What If..

The Undisclosed Guest

"Anushka garu, today is your day. You have reached a milestone that not many star heroines achieve in their lifetime. You revolutionized the concept of Lady-oriented cinemas and are here with another today. Your journey is inspirational and glorious and we can't express how much the industry truly values you. So, here's an AV."

The video of Anushka's initial days in the industry simultaneously played with a song dedicated to her. It was followed by clippings of her shooting, gymming, horse/elephant riding, and chilling in different locations for various films. The song was beautifully composed by mentioning all the names of characters she portrayed.

Sweety and Darling were moved to tears. He side-hugged her and clapped with everyone else, proud of her accomplishments. Sometime later, the trailer was displayed.

One after the other, the team members delivered their speeches on stage describing the movie and thanking their heroine after which the friends and family members were called upon.

The directors disclosed funny incidents that occurred during the shooting of their movies with Anushka and spoke highly of the couple. They wished luck to the film crew and blessed the newlyweds.

Mr.Krishnam Raju revealed how Anushka would tend to him on the sets of Rudhramadevi, a movie in which they enacted as father-daughter. "Vittal and Prafulla gariki thank you cheppali for upbringing Anushka the way she is. We are tremendously proud to have one more superstar, that too the Lady Superstar, as our daughter-in-law. Though she is Prabhas' wife first, she means a lot to the family and production houses. She handles everything and is our bangaru thalli. There are a lot of other things to say but I'll let Anushka herself talk." Prabhas escorted him down the stage. The latter and his wife, Mrs.Syamala Devi then patted Anushka on her head giving their blessings.

The anchor persuaded the actress' parents to talk on stage. With a few words, they articulated their pride and sentiment towards their daughter. "Prabhas has been her backbone and we are very happy that he is our son-in-law. We love and respect him exceptionally."

"Prafulla garu, we all have a question for you andi. Why didn't you change Sweety's name? The nation wants to know." the anchor bubbled.

The parents giggled looking at Anushka who was watching expectedly. "It was actually my elder sister who named her. By the time she came to visit us again, Sweety was enrolled in school. So we didn't change her name." Prabhas and Anushka laughed clapping their hands.

"Nijama andi?" the anchor was perplexed seeing them laugh, "Now I understand from where Anushka garu gets her wit. You can never beat her in a conversation. That was Lady Superstar Sweety Shetty's parents for you!"
"Prabhas garu, she always wins the fight, right? We understood this over the years, Anushka garu. The entire country failed to reach a conclusion on your relationship until you disclosed it. So, it's definitely you who wins the arguments at home."

Prabhas stroked his stubble nodding, chin resting on his palm and glanced at his wife who was covering her mouth chuckling.

"Now the moment we've all been waiting for, let's have Young Rebel star Darling Prabhas on stage please."

"Hi, darlings!" The venue thundered with hoots and whistles. "Thank you for coming and to all the fans standing out, we're sorry for not being able to accommodate you inside here. We've asked the authorities to arrange for chairs so that you can be seated and watch us comfortably. This was meant to be an event with limited people but turns out it is no more constricted. Thank you, thank you for your love. Love you!"

The anchor questioned him about his upcoming movies and cracked jokes about the revelations the guests made.

"Prabhas garu, everyone knows Anushka is an outstanding actress and a lovely human but as her husband please tell us something." Prabhas bit his lip nodding. "Is Anushka Jejamma most of the time at home?"

He cackled eyeing his family and wife. "Suma garu, I see you want to throw me into trouble. If I say yes, my family and Sweety will charge me. If I say no, my friends will disagree. You decide andi."

"I'll take that as a yes, then."

"Yes, but jokes apart she is actually balanced andi. That's how she could carry herself so well for all these years."

"Congratulations andi, you have passed the test and are now a qualified husband. Thank you Prabhas garu." Suma declared making everyone laugh again.

"At last, the star of the show. Let's invite Lady Superstar, Queen of South Indian Cinema, Anushka Shetty on stage!"

Anushka embraced Suma on the dias. "I think I should say Anushka Shetty Uppalapati andi or maybe Mrs.Bahubali." The actress smiled scrunching her nose. The chants restarted.

"Andariki namaskaram andi. The press/media thank you for being here to celebrate this movie. And fans, I'm indebted to your unconditional admiration and support. I love you all." Sweety's voice broke, "Sorry, I'm a little emotional tod-," she moved away from the mic. "I'm emotional seeing my complete support system at one place like this. I am what I am today because of them. So, I first want to convey my regards to each person in front of me. Puri Jagganath garu for introducing me as Sakshi, Rajamouli garu for giving me the two best films of my career, Vinayak garu, Rama garu, Valli garu, Keeravani garu, Prashanti, Supriya, I cannot thank you enough for looking after me more than a friend, like your own sister since I set foot into this city. I could always count on these people and tell my parents back home that I'm safe andi."

Prabhas cued her with a smile though his eyes were brimming themselves.

"And next, my family.." she drew a deep breath, "My everything. I wish amma was here today but she's watching us on TV," she faced the camera referring to Prabhas' mom. "My mother, father and brothers, they truly believed in me and that is how I could come this far. Our strength Peddananna and Kannamma (KR and his wife) always guarded me like one of their daughters whom I've grown really fond of. They've been my own sisters ever since shooting for Billa. Pramod, Vamsi and Vicky, are one of my best friends from when Prabhas has known me. I'm grateful for every opportunity given and the trust they hold to involve me in their activities. I'm looking forward to this wonderful movie. The director, technical staff, coactors, thank you very much for making my 50th film so special. Papsu, thank you."

Applauses and hails continued to bring the house down. She adjusted her dupatta and fiddled with the mic controlling herself.

"Anushka garu, you sp-"

"And of course, the exuberance at every event is due to Suma garu. Thank you for hosting this one andi."

"You described everyone so thoughtfully but just thanked your husband?"

Sweety turned to the hero who stood transfixed beside her, staring with compassionate eyes wearing a charming expression.

"My husband.. we usually don't thank each other but he knows.. He's the biggest blessing that came into my life. However, there's an undisclosed guest at today's event that we'd like to tell you about." Sweety grinned scanning the seats. She leaned on Prabhas and squeezed his hand.

"Our baby."

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This chapter is one that is really special to me out of all the books I've written. It made me happy imagining the sequences and lines. I penned down a dream about them in the most natural way possible from how I observed the couple and the people around them. I genuinely ask you to share this with any Pranushka fan you know and keep the happiness flowing through the fandom. Also, show this author some love and let me know if you liked it.