NOTE: Guys, now that the shooting part will begin, there will be a lot of names that you'll have to remember, so please take note, hehe.
Otherwise, after each update, you'll be asking who's who 😂.
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Akshara
Abhimanyu steps closer to me and cups my cheeks with both hands "I let you go away once, I will never make that mistake again" he says as he stares into my eyes and I get lost in his.
A tear rolls down my eye, the intensity a little too much to bear and I feel goosebumps rise on his arms as my tear drops to his hand.
"Aaaaand CUT!" Devakar sir says and the lights get turned on, blinding my eyesight for a second.
I immediately look away and blink the tears away as Devakar sir and the crew start clapping.
"This is the chemistry I was looking for!" He smiles as he gives Raman a thumbs up, probably telling him that he casted the right people.
After changing and freshening up, we all gather around the screen to have a look at the sample scene we just shot as a part of the screen test.
Even though Raman had insisted that he had casted the "best possible pair", Devakar sir was a man of procedure and to be honest, I loved this about him!
I take a sip of the tea that is served to me while Abhimanyu sits close by, discussing something with Amishi, who I now know to be his manager. I realised she's the same person who pulled him away on the day of the award function.
Taabish comes to me and hands me a bundle of papers "And here's your script gal" he says excitedly and I shake my head.
I took me two days to finally say yes to this role after having met Abhimanyu that day. And no, I didn't come to this decision easily.
That awkward interaction with him in the lift was a good reminder of why I shouldn't be doing this. And so I took two long days to complete my research. I saw hundreds of interviews of Abhimanyu on YouTube and I made notes of things I observed.
You may call me paranoid for going to such lengths but then again, when you pay a heavy price to get to where you are, being careful is the least you can do for yourself.
And so from the various interviews I saw, I got to know that Abhimanyu was in general, a happy-go-lucky kinda person who mostly stayed cool and relaxed. I also saw interviews where he closely interacted with female colleagues and I noticed how he shared a good camaraderie with all his co-actors and how none of them seemed to be uncomfortable despite his flirtatious smiles and occasional winks.
He's like that, and not just with me. I told myself over and over again as I finally decided to say yes.
"Thank you for making me do this" I tell Taabish and he pouts and gives me a quick salute.
I look at the script in my hand and stare at the title of the movie printed in bold on the first page.
ONE AND A HALF DAYS
When I was briefly told what the story was all about, I was excited to play the character of Kavya, the biggest reason being that she is totally opposite to me. In my debut film, I had played the role of a cunning con girl, which was again a challenge because I was nowhere close to being that clever in real life.
I recall the meeting with Devakar sir yesterday where he spoke so passionately about this project.
"One and a half days is the story of Rishi Ahlawat and Kavya Juneja.
The film begins in New York, with Kavya running away from her wedding with the son of her parents' friends Vineet. She takes a last minute flight to her grandmother's home in Delhi and ends up sitting next to Rishi, a lawyer by profession, who has turned bitter after his divorce when his wife cheated on him with his best friend.
The flight takes an unexpected layover due to a storm where Rishi and Kavya are stuck together for a day and things get a little steamy. However, they're both too emotionally unaware to recognise or accept their feelings and so they part their ways upon reaching Delhi. Here comes the drama in the film because Vineet comes back into the picture and everything turns into an emotional mess. We're still working on the details of the climax, and you'll get to know it while we're shooting.
Rishi and Kavya, I need you to get into character. We'll be conducting a screen test tomorrow. After that, we'll have a month to get the costumes, schedules and everything ready and the shooting will start after 5 weeks.
And Cut!"
When your director is so passionate about the project, you know he's going to make sure everything turns out to be the best. And since Devakar sir's movies are famous for leaving the audience open-mouthed, I'm more than happy with my decision to take this challenge up.
But then I look towards Abhimanyu who's now wearing specs and reading the script, I wonder whether I'm ready for this challenge.
I shake that thought away and turn the page to see the list of the names of the cast and crew mentioned there. On top, is the name of the production house, our director, screenplay writer and everybody else.
I quickly skip to the part where the cast details are mentioned.
Akshara Goenka as Kavya Juneja
Abhimanyu Birla as Rishi Ahlawat
Dhruv Mandhana as Vineet (Kavya's fiance)
Avika Batra as Sana (Rishi's ex wife)
Tushti Singh as Vani (Rishi and Sana's daughter)
I read through all the names further listed and what makes me a little happy is that the actor playing the role of my mother in the film is someone I know from a previous ad shoot.
"Kavya, Rishi" Abhimanyu and I turn our heads to face Devakar ji. "From tomorrow, we'll be having the actors' workshops to prep you for your roles. Reporting time is 10 am guys, no delay. And when you people walk in here tomorrow, I want you to be in character, be here as Kavya and Rishi and not as Akshara and Abhimanyu, even though I already love you both" he grins and we smile back at him.
"Gal, I'm leaving for a meeting. The driver will be taking you home" Taabish says as he gets up.
"Hey Taabish, could I just intervene for a moment?" Abhimanyu's soft voice reaches my ears and I take a deep breath.
"Hey Akshara, do you mind going out for dinner tonight? I think it's best if we get comfortable with each other before the workshops begin"
I know I'm treading along a dangerous line here but I recall how Veer and I spent a huge amount of time before we shot our first scene because we were both too awkward initially.
I need to give my best for this movie, starting today! "Sure" I tell him and Taabish clears his throat.
"Gal, if that's the case, make sure you give the paps something to talk about" he grins and leaves.
"Oh the paps are gonna have a field day" Abhimanyu says with a wicked smile on his face.
"With what?" Amishi walks up to us, looking like she had a really good conversation with whoever was on the phone.
"Akshara and I are going out for dinner, you know to kick start our new friendship"
"Nice" she says with a smile but her eyes scream the exact opposite.
"Akshara, shall we leave?" Abhimanyu stands up and looks at me expectantly.
"Yeah, let's go" I say as we walk away, leaving Amishi behind.
"Where do you want to go?" He asks.
"Your choice"
"Well, don't give me the choice to decide. I'll take you to a roadside Dhaba on the highway" he laughs.
His words leave me utterly shocked "I would love that" I whisper back in awe.
"Seriously?" Now he sounds surprised!
"Yeah" I say and he nods and I walk with him to his car, unaware of the adventures that are awaiting us this night!
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Author's Note:
Hey guyyysss!
What's up?
How was the update?
Vote and comment, please!