams . Truth . Desires

20

Alina was now comfortably settled in her new place, it was in a quiet, secluded private neighbourhood in Hollywood Hills. But it was not ridiculously away from her office, just a 25 minutes drive. She spent the next few days arranging her bedroom, the room was very cosy. She was slowly getting her stuff arranged in the walk-in closet. There were hanging bedside lamps. giving rustic look to the place. But for her, the best part was the arcade doors leading to the garden. It made her feel close to nature and brought in natural light. Her room in Mumbai had a similar structure, just that it was in a high-rise building and was a sea-facing one. Now that she was living in Los Angeles, she knew that it was going to be difficult to find a place matching her expectations. Jeanne used to hang around with her sometimes, and it was refreshing for Alina to have her around after long days at work.

Post that Monday, she didn't see Rob around, neither she bothered to check with Jeanne about him. Work was picking up pace and she had to stay late in the office more often nowadays.

It was Friday evening and Alina was looking forward to just chilling at home and do nothing during the weekend. While heading home, she stopped near Starbucks and picked up a mocha cookie crumble frappuccino, after the kind of week she had, she deserved a little treat. She had spotted two treadmills on one corner of the garden, 'Well, I'll shed some calories tomorrow morning', she sipped her beverage relishing every sip.

Back at her place, she removed her ballerinas and comfortably sat on the couch, still dressed in jeans, Friday's casual attire. She switched on some music and was completely at ease, enjoying music and sipping frappuccino when Rob entered, almost tip-toeing and sat next to her. 

'I don't know Hindi, I can't exactly figure out the lyrics but the music is so soothing'.

'Mm hmm'

'I bet your beverage is equally soothing'

Alina smiled this time.

'Wow, I never noticed your dimples before'.

This made Alina laugh.

'What? Heard this line hundreds of time?'

'Thousands', she replied in a playful tone. 'I'll get you a coke' and she marched towards the refrigerator.

'How was your day?' she handed a can to him.

'Aah, normal. Spent the day reading a script. Itw as consuming so I thought to take a walk when I noticed you and came here.'

'Was it an interesting one?' she asked sincerely.

'Haven't actually finished it yet. You see, for a person who can barely read, it's difficult to go through the entire script in one day.'

'Stop joking. How do you choose a script? How do the movie makers contact you?'

'You know, nowadays, it's more about what I like. I watch movies of different directors, my team suggests the work of different indie directors which they think would be of my interest.

When I really really like their work, I contact them to show my interest and ask if they have a suitable script'

He continued, 'also when they have somebody in mind already, they contact us through our agents, meetings are set up and the script is shared.'

'That's like the value chain of the movie industry.' Alina was enjoying the conversation.

'Now I want to be recognized for my work and skills and not just my looks, so at the moment, the focus is to pick some challenging movies to show my mettle.'

'I see, have you  ever tried to know what perception does your audience has for you?'

'My past few releases weren't received well, so I guess the perception is poor', he burst into laughter.

'Let me explain, we can use social listening. When people watch movies, they tweet, post on social media, Reddit, etc. So we can collect some data and check for prominent words or phrases that they are using when they talk about Rob Connor.

'okay..then?'

'Then we can run a test or two to know whether they are talking about the phrase in a positive or negative sense. This will give an idea about what are they liking, may as well give some hint of the sort of character the want to see you play.'

'Mm-hmm,' said Rob looking a little distant.

'Similar activity can be done with critics review as well. Maybe this can help you find out the intersection of the point of interest of critics and audiences'.

'Sounds like a plan..I am impressed', he looked startled.

'Sorry if I went a little overboard.'

'No no, it makes complete sense.'

'Now tell me, what do you want to have for dinner?'

'Chicken please, and I would have offered to help but I know nothing about cooking, so...', he said casually.

They were comfortable around each other and over the next couple of days, they spent time together, discussing topics ranging from movies, geopolitics, sports, and whatnot.

Rob started hanging out with Alina almost every evening after her office hours and they seemed to enjoy each other's company.