MANGO TREE - LATE EVENING
THIS PLACE is absolutely deserted. Sidharth keeps staring at the branch that two girls were hung from he holds the post mortem report in his hand . Nihal and Chandra bhan wait by the car .his walk around seems aimlessly sometimes and absolutely focused at some .and then he asks them from a distance.
Sidharth- Hamirpur kitni door hai yahan se?
Chandra bhan- (points to his right closeby)- kareeb do kilometer...udhar sir...
Sidharth- chamda factory kis taraf hai?
Nihal- (points in another direction) sir unharmed, chhatni gaaon se aage,karreeb 5 kilometer hoga sir.
Mayank and Jatav arrive in another jeep .Sidharth sees a shed nearby and he begins to moves in that direction. Mayank and jatav rush behind him .
Sidharth- ye kya hai....?
Mayank- wo Janne dijiye sir...
By then Sidharth has reached the shed .if Mayank and Jatav had their way they would physically stop him.
Mayank- sir wahan jaanwaro ka Khaal nikalte hain Hamirpur waale .
By then Sidharth has opened the jute curtain. What he sees there is horrifying. Carcasses piled over each other.
Mayank- sir area mein jitney bhi janwar mar jaate hain unko ye log yaha laake uski khaal nikaal ke tannery mein bechte hain.
Sidharth can't bear the sight.
Jatav- aaj wo ladkon ko maara toh ...Nishad ne sab SC ST ko kaam karne se mana kiya hai sir. Whatsapp par uska ek message chal raha Hai.
Mayank takes out his phone and plays an Audio message.
FIELD/ROAD/SWAMP- NIGHT
SIDHARTH 'S car drives through the fields. Mayank sits next to Sidharth holding his phone forward .The car drives away from the tree in to the fields.
Nishad (v.o.)- main aur tum inhe dikhaai nahi dete, lekin inki zindagiyan humarre upar hi tiki hain. Jin kheton mein inka anaaj ugta hai .wahaan mazdoori tum karte ho, inka maila tu. Uthàte ho. Inke Bachchan tum paida karte ho, inking laashein tum jalaate ho.
Finally the car pulls over . Sidharth gets off the car and walks in to the fields, Mayank follows suit.
NISHAD-(V.O.) Insaaf ki bheekh mat maango. Bahut maang chuke .bas Jo bhi kaam tum karte ho, band Kar do.
They keep walking as the two vehicles crawl slowly following them alongside .
Mayank- sir wo udhar hai Tannery . Ladkiya wahan se niklati thi roz aur is raste se Ghar jaati theen.
Sidharth- aur wo ped kahan hai?
Mayank-(points in a completelynewdirection)udhar hai sir.
They look around for some time . Then, look into the fields in torch light. After some time, look tired . Now Sidharth, Chandra bhan and Jatav are standing on the road, lookat the fields, hopelessly.
Chandra bhan- kheto'n mein nahi milegi sir. Din ho gaya .ye dekhne mein badaa lagta hai par Kisan apni zameen ka ek ek foot janata hai .nazar rakhta hai.
Sidharth- par kaheen bhi.. milegi kya ? Kya lagta hai aap logon ko?
Ja- dhoondhna toh chahiye sir.
They are in the car again.
Sidharth-(thinking) agar maarna tha to do ko hi kyu maara?
(from the past , the three girls run for their lives through the fields. they have reached at the edge of a large forest-cum-swap that the two are walking around . Jatav rushes back to the car to get a torch. )
( POOJA DECIDES TO CHANGE COURS3 .THE OTHER TWO STOP UNDECIDED CALL FOR HER ALOUD ."POOJA")
As Mayank speaks Jatav keeps pointing in those directions with the torch from a distance.
MAYANK- Bahut Ganda hai sir ye.. sooartaal bolte hain ,kisi time pe sooar pade rehte the isme .koi jaata nahin ismein .Pasi log hi kabhi kabhar jaate hain.
They are looking constantly, walking ahead near the swamp. Anything that can give them a clue .suddenly Sidharth notices a bright color at a distance .he carefully moves in that direction. Mayank follows. Jatav too heads in that direction. Finally they get there and realize it is a pink slipper.
Jatav takes out his handkerchief. Sidharth picks up the slipper in it
Jatav- Gulabbi chappal likhwaya tha FIR mein sir.
Sidharth- isko paidal par Kiya ja sakta hai..?
Jatav .- kahin kahin gahra hai sir, kahin kahin nahin bhi hai. Ladki nahi ghusegi sir isme.
(POOJA RUNS ACROSS THE SWAMP.)
SIDHARTH- uss Paar kya hai?
Jatav- idhar khet hain ,uss taraf saara jangal hai sir.
Sidharth- Kitna bada hai?
Jatav- 3-4 kilometer hoga sir!
Sidharth- jungle mein kaise jayenge?
Jatav- jungle mein kyun Jaana sir?
Sidharth- kaise jaate hain?
Jatav - nahi jaate sir.
Sidharth- aur koi rassta hai Jungle mein Janne ka?
Jatav-yahi Paar karke Jaana padega sir. Ghira hua hai. Chaaron taraf se daldal se. Hum bhi kabhi nahin Gaye sir ander toh.
Sidharth looks around, looks back at the jungle at distance.
LALGAON STREET- MORNING
A garbage truck turns in to the road that goes to Sidharth 's office. Two men at the rear open the rear shutter and the garbage starts getting scattered on the road as the truck drives off.
Chandra bhan - ye itna kooda kaise phaila hai yahan?
Sidharth also looks out of the window. There is something ominous about this. This car drives in to the office compound, there is an unusual number of cops by the gate .Sidharth gets off where he normally does. The manhole has overflowed a bit more. SUKKHA comes running.
Sukkha - sir aaj aane wala the jamadaar par ye log hadtaal par chale Gaye. Aur toh aur, kooda bhi phenk rahe uain, Sankari daftaron ke bahar.
Sidharth keeps looking at this and then walks in to his room, quickly followed by Brahmadatt on his phone.
Brahmadatt- ji sir ,ji aagaye sir.. ek second sir. (extends the phone to Sidharth) Ramlal Naharia ji..(Sidharth keeps looking at the phone) ji swayam hain..
Sidharth takes the phone and Brahmadatt is relieved. Sidharth keeps listening to what Mr Naharia has to say.
Sidharth- sir... ji..
Finally before disconnecting the phone Sidharth says:
Sidharth- ji sir. Zaroor.
Sidharth sits in his chair and returns the phone to Brahmadatt. Sidharth still has the pink slipper in his hand . A beat later Brahmadatt places the phone before him.
Brahmadatt- toh sir, close kar dein file?
Sidharth places the slipper next to the file and keep looking at both. Sidharth gets up and leaves the room.
He walks up to the gate and stands there all alone .The garbage scattered all around . Sidharth dials a number and begins to walk through the garbage.
On the other side, Shehnaaz out for a jog in the streets receives Sidharth 's call and finally sits on the pavement. Early morning cleaning activity around her in the city too.
Sidharth-(very dry, tired ) hi! Kaise ho?
Shehnaaz- you okay ? Jaldi uth Gaye?
Sidharth- soya hi nahi.
Shehnaaz (chuckles)- mars pe chale Gaye type feel ho raha Hai phir se?
Sidharth- 3 rupaye mein kya milta hai shehnaaz?
Shehnaaz- Haan?
Sidharth stops by a tea stall.
Sidharth - 3 rupaye mein kya kuch milta bhi hai kya ab?
Shehnaaz- kya hua Sidharth?
She stops .
Sidharth- 3 rupaye ke liye in ladkiyon ka rape kar diya ,maar diya..
Shehnaaz is stunned too.
Shehnaaz- I am listening..
Sidharth picks up a cup of tea from the stall and sits on the pavement, garbage all around him.
Sidharth - main jab itni saari countries mein bada ho raha tha yaar ..sab bolte thay India.. we would love to go there someday..hum bolte thay you must . Banaras khajuraho aise bechta tha jaise mere baap ka ho. I felt so proud of my country..
Shehnaaz sits down on the pavement too.
Shehnaaz- are you not proud, abhi!
Sidharth - iam .. very proud for a lot of things .. a lot.. but some things are so so fucked up . There is a war going on here ..2 ladkiyan mar gayi hain.. teesari gayab Hai.. aur kisi ko fark hi nahi pad raha .Jo log yahan reh Rahe hain ..wi sab ke sab aise behave kar rahe hain jaise ye sab kisi aur desh mein ho raha Hai.. TV pe, drawing rooms mein ,is market mein, sab normal hai Shehnaaz . Should I be proud to this too? (Deep breath ,resolves) messed up hai.. but I will unmess it.
Shehnaaz - is this a word .. unmess ?
Sidharth - naye word dhundhne padenge Shehnaaz. Naye tareeke dhundhne padenge. Kyunki ki raayta bahut purana hai.
Sidharth hangs up . SHEHNAAZ looks around thoughtfully .Sidharth walks back to the car as people look at him intrigued.
Thank you ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️