Lights, Camera, Drama!

THIRTEEN: Tea and Guilty

Akshara

I pull down the cap of my hoodie to cover my face a little more as I run out of the cab and quickly get inside from the emergency exit path.

I don't risk taking the elevator, and so I run and climb the staircase, leaving one step and climbing up the alternate steps trying to make it to the 7th floor as quickly as possible.

As I finally reach the floor, panting heavily for breath, the main door opens and Amishi's sad face greets me and I quickly give her a hug.

"Abhi-manyu" I say between breaths and she leads me inside to the living room, where on a couch, crumpled up in a corner is a very distraught-looking Abhimanyu. His eyes are swollen from all the crying and they are stuck on the TV where the news channel is playing the same headlines since morning.

Prajakta Desai, a 22-year old girl dies by suicide, leaving behind a video where she confessed her love for Bollywood Superstar Abhimanyu Birla. The girl's parents are devastated at having lost their only daughter. Friends of Prajakta have spoken up about her obsession with Abhimanyu and how her hostel room is full of his posters, the same room where she killed herself.

"It has come to our knowledge that Prajakta, a student of the ARC Acting School, Mumbai was committed towards becoming an actor so she could meet her favourite actor and work alongside him. The family and the famous actor in question are yet to release a formal statement" the reporter says again and before she can go further, I unplug the TV, bringing Abhimanyu's attention towards me.

He looks at me like he's trying to recognise me and I realise my wig and hoodie aren't helping so I remove them.

"Aksh-"

I quickly kneel down in front of the couch and hold his hand "None of it is your fault, stop blaming yourself"

"She- she died"

"Yes, and as unfortunate as it is, it still doesn't change the fact that it wasn't your fault. You did nothing wrong Abhimanyu, you cannot control the actions of the rest of the world"

"I never wanted- My fans they mean so much to me- I can't imagine-"

"Yes, they love you but Abhimanyu, you are a human being, an individual who has his own life, a life that nobody else has a right over. So shhh"

His arms go around me in an instant and I freeze for a second before I hug him back and whisper to him again and again that he is not to blame.

"I'll get you a cup of coffee" I tell him as I pull away from him.

"Chai" he says while rubbing his eyes and I smile.

As I get up and go to the common area leading to the kitchen, I see Amishi sitting on the staircase, her head between her hands and I feel terrible for the poor woman.

Ever since the video went viral this morning, the media went into a frenzy. They have lined up like ants outside Abhimanyu's apartment and well, mine.

I have nothing to tell them because even though I sympathise with the family of the girl, I refuse to take any blame for something that I had no control over.

But I also realise how easy it is to target somebody who is famous and rich and so I can't imagine how Abhimanyu must be feeling, being treated like a scapegoat with people who run agendas against him.

I had called up Abhimanyu immediately but his phone was switched off and Amishi's was constantly busy. When she finally picked up, she told me that she was at Abhimanyu's place but she was constantly answering phones from a hundred people and trying to do some damage control. Abhimanyu's father was not in town and so there was nobody he could share his feelings with. I knew that instant that I had to be there for him, something in me did not want to leave him alone at this time and so I asked her to arrange a back door entry for me to his building.