Stars & Dreams

6) Arcturus - Intuitive and Expressive

"Pity..." Adil murmured softly, stepping closer to her. He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek with his finger. His eyes roamed over, undressing her visually.

Rumi took a step back and sneered at him, "You are losing your touch Adil. No wonder the girls discard you without second thoughts."

Rumi did not wait to see the fury on Adil's face. When she did not find Ujjwal, she left the party and took an auto home. She had learnt about Adil's unsuccessful dalliances with a couple of actresses at the studio. Apparently, he had cheated on all of them.

Reaching home, she ignored Ujjwal's calls and concentrated on the script that she had been uncertain about. With a glass of cold milk, she read it again with an unbiased view and decided to accept the part after much contemplation.

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The next one month in Kolkata was gruelling. A comedy was more difficult to perfect than a drama or thriller. The timing had to be perfect and the build up to climax through a series of unfortunate incidents had to be created without slapstick moments. Fortunately, the lead actress was an amiable girl and her rise to fame was quick and smart. Though Maya was a couple of years older than Rumi, her foray into films was quicker and shorter. While Rumi waited for the perfect role to fall on her lap, the other actress grabbed whatever was offered to her. Rumi admired her for it.

When there were short one-day breaks or when the technicians failed to attend, the cast would spend the day by visiting famous landmarks. Rumi never went with them. She avoided all the outings with some feeble excuse. She wanted to finish her part and leave the city. Even while travelling from her hotel to the studio, she never looked outside the window. She would plug in her ear-phones and listen to music.

Her director Vasujit, who was young, perpetually stressed out and lacked good manners, somehow warmed up to Rumi. He would yell, swear unnecessarily and scoff at others' attempts at improvisation but when Rumi appeared in front of camera, he would sit still and observe her silently. It was as if he was under a spell when Rumi appeared in front of the camera. When some scenes needed re-takes, he would explain to her politely while he bawled at others. One night, while they were having dinner, the lead star, Maya asked her, "Hey Rumi, how did you manage to impress Vasujit? He is always finding fault with us but when it comes to you, he is like a lamp. He hardly utters a word."

"God knows, maybe because my role is very small; so he is not bothered even if it is not perfect."

"Naah Rumi, you play an important part. I think he is in love with you. Have you seen the way he looks at you?"

Rumi frowned at Maya's words. She didn't think that her director was in love with her. Many times, when they faced each other, he would avoid her eyes. He never looked into her eyes. It seemed as if he was afraid to look at her. When Rumi's schedule was completed, she asked the team manager to book her return flight to Mumbai. Maya and the rest of the crew were staying back for another month to complete the film.

On the last night when she was packing her stuff, there was a knock on the door. Expecting it to be the set designer who shared the room with her, Rumi was surprised to find her director Vasujit.

"Hey you got a minute?" he asked her hesitantly.

Letting him inside, she waited for him to come to the point. He looked around the room, cleared his throat and finally, after wasting Rumi's ten minutes, he turned his face to her. Rumi offered him a bottle of water which he refused silently and rummaged into his trouser pocket for something. He came up with a pen drive and stared pointedly at it for another five minutes, driving Rumi crazy with his uncommunicative behaviour. Then looking up at her, he said "This is my work of four years. I spent every minute of my four years on this project. Every character, every scene and every dialogue was created by me." He handed it to her.

"What is it?" Rumi asked glancing at the pen drive.

"It is a manuscript for a film. I want you to read it thoroughly and get back to me."

Surprised at the offer, she looked at him inquiringly,

"There are three major characters in the story. I am giving you the first choice. You read the whole script and give me your preference. Whichever character you want to portray, I will lock it and take it forward accordingly."

Rumi was surprised but at the same time humbled. Vasujit was a talented director and if he felt that she was good enough to be given the first choice then she was stunned.

"Thanks Vasujit. I don't know what to say."

"What were you doing all these years?" He asked her in quiet intensity. While she fumbled for an answer, he continued as anger crept into his voice, "Rumi, do you know how talented you are? I am appalled that you are wasting away this god given gift by doing inconsequential roles."

Rumi caught her breath at his words, feeling embarrassed and annoyed. He waited for her to speak and when she was quiet, he swallowed the profanities that were threatening to spill out of his mouth.

"Listen Rumi, there are two kinds of stars. One is made and one is born. You are a born star. You need to make the world see you, enjoy you and feel you."

Enthralled by his words, she gaped at him while he continued.

"Feel your power Rumi. You have the power to make the world cry with you, laugh with you and die with you. You are a star Rumi."

And then he pulled her and kissed her hard with passion. He could not help himself from adoring his creative stimulus. They broke apart breathing heavily.

"Bye Rumi. I will be waiting to hear from you." And then he swirled around and walked away, leaving her with a confusing range of powerful emotions. She stumbled down on the bed and stared at the pen drive.

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