Madhubala Shamsher Malik looked herself up and down in the mirror as she took in deep breaths.
Just relax, just relax, she mentally pepped herself. You know your job, you know what you're doing, don't let anxiety get the best of you!
"Madhu, come and eat breakfast," Padmini called out. "You have to get to the studio on time."
"Coming," Madhu hollered back.
She took in another deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. "You can do this, you've got this! You. Can. Do this!"
A smile spread across her face and Madhu headed off with her stuff to join her mother. She quickly ate breakfast, and with enough time on her hands, Madhu headed on out to the studio. Not long later, she arrived, and she made her way to set 6.
You can do this! You can totally do this! Just be confident!
As Madhu entered the studio, she took a look around. There were several people here already, mainly crewmen, doing a variety of work.
"Ah! You're here!"
Madhu turned around to see Mr. Mishra. "Good morning, Sir."
"Good morning! Good morning," the director smiled as he stepped over. "Excited for the day?"
"Anxious, truth be told," she smiled sheepishly.
"Not to worry," he chuckled lightly. "Let me show you where you'll be working; some of the other artists are here as well, they'll help walk you through things."
"Sure," and Madhu followed after Mishra.
While Madhu was getting the breakdown of her job, some of the extras began to arrive. The look that the director was going for was explained, Madhu and the other makeup artists understanding and working it out. They started to get right down to work, and as they helped prepare for these people, over on the other side of the set, the hero of the film arrived - RK the Superstar!
One look at him, and people got an idea that his mood was much better than what it was two days ago. They mentally hoped that there wouldn't be much yelling or scolding from the man today, especially when they were filming the final scenes of this comedy film today.
RK met up with Mishra first, getting a briefing as Bittuji stayed by his side, then headed off to his trailer. As he went through his script and changed into his costume, Madhu happily worked away, her stress and worries having quickly gone away once she got into the flow of things. Everyone was very nice to her, and she got along with them quite well. She got to learn that some of the makeup artists would also be working with Mishra on his next movie, and when she told them about his offer to her, they all quickly agreed that she should definitely take the job.
"You're talented and these opportunities don't just come that easily," one of the artists said to her.
"It's a golden opportunity, you should totally take it," another one said.
"Yeah, you should totally," said the extra that Madhu was currently working on.
Madhu looked from each of them. "Um... when you guys say it like that... yeah, I guess why not," she beamed.
*~*
Finally ready to get started with filming, the extras made their way onto the set. They were soon joined by RK and his heroine, and were all ready to start with the first take. Back in the makeup room, Madhu was gathering her things to keep them in one place.
"We should go to the set in case anyone needs touch ups," one of her fellow makeup artists said.
The others mumbled in agreement, as did Madhu, and they headed on over towards the main stage. They stood on the sidelines, watching as all of the actors performed the scene. Madhu watched as RK performed the humorous scene, and she couldn't help but to think of the man she had seen two days ago versus the one before her now.
He truly is an actor. One would never be able to tell that he's actually arrogant and egoistic.
With a good take, the director yelled out cut, and everyone spread out to their own thing as the next scene was set. RK headed on over to his lounge chair and sat down, Bittuji standing on the side, going through one of his phones.
"Chief, someone from the Times reached-"
"Bittuji what have I told you about them before," RK said, still looking at his script.
"I know chief, you didn't like the way the last interview went-"
"So then why even bother asking me about it?"
"It's just that chief, if you were to give the interview, it would definitely give more publicity for your upcoming film-"
"Bittuji, RK doesn't need the help of a magazine - or anyone for that matter - to make his movie a hit. The thing that makes an RK movie a hit, is RK."
"Yes, but-"
"Go and contact whoever it is from the Times that RK will be doing no interview with them and that's final."
"As you say chief," and Bittuji headed out of the set to make his phone call.
While Bittuji did that, RK continued to focus on his lines, going through his script. And while he did that, the heroine and the extras were getting their touch ups, Madhu and the other makeup artists helping out. With her tasks done, Madhu stepped aside, catching sight of RK from the corner of her eye.
He even looks angry while reading a script! I'm confused, this is a comedy film, so why is he being all angry for?
"All good?"
Madhu snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to see Mr. Mishra. "Uh, yeah, just had a thought."
"No problem," the man chuckled. "Actually, I just wanted to thank you once more for taking this job today. It's been pretty hectic and we needed all the help we could get for this final day."
"Not a problem at all," she smiled.
As the two continued to speak, RK looked up from his script to call out to Bittuji, when his eyes landed on a certain brunette, talking to the film's director.
It's her.
Just like the other day, he quickly fell into a daze. RK could not remove his gaze from the woman - the very same woman that he had yelled at to get out from the very same set they were in today. However, unlike that day, anger and fear didn't cover the woman's face, but a smile.
Who is she?
"Oh, before I forget, there was just one thing I needed to quickly take care of," Mishra said, and he held up the clipboard that was in his hand. "I just needed to make sure I got your full name; for payment purposes."
"Sure, it's Madhubala Shamsher Malik."
The director wrote down her name, making sure of the spelling with her and correcting it.
"Great, thank you very much Miss Madhubala Shamsher Malik. And have you decided if you're on board for the other offer as well?"
"I've thought it through, and yes, I'm on board!"
"Perfect! Things are still in pre-production, and we still haven't finalized our heroine yet due to all of the auditions. However, contracts will be drawn up really soon. When you come in to get your check for today's work, I'll explain more about that stuff then. But thank you very much Madhubalaji, for agreeing."
"Please, call me Madhu, and thank you for giving me this opportunity," she smiled.
"Of course!"
Mishra's assistant called out to him, so he excused himself. Madhu went off to the side to join her coworkers, remaining unaware of the fact that RK the Superstar's eyes had been on her.
RK glanced from the director to the brunette woman. She was talking to the other makeup artists, still unaware of his gaze on her. He placed his script down on the small table beside him and rested his chin on his fingers. The words that had been exchanged between the woman and the director had all been heard by him, and RK couldn't help but to ponder on her name. Everyone knew of the legendary actress Madhubala, but this was the first time in his life that he had ever heard that someone had been named such an extraordinary name.
And people claim him to be bigheaded and filmy.
"Hmm... Madhuabala... ahaan."
~
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