The jinxed love - Part 12

Gaurav was shaken by all the events. He was angry as well as slightly relieved that nothing happened to Jenny. He stared at Jenny. She looked horrified. He asked everyone to leave and ordered one of the crew member to get a glass of water. When everyone left, he bent down in front of Jenny who was sitting. He asked , "How are you feeling ?". He realized the blunder he made and spoke again, "Damn ! What dumb question I am asking ? It's obvious you are felling terrible. But I am relieved you are okay.". She giggled. He smiled back and almost brushed her hair with his hand.

Suddenly he realized what he was doing. He smiled weakly and was about to leave when he saw Gajendra rushing towards them. He was huffing out of breathing when he reached them. "Are you okay?", he asked after taking deep breath. "I am really sorry for the mishap that happened. I had ordered technicians to check everything before the show began. I don't know how this happened.", he continued. Gaurav stared at him in disgust.  He didn't believe any of his words.

He pulled Gajendra's collar in anger. "Don't play this shit with me . Your act almost put someone's life in danger. How can you get so low? How can you play with someone's life just to increase your show's TRP? You are disgraceful to humanity.", he growled. The passerby stared at them. Some of them tried to calm Gaurav down while few of them were taking video of their fight. Jenny wasn't liking it. She got up immediately. "Please leave his collar, Gaurav. Thank you for your concern but I can manage myself now. I am feeling better now.", she spoke firmly.

Gaurav was stunned. Her words broke him. Gajendra smirked when Gaurav left his collar. He knew she would never be grateful for him standing up for her. Who was he? He was nothing to her. He walked away. "Sir,  mistakes happen and  I am sure you would not let this happen again.", she said to Gajendra. He felt uncomfortable when she said that. He couldn't understand whether she thought he did this purposefully to create TRPs or she really wanted him to be careful with safety of people in set. Whatever it was, he didn't expect people would blame him for something he wasn't involved. He remembered the story of the shepherd and wolf. He felt like a shepherd today.

Rohan had arrived at Jenny's house to check on her after he got to know about the events that took place in the set. "Are you fine? Let me check your hand.", he said as he checked her hand which was strapped.  He touched them gently. She cried, "Ouch ! It hurts." He quickly left her hand. "These guys can do anything for the TRPs. I will personally speak to Gajendra regarding this. What would have happened if anything worse had occurred ?", he said. She smiled. But she stopped smiling when she remembered something.

"You know what ! Gaurav felt the same. He nearly grabbed Gajendra's collar and gave him properly. He would have torn him apart if I hadn't stepped up.", she said solemnly. Rohan didn't speak. He let her speak as these were the times when Jenny spoke her heart out and shared her burden with him. "I don't understand why Gaurav is reacting this way. Sometimes he is too rude towards me and sometimes he showers all this concern on me. I can't comprehend his actions . He is making it so difficult for me to forget him.", she spoke as the pain struck her heart thinking about the love she once shared with him.


(To be continued)

Their jinxed love - Part 11

Auditions happened smoothly. Top fifty contestants were selected from auditions in different cities. A final mega auditions was held to select top fifteen from fifty people. Some were extremely talented. Some were mediocre but had passion to learn new dance forms. Some were only selected for their entertainment quotient. Some were selected as backup dancers by Gajendra because he felt these people might lead to dirty fights between two cynical lovers and hence this would increase the show's TRPs.

Gajendra was fixated by TRPs and this bothered Gaurav very much. He had seen previous seasons of the show. Those seasons were good because of the contestants and their dance. He knew very well why Gajendra had replaced the previous two judges with him and Jenny. This didn't bothered him until now when he saw the list of contestants that were chosen as back up. Most of the contestants from that list were rejected either by him or Jenny. He knew each of these contestants would create nasty arguments between them. He knew he could not confront Gajendra. It was his game plan. He had only way to reverse Gajendra's game plan and that was to remain calm. He wondered how long he would remain calm with volcano ready to explode anytime.

The first episode was being shot. Everyone was excited in the set. The crew members and Gajendra were excited starting the new project; the contestants were excited to begin their new journey and Ruby was happy with beginning of brand new season except for Jenny and Gaurav. Jenny was sulking since the Chandigarh auditions. Gaurav was worried how he was going to remain calm whole season.

The shoot began. The audience were enthusiastic to watch their favorite stars face to face. Ravi, a famous TV star was made the host of  the show. He had hosted many seasons of the show. It was like home coming for him this time. He arrived on the stage with full energy. He welcomed the audience and introduced Ruby as the first judge. She performed light contemporary dance. Her performance was graceful and liked by audience. Next Gaurav arrived with a bang. He performed Bollywood freestyle on one of the songs he had choreographed. The crowd cheered. Some of his female fans tried to jump on the stage to dance with their favorite star. Unfortunately the security team intervened and stopped them. The audience enjoyed his performance.

Finally, it was Jenny's turn. Jenny was performing on soft romantic song which is about two lovers parting away. The song and her performance was touched by the audience. Some cried. Gaurav watched her performance with eyes welled up with tears. He couldn't control his feelings. Ruby watched him cry silently and wondered if they loved each other so much , why did they ever part ways.

Jenny was totally immersed into her performance. She wasn't bothered by the cheering of the crowd as well as danger that was lurking on top of her. One of LED DMX lights attached on top of stage fell down. As it fell, the sparks flew. Jenny moved aside though some of sparks gave minor injuries to her hand. She was shaken. The audience got up and started running in fear while Gaurav ran towards her. He held her and helped her step down the stage. Ruby and few of the crew members surrounded her and asked her if she was fine. She didn't say anything. She was numb. She stared at Gaurav with feelings she thought she had gotten over with.

(To be continued)

Their jinxed love - Part 10

Jenny accepted Gaurav's apology without any drama. There was no arguments when Pinky was selected as the backup dancer though Pinky wasn't happy with this development. The auditions took place smoothly with no issues. That irked Gajendra. He had no footage to enhance the TRP for the next episode.

The shoot ended. Everyone were busy packing up and getting things ready for next day shoot which was going to take place in new city. Gaurav had changed into casual T shirt and jeans. He was waiting for the cab to pick him up. Jenny was in vanity room. She was deciding whether to confront Gaurav about how guilty she was feeling right now. She was burdened with guilt. She knew she was wrong but she was worried how Gaurav would react. Every time she got ready to confront him, she felt anxious.

Finally she got over her fears, she walked out confidently. When she came closer to Gaurav, she felt her heart beat faster. He turned around and watched her staring at him. She wanted to say what she planned to say. But she was numb. When she tried to say something, his cab arrived. He didn't wait. He assumed she wanted to taunt him about something he never remembered he did.  He didn't ask her if she wanted to join. She wanted to join him but she didn't get in because he didn't ask her. She thought it wasn't wise to get inside his car without any offer from him to join in.

She stood while the car left. However another car arrived immediately to pick her up. She got in. Her eyes turned red. The thought of not conveying him how sorry she was made her feel more sad. She looked at the driver suspiciously staring her at from the rear view mirror. He sensed that there was something wrong. She quickly took out her shades and wore them. He got back to driving as soon as he understood she wasn't ready to share her pain. 

During journey, Gaurav couldn't get his mind over Jenny's eyes. They had restlessness and pain in them. "Maybe she wanted to say something important. Maybe she didn't want to taunt me. What was it she wanted to say?", he wondered. When he reached the hotel, he waited at the lobby. She arrived after few minutes. He watched her rushing towards the lift. Before he could reach her, she was gone. The passerbys watched them enthusiastically. Everyone knew their equation well through the constant promos of the dance show and the media speculation. 

Gaurav brushed his hair with his hand. He closed his eyes with disappointment. He took the next lift to his floor. If things were like how it was in past, he would have rushed towards her room by now and asked her what was troubling her. He would have made her felt better. But things were different now. They weren't together anymore. He had no right on her. This made him feel miserable.

 

(To be continued)

Their jinxed love - Part 9

Gajendra Sharma was director as well as producer of the popular dance show. It was his idea to bring Gaurav and Jenny as judges into the show. But Jenny's tantrums were increasing day by day and this didn't affect him. He knew how to cool this wild cat. He walked into her vanity room and stood in front of her with folded arms. She looked up at him. His sharp personality was scaring her. She was suddenly quiet.

"I heard you wanted to quit the show. I know it's hard for you to deal with Gaurav. But we don't want you to leave us. I have deal for you. Why don't we make Gaurav apologize to you and also promise that he won't say anything that displeases you? Will that make you happy? We will keep that contestant as our back up dancer. ", he said coolly. She thought deeply about this arrangement. It didn't seem bad. She wouldn't mind if Gaurav apologized her. There were many things she wanted him to say sorry but for now this was enough. She smiled at him and said yes.

Gajendra was happy. He had almost sorted the issue. He then headed to the set where Gaurav was seated. He was sipping a cup of tea. Before Gajendra could go to him, one of his assistant interrupted him. "Sir, are you sure he would say sorry to Jenny? Gaurav isn't easy person. He wouldn't say sorry to anyone if he thinks he is not in fault. In this case, he is sure that he hasn't offended her.", the assistant whispered. "I know what I am doing. Who said he has accept what I am saying? I am only concerned about the TRP of the show. I am not worried whether they will remain in the show or not. If this will create a huge argument between them, I don't mind. I don't mind if they quit the show. But I want them to fight and leave. I want them to increase my TRP before leaving. I will get many such people like them.", he smirked.

He placed his hand on Gaurav's shoulder. Gaurav looked up. He rose up immediately. "Hi Sir!", he said. Gajendra smiled. "I am sorry for all this trouble. But I need one small favor from you.", he said. Gaurav stared at him while trying to wonder what he wanted. "You are amazing person. I know you didn't mean any harm to Jenny. Everyone has different point of view. Can you please say sorry to her? We will keep that dancer you liked as our back up dancer. What do you think?", Gajendra continued. He smiled as he thought about huge argument that was going to take place.

"Ok Fine ! I don't mind.", Gaurav said. Gajendra was shocked. He didn't expect him to agree to his conditions. He had expected he would retaliate and rush to Jenny like a bull. But nothing like that happened. He wasn't happy. Gaurav rushed to Jenny's vanity room. He saw her sitting quietly. He was guilty for saying things like that to her. He shouldn't have spoken to her like that in front of a contestant. "Hey ! I am sorry ! I won't repeat this again.", he said. She stared deeply into his eyes and replied, "It's okay!".

For the first time,she didn't feel good about the sorry. She wondered why she wasn't happy. Instead she was feeling guilty for overreacting like that. In a way he was appreciating her hard work. She misunderstood what he had said and lashed at him in front of everyone. That wasn't right. She wanted to say sorry but her ego caught hold of her. Thus her sorry remained hidden inside her.

(To be continued)

Their jinxed love - Part 8

This time Ruby was absent. It was only two of them - Jenny and Gaurav. Both were awkwardly silent. Though he tried to speak to her, she only gave him one line replies. Finally he got bored and got busy with the auditions. Fortunately, this audition had spark unlike the first one. Each contestant had unique kind of energy in them. Most of them were raw and needed training. But their passion lit in their eyes when they danced. Some were selected and some rejected.

There was no signs of any disparity in their judgement. There were slight disagreements until now when Pinky , an aspiring dancer from small town arrived. She was attractive. Her charming doe- brown eyes  and chirpy attitude could win anyone to her side except Jenny. She had huge crush on Gaurav. She stood on the mark on the stage when her name was called. She greeted Gaurav with full of energy and forgot to notice Jenny. 

Jenny immediately disliked her. Both judges gave Pinky cue to dance. She started her performance. It was free style. Her performance wasn't extraordinary but her expressions were to the mark. Once her performance was over, Jenny spoke, "Your performance wasn't up to the mark. You need a lot of practice. So I don't think you are ready for this season. Come back with bang next time.". She smiled but Pinky wasn't happy. She wanted to say something but Gaurav intervened.

"But I don't agree with you. I don't think it was that bad. You were good. Yes, you are little raw. But we can work on that. For me, you are in.", he said. Pinky smiled while Jenny was annoyed. "She is not ready. This season is going to be tough. I don't think she can match the energy of other contenders.", Jenny argued. Gaurav didn't agree. "See, you weren't good when you started out. But you worked hard and reached the sky. Even she will work , right Pinky?", he said.

She looked at Pinky's face. She was giggling. This made her more angry. "What the hell ,Gaurav? How dare you compare me with her?", she growled at him. "Cool down ! What did I say wrong? I didn't compare you with anyone.", he said. But she wasn't ready to listen. She got up and stomped towards her vanity room. Pinky was stunned. She had seen boys fighting to be in her company but she didn't expect the judges would do the same. 

The crew members arrived to her room. "Ma'am, we are sorry for what happened between you and Gaurav. We can start the shoot as soon as you are ready.", one of crew member spoke. "No! I won't come back. I am done with this show. I have never been humiliated this way. I am leaving.", she said.  The crew members were stunned. They didn't want to lose her now. They quickly called their head. They didn't expect that a deliberately keeping Ruby away and bringing them together, only to fetch some TRPs for the show would cost them too much.

(To be continued)

Their jinxed love - Part 7

The auditions was finished in first city. Now it was shifted to next city which was Chandigarh. It was same place where they had first met. The memories flooded in Jenny's mind when she stepped out of the airport. She remembered that special day. She was shooting for a movie song where Gaurav was the choreographer. She was adamant that she wanted her usual choreographer - Meenakshi to help her with dance moves. But the director didn't pay heed to her demands and in the end she had to compromise with her demand.

She remembered how gloomy and furious she was that day. But when she arrived at the shoot that day, it was different. She had greeted him coldly when he arrived. Before he could say anything, she had asked him to show her the moves so that she could decide whether she could do it or not. He was ace choreographer. All actors across the industry adored his work and never questioned him about his work. He had heard from his well wishers about her tantrums.


Instead of being offended. he smiled. He showed her the moves while she watched his every moves, trying to find flaws. But she found none. At end of his performance, she clapped without realizing what she was doing. He bowed like true performer. She blushed. After shoot was over, they become closer than ever.

She got back to reality when Rohan called her name out. "Come, let's go.", he said while opening the door of car to her. She got inside. To her surprise, she saw Gaurav sit in the front seat of the car. Before she could get out, Rohan sat next to her and closed the door. The car had started moving. She didn't argue. She looked at the window. She watched the streets pass by. Whenever she noticed any familiar spot, she remembered those happy times. She gazed up momentarily to see him watching her from the rear view mirror.

She felt sudden pain in heart. It was similar to ones she had when she had her first kiss with him. As soon as they reached the hotel where they were residing for two days, she got down quickly and headed towards the lobby area. She called Rohan to come fast and get her keys. She was expecting Gaurav to pass one of his silly comment on her. But he didn't. He was busy with his phone.

She was with Rohan in her room. He was filling her in details of promotional event she was supposed to attend. Her mind was engrossed with the memories she shared in this city. Suddenly she spoke,"I specifically told you that I want private car for myself. Why was Gaurav in the car?" He was stunned by her sudden inquiry. He hadn't realized that she would be bothered by Gaurav's presence. "His car broke down. So we had to adjust him in our car.", he said. "Why? He could have been adjusted in Ruby's vehicle.", she said. Before he could come with any reply, she spoke,"These makers ! They can go to any extent to get footage for their show. Unbelievable!". Rohan didn't say anything. He wanted to say that it was his idea as Gaurav's car was broken and as gesture of humanity he had let him into their car. But he kept mum.

(To be continued)

Their jinxed love - Part 6

It was audition round. Each participant were called out on the stage  to show their performance. Some were okay while  others were bad. There was no issues when people were being rejected outrightly. They didn’t create any nuisance or drama like last seasons. They accepted their flaws and left the stage. “Dude, this is getting boring.”, Gaurav yawned as he stretched his hands. It almost hit Jenny’s head. She didn’t react. She sat calmly.

“I know. You even tried to nudge a contestant by taunting him mercilessly. He didn’t react. He simply looked down. If it was me, I would have reacted.”, Ruby said. He smiled while looking at Jenny’s calm face. She was engrossed in her own thoughts. When suddenly Gaurav spoke to her. “ You look suspiciously silent. Are you still mad at me?” “No ! Shall we call next contestant ? Let’s not waste time.”, she replied . She didn’t want to delay the shoot time and spend any more minute with her nemesis.

“Why do you want to hurry ? We still have time for the shoot. Let’s enjoy our break. I don’t know about you. I am tired watching the shit.”, he said. She smirked and waited impatiently for time to go fast. She looked at her watch every minute. Not a minute passed by. She was getting irritated. Finally she got up to smoke for few minutes. Gaurav didn’t see her leave. He was busy enlightening Ruby with his light jokes. 

When she found a space where no one was there. She took out one of cigarette from small pack and lit it. She drew some puffs and felt relieved. “You still smoke !”, a voice spoke. Her eyes grew wide. She turned around to see Gaurav. “Yes I do.”, she replied nonchalantly. He remembered the days when he helped her quit smoking. But now all his efforts had gone astray. He had once felt proud of his efforts. Now he stood ashamed. 

He walked towards her and snatched the cigarette from her in anger. She yelled, “What the hell ?” He didn’t care. He took one puff and coughed. Later he handed it to her. Instead of taking a puff, she threw it in ground and stubbed it. Then took it back and discarded in dustbin nearby. “Wow ! What’s with this smoking? I didn’t get any kicks out of it. Why would anyone enjoy something that harms life?”, he said. “ It kills life faster.”, she replied casually. He didn’t end with his questions. “Why do you want to end your life?”, he asked. “You know the answer.”, she replied. He became infuriated and stomped outside. 

She walked slowly towards her seat. He was already seated with his face looking gloomy. She took her seat next to him. Neither he or she spoke to each other. The auditions continued. The next few hours passed by judging talents that were either mediocre or worst. There was no scope for any footage. The shoot ended with  the director and crew members being unhappy as they had nothing special recorded for the first day.

(To be continued)