The ShowOffs - Part 8

Everything was going as per RK's commands. But he wasn't happy. He wasn't delighted with that fact that he had promised to part away with the profits earned from the movie. He didn't want to give single penny to Sonia. His mind was constantly engrossed about the his defeat with Sonia. He lost the interest in the pre- promotional events of the movie. His subordinates were busy making the event success while  he was busy thinking.

The week passed. There was buzz everywhere already. Everyone wanted to know everything about them. The paparazzi's attention suddenly shifted towards them. They only wanted to capture them in their lens. Suddenly they became the IT couple of the industry. RK decided to have move launch interaction with the media. His only motive was to add more fuel to the fire. He was going to introduce his lead actors as the real life couple. 

On the launch day, all media houses arrived. They didn't want to miss the chance of telecasting news of the couple's first public appearance. When the couple arrived, there was lot of buzz. Everyone wanted to ask them all sorts of questions. But they were silenced. Rajbir hated being in limelight for the first time. He wanted to avoid the interaction with the media for the first time. Ironically, Simran was ever ready to interact with media she always avoided. 

After brief introduction about the movie, RK began the interaction. The first question was about the couple and not about the movie. This annoyed RK slightly though he knew this was bound to happen. "Are you guys dating?", a journalist asked. Rajbir stayed quiet. "Well! I don't know. Are we?", Simran said with a blush. "When are you guying getting engaged?", another asked. "Can everyone direct your question about movie?", RK interrupted. 

The event was successful. The movie was getting enough publicity as envisioned by RK. He pretended to be happy the whole time. Rajbir seemed lost while Simran was extremely delighted. The seemingly odd couple was accepted by all. 

RK was successful in selling the lie to everyone. Sonia was extremely elated with RK's gig. She had sent him token of appreciation gifts and wishes. He threw them all. It angered him. He was furious. He threw all his anger on his subordinates and juniors. He was always screaming at them for their smallest mistakes.

(To be continued)

 

The ShowOffs - Part 7

Rajbir grabbed his manager by his collar. His eyes were burning with fury. His breath smelled of anger. He was in mode of distress. The only thing in his mind was to kill his manager. He wanted to lash out all kind of abuses. But he could only muster out "Why?".

His manager watched him in horror. He tried to release himself from his clutches. But Rajbir's grip was too strong. "Leave me! I can explain.", the manager cried. Rajbir didn't listen to his cries. His anger was strong enough to be melted by pleas. Finally he pushed him. The manager fell down on the floor due to the impact.

His manager trembled in fear. "Please don't hurt me!", he begged.  Rajbir entered inside the apartment and closed the door behind him. "You should have contacted me before spreading lies everywhere. Who gave you authority to meet Rita and fill her ears with lies? ", he asked. The manager composed himself and spoke, "I agree, you didn't give me the permission. But RK was continuously grilling me for update and warning me of dire consequences. You weren't picking my call. I had to do something. I had to do something to retain your stardom position."


Rajbir laughed. "Are you my manager or RK's manager. Position! It seems! I know everything about you. Why don't you cut the crap and tell me straight? Why don't you tell me that your commission will be affected if I don't get the offer? I wish I could fire you.", he said. "Then fire me!", his manager said boldly, knowing that Rajbir couldn't.

"You can't fire me because I have all the connection. If you fire me, you know that you will not get the meaty roles, the endorsements and shows. You have got this role only because of me. Not because of your looks or talents.", his manager said , hitting the soft spot of Rajbir. He had learnt his weakness in his years of service to him. His insecurity was his manager's trump card.

He stomped back towards the door. He banged his fist on door out of frustration. He drove back home. He couldn't do anything. He was under the influence of his manager. Loss of love didn't pain him deeply. What hurt him hard was the picture of him as weak man shown by his manager.

(To be continued)

The ShowOffs - Part 6

He tried his best to make her feel better. He tried to share the truth with her. But she was not ready to listen. His truth seemed lie to her. The lie shown to her by the media seemed truth to her. His flashy image created  in front of the media to influence his work was harming his personal life. He cursed himself for this. For the first time in his life, he wished he wasn't a star.

He begged. He cried. He appealed in front of her. Nothing worked. She was firm. She didn't want to believe his words. And then it happened like as if it was scripted to happen. She uttered those words which he was ask to say. "I am breaking up with you.", she said.  He stared at her blankly. It was like as if a thunder struck him.

"Please don't do this to me. Why don't you trust me?", he pleaded.  She stood there like a stone. She didn't utter a word. "You know media. They are just making up stories to increase their TRP.", he cried. "I wouldn't have believed the media if your manager hadn't visited me.", she said furiously. He was stunned. "Manager! Why did he visit you?", he asked.

"He wanted to share the truth you hid since few weeks. He wanted to save you from the burden of our relationship. Why didn't you tell me that I am an embarrassment in your successful life? Why didn't you tell me that my struggling career was black mark in your life? Why didn't you tell me that you wanted someone successful to complement your life? That's why you have been dating that witch. If you had told me the truth, I would have saved you from this relationship.", she said, weeping her frustration out.

Her words struck him like an arrow. He wanted to murder his manager for jeopardizing his life. He wished he had said no to RK. He wished he was not in double mind of breaking the relationship for career. He wished he was not in this state. She left him. He followed her, begging her to stop. She didn't listen. She was adamant to break the relationship.

When she left, he was burning with fury. He broke the furnitures. He broke anything that came in his hand. His fury was raging every second. He drove his car towards his manager's apartment. He banged the door of his manager's flat. The manager, an average height, plump guy opened the door to see what the commotion was. He grabbed the manager's collar and stared at his eyes with fury.

(To be continued)  

The ShowOffs - Part 5

It had been difficult week for Rajbir. He was on the thin line between love and career. It had almost costed him his career. It was a difficult choice. Losing an offer from RK would shift his spot from number one to number two. He didn't want to give the spot to Sameer Khan. But he loved Rita deeply. 

He sat on the sofa with his legs on the plush ottomans. He flicked the channels from the remote while his mind was occupied in thoughts of Rita. His phone vibrated. It was his manager. He sighed and cut the call fiftieth time. His manager was behind him about the breakup. Obviously, his manager worried about the fat pay he would get if Rajbir did the movie. He tossed it aside.

He spent the rest of the day, thinking and reasoning with himself. He slept in the process. The rays of sun from the window woke him up. He was still sleepy. His head was heavy due to constant thinking. He didn't want to get up from the sofa. The TV was still on. Suddenly door opened. It was Rita. He stared at her with astonishment. It seemed like a dream. He blinked his eyes several times. Rita was still there.

"Rita! ", he cried. She walked over the room towards him. She took the remote from his clutches and switched off the TV. She crossed her arms and looked deep into his eyes. "Why didn't pick up my calls? ", she asked. He didn't understand. He searched for his tossed phone. He didn't find it anywhere. She found it on the floor. She bought it to him. He was shocked to see several miss calls from her. 

"I am sorry! I can explain.", he said as he got up to hold her. "You haven't been picking my calls. You have been ignoring me. There's news of you breaking up with me everywhere.", she shouted. Her anger caused confusion within him. He didn't understand what was going. "What! I ..", he stammered, looking for words. She misinterpreted his confusion for his ego. She played the video from her phone to prove her point.

A news anchor was presenting the entertainment news where she was talking about the movies and finally about him breaking up with his girlfriend in the video. He was surprised. He hadn't sent any news to the anybody. He was supposed to break up with Rita but he wanted her to know it first. He never wanted to do  anything like this. Rita cried uncontrollably while he tried to console her. He was hurt with way the events turned up.

(To be continued) 

The ShowOffs - Part 4

The colour of Sonia's face matched her red chiffon salwar suit.  "You know what you are saying! Tarnish the image I built for my daughter for your stupid movie! No way! ", she spilled out her anger, controlling the tone of voice.

When two head weight people argue, sparks bound to happen. But RK didn't want to lose Simran. She was perfect for the role. He had to make this work.  RK controlled the temper building within him. "Simran's image will not be affected. This is just promotional gimmick for the movie. After the movie is released, Simran and Rajveer will move in different direction. Now every actors and actress are involved break ups and link ups.", he said calmly.

"Simran is not a common actress. She is a gem.", Sonia argued politely. "What if I tell you, I will promise you 50% profits of the movie if you accept my proposal.", he smartly bribed her. Sonia stared at him as she thought deeply. RK  patted his back in mind. He was sure she would accept his idea.

"Ok!", she said. He cheered himself for the victory in mind. He had almost waltzed in his room towards his favorite drink in his mind. But she wasn't finished. "But I have a condition.", she said. In quick second, he waltzed back to the reality. He was nervous. What was the condition. He wanted to bite his nails. For the first time, he was on the other side of table. But this was Sonia. Who could win over her?

"My condition is that if the movie works, you give me 60% profit but if it doesn't work, you give me 80% profit of the movie.", she said confidently. RK thought. If he agreed now, he wouldn't be able to bend down her conditions. But he had no option. He had to either agree or forgo Simran. After much thought, he agreed defeatedly.

Sonia relieved a sigh with a smile. She had whisked off the opportunity from RK'S hands. She thanked her naive daughter for bringing him to her.


(To be continued)

The ShowOffs - Part 3

Simran was nervous the whole time. She was aware of her mother's fury. When others get angry, they display their anger in form of abuses and emotional outbursts on the person they are angry at. But when Simran's mother, Sonia gets angry, she uses sweet words to attack the person. Her words are enough to burn any person.

Simran ran towards her room before RK could say goodbye. She didn't want to witness the horror. RK was greeted by the loyal housekeeper. He made him wait before he proceeded to call Sonia. It took quite long for Sonia to appear before him.  Sonia had a habit to keep her guests waiting for her. It wasn't related to punctuality. It boosted her ego. It made her feel important. 

RK fidgeted with his fingers. He hated being made to wait. He had tossed the film magazines after re-reading it several times. There was no sign of her. "Is this Sonia's way of rejecting my idea?", he wondered. He had started planning about the replacement for Simran's role. It was a tough choice. But he had to do it. 

He was about to get up and leave. Sonia arrived finally. "I almost thought you would never come.", he muttered. "Did you say something ", Sonia asked, "Nothing! I meant that it's been long time since I have seen you.", he said with pretentious excitement. "Same here. You are hardly seen since one of your movie failed to make any mark in screen.", she mocked while watching her freshly painted nails.

RK frowned as he watched Sonia. Sonia hadn't changed. She was witty and feisty. She hadn't lost her charm. However her physical appearance was changing. After several plastic surgeries, she couldn't cover the few wrinkles on her face. She couldn't defy the aging symptoms.

"So, what would you like to have?", she asked out of courtesy. "The usual, coffee for me.", he replied. After few minutes of chatting, gossiping and rekindling old memories, he bought up his idea.  "What do you think?", he asked, after explaining her the whole detail. Sonia looked at him with extreme hatred. "How dare he comes to me asking for my opinion? He knows I won't approve this. I should have not allowed my daughter to sign this movie.", she thought.

(To be continued)

The ShowOffs - Part 2

They stared at him with intense perplexity. What he had asked was impossible for them. Their gaze then shifted at each other. They were like chalk and cheese. They were paid hefty fees for their role in movie. But that didn't mean they would do anything for the movie. Simran fidgeted her hands at the thought of being in relationship with Rajbir. She worried about her image of not dating anyone from the movie industry. Her image was just a small issue. The greatest concern was her mother's fury .Her mother would skin her if she found out about her relationship with any movie actor.

" What! RK sir, this is not possible. She and I are from two different world. Public knows that.They won't buy that easily.", Rajbir argued. For the first time Simran agreed with Rajbir. She nodded like an excited kid. "Anything can happen in this industry. Linkups,hookups and even breakups too. Public doesn't care about the truth in this industry. They just want entertainment. A small gossip can never be harmful if it can bring you in the limelight.", RK explained.

"But this gossip can fuel my mother's fury. You know how my mother reacts to such news.", Simran said anxiously. "I will discuss with her.", RK assured her. "So let's take a week to sort this thing out. I will discuss with your mom tomorrow. Hopefully Rajbir will break up with your girlfriend within this week. We don't have much time and then we can get started with our pre promotion plan.", RK said excitedly, dreaming already about how his idea would succeed.

"But I haven't given my nod. How can I just break a three year old relationship? It will be difficult for me as well as my girlfriend. I can't do this . I love her too much.", Rajbir protested. RK was annoyed. He smirked and was about to say something. He was politely interrupted by Simran, "I am sorry RK, but do you think my mother will agree. You know I have a reputation. Just for a movie, I don't think she would let me take that risk."

"I understand it's not easy. But you got to try. Rajbir, sometimes we need to take up huge risks to climb up the ladder. Even if it means to break some relationship. If you still wish to stay with your relationship, it's okay, I won't stop you. But I want to remind you that Samir Khan was my first choice for the role I gave you. He wouldn't even think twice to join me if I called him. He has far more popularity than you. What is your say, should I cancel your contract?", he said with dark eyes.

Rajbir was stunned. He agreed to cooperate finally. "Simran, why don't I accompany you back to your place for a chit chat with your mother... I mean my dear friend. It's been a while I have met her. I may also discuss this idea. I am sure she will agree. ",  RK said with huge smile. Simran smiled weakly, thinking about her mother's reaction.

(To be continued)