CHAPTER - 16

    

Pallavi finished her first schedule for Girish Bharka’s film with this scene. Suraj Gupta’s project with Pranav has been completed two weeks back and while Pranav is concentrating on his advertisements, Pallavi started shooting for Bharka’s film.

Right from the time she reached set, she is confused by the strange stares coming her way. From spot boys to Producer is staring at her when they thought she isn’t watching. In fact the Producer seems tensed and she did catch him glaring at her more than once. She also saw the Director and Producer involved in a heated discussion. And when they came to her a little later they just talked about the shot and seemed unclear regarding the next schedule. Though she felt something amiss, she ignored that thought.

But just as she left the studio, an angry mob covered her car from all sides. Securities at the studio, and her bodyguards tried to control them. The mob is screaming something in anger while hitting the glass windows of the car. Her breath hitched when she heard their words.

”WE DON’T WANT A HOMEWRECKER AS ACTRESS. BAN PALLAVI NANDA”

They are here to halt the shoot and have Pallavi removed from the film. Not just this film, they are adamant on not letting her act in films hereafter. They pledged to create ruckus at every set she is going to be part of.

Pallavi is bewildered at this unexpected amount of hate and she didn’t see the stone aimed at her. Though it could not crack the glass and hit her, the bruise has been made. She couldn’t contain her shock. 

Media reached within minutes. They started covering the issue with enthusiasm; completely ready to make this their meal for the day. Police also arrived when things escalated. They made way for her car to pass through the mob.  

Pallavi watched through the dark tainted glass windows, her posters and effigy getting burned. Her smiling face reduced to ashes before her eyes. The placards read words that would forever be sealed in her mind. She felt tears clouding her eyes.

                                                       ************

“How the hell did this leak Viren?”

Pranav is on phone with Viren while driving to his farmhouse. He’s just back from Dubai after an ad shoot, and sleeping when all this happened. It was Viren who informed him of the commotion at Pallavi’s set. Immediately he turned on the news channels and got bewildered by the attack on her. Though he wanted to leave for her sets immediately, Viren pointed out that it will bring in unwanted attention. So he asked Pallavi’s driver to take her to his farmhouse making sure there’s no tail behind them from media and is heading there.

“Don’t panic. Such news doesn’t remain hidden for long. Already there were speculations. You have to decide the next step now”.

“I don’t want to hide anything. I was just waiting for the divorce to come through”.

“Pallavi will get questions from her family. Ask her to be prepared”.

“It shouldn’t have come out like this. Pallavi doesn’t deserve this Viren”.

“She decided to get involved in such a relationship. So she must be ready to face the consequences. The only thing you can do now is be with her. She needs you and also decide together how you want to handle this issue”.

“Hmm okay”

                                                          *************

Laxmi was making breakfast for her husband when she heard the news blasting loud on TV. She rushed to the living room knowing very well her husband is listening to the news.

“What is all this? Is our baby safe?”

“Hey don’t panic Laxmi. She’s fine. You just try calling her”

“Yeah”

Her fingers trembled as she tried to dial. Veer took the phone from her and asked her to relax. He tried Pallavi’s number which went unanswered.

“Why is she not picking up our call? Is she ok? Did they hurt her?”

She could see the mob attacking her car and throwing stones and burning her effigy. Laxmi couldn’t keep calm.

“Doesn’t she know we will be worried? Can’t she give us a call and let us know she’s fine?”

“Hey Laxmi, relax. It’s nothing. All this is just part of her career. Fame and such issues go hand in hand in that field. Our daughter is fine. See even in the footage shown, she’s not hurt. She might be handling the news and things. She will definitely give us a call. Meanwhile I’ll try to get through her team”

She couldn’t relax. The attack did scare her, but she is worried over the reason behind this attack.

Being an actress, my daughter is often dragged into rumours. But never had it led to any such atrocious act, then why now?

She couldn’t bring herself to believe this rumour.

No...No....I have raised my daughter better than this. I can’t mistrust her. She will never go against our values. This is fake news. They are attacking my child for nothing.

“Laxmi”

She raised her eyes to him. He wiped her forehead which had sweat beads on it. 

“Don’t you have faith in our daughter? She will never do this. I know my child”.

She hugged her husband.

“Our daughter will never bring shame to our name. She will never break my trust; neither will she let my dignity be maligned. I have complete faith in our Pallavi”.

For now, Laxmi tried to find assurance in her husband’s unshakable faith in their daughter.

“We shouldn’t delay her marriage anymore. She can continue her career even after marriage. At least now you should listen to me. Don’t give in to her pleads for more time”.

“Hmm, we’ll think about it. Right now let’s just not over react. Pallavi needs our support right now”.

When he saw Laxmi all set to protest he consoled her.

“But yes, we will contemplate it seriously this time”. 

For now that assured her.

I won’t rest until my daughter’s life is settled.

                                                    ********************

 Nisha is serving tea to her in- laws after she’s back from work. Her sister’s scandal is the hot topic of discussion in the room. Seeing their displeasure and comments about Pallavi she is getting affected. Akash who is also listening to his parents rant, raised his eyes and met hers. He silently blinked his eyes in assurance. She just hoped this news doesn’t turn out to be true.

It wouldn’t be good for anyone.

                                             ***************

                                                                                                                             

Jasmine is driving her bike when her cell began to ring relentlessly. She parked her bike and attended the call hurriedly.

“Jasmine, it’s me Viren”

“This scandal will affect Pallavi more than Pranav. I hope you guys are handling it right?!”

“His team is controlling the media outlets. But then people will talk. For now they will have to lay low and not respond to this news”

“But I think they should deny the link up for now so that it will pass as a rumour. That will be healthier for Pallavi’s career”.

“I know, but I guess they are planning to come out in the public”

“That will be suicidal. At least not until his divorce comes through”

“Hmm maybe he can reveal about his divorce but deny this rumour. But I don’t think it will be of much help. When the divorce news comes out people are going to make assumptions and pass judgements”. 

“But they will get a benefit of doubt at least, if they deny it now.”

“You’re right. Try to convince Pallavi, I’ll do my best with Pranav”

“Ok bye”

“Uh....Jasmine”

“Yeah?”

“We just talked like normal people!!!!!!!!”

She rolled her eyes at his attempt to flirt even at this juncture and cut the call.

                                                       *************

Cheers!

Shyam Nadir is feeling really good. He has thrown a lavish party for his friends. Some of his media contacts are also present. He slowly twirled his drink. Music is barring loud and hall is covered with inebriated people. Shyam opened his tablet and read that bookmarked news, one more time.

                                       “Hottest Scandal Ever”

Mumbai: World woke up today to the news of actress Pallavi Nanda being attacked on the sets by angry mob. Is she having an affair with Pranav Malhotra? Did they or didn’t they? This is the hot question right now. Rumours of their alleged relationship have hit the newspaper columns many a times in the past. But this time the rumour seems to be strong and is confirmed by a reliable source.

Owing to the rumours, both had stopped working with each other in the past but Suraj Gupta’s dream project reunited the hot ‘onscreen couple’ once again. But that is not the only reason for this rumour to get highlight. Apparently, there are rumours about a divorce being filed between Mr and Mrs. Malhotra. But there is no confirmation yet.

 Pallavi Nanda started her career opposite Pranav Malhotra . It is now being heard that she made her way into industry with Malhotra’s influence. If the rumour turns out to be true, then Pallavi Nanda is the new mistress on the block.

“Take that Ms. Pallavi Nanda. Now you know what the price of rejecting Shyam Nadir is”.

                                                 ************

It took Pallavi and Pranav some time to come to terms with what was happening around them. She was shattered after the mob attack and Pranav was worried. She knew she couldn’t avoid her parents’ queries any further. They’ve literally reached that point of their relationship, when it’s time to face consequences.

“We will face whatever comes our way together – be it hate or shame! We are in this together, so we will face the consequences together”, Pranav assured her and she agreed to it.

But they could not stay at his farmhouse for long. Media is behind them with hawk eyes. Though Pranav didn’t want to leave her alone, they were advised by Viren and Jasmine to lay low for a while. It seemed like they had to maintain this status quo for a longer while.

                                                                   *********

Pallavi tried her best to convince her parents. She confessed the truth to them and as expected they are livid with rage. They are not ready to accept her relationship with Pranav and demanded her to agree to a proposal they choose for her. Pallavi had some professional commitments left and citing that as a reason, she bought time and promised to rethink for their sake. But Veer and Laxmi could not rest in peace after that. The phone never stopped to ring and all their relatives, friends and media equally tried to barge into their personal space, forcing them even more to make the right decision for their daughter soon. They tried for marriage alliances with full force and are all set to drag their daughter out of this relationship. They are adamant and Pallavi didn’t know how long she could hold on. She will have to make some choices very soon. But is she ready for them?!

But choose she will have to. Her professional life is also at stake. Directors and producers who contacted her earlier for dates are not giving any confirmation now. Unceremoniously she’s dropped from projects and not even given a clear explanation. Right now, she only has Bharka’s project which is still facing trouble. Media is giving great hype to this affair and spoiling Pallavi’s goodwill. Though Pranav is also being shamed, the focus is more on Pallavi. His career is still unaffected unlike hers. It is always women who have to pay for such relationships more than their male counterparts.

Veer and Laxmi are facing rejection from all corners. Nisha has shifted to Munnar to support her parents in this trying time. Not to mention, her in-laws’ house has now turned more hostile due to her baby sister. So she needed this change as well. Apart from Viren and Jasmine who are supporting them as friends and some shippers of their on-screen pairing, no one is supporting Pranav and Pallavi. Her old friends are divided in their opinion and are finding it hard to support her. Professional friendships have also changed its colour in no time. Meanwhile Pranav tries to fast forward the divorce proceedings and media did get a whiff of it and blew it out of proportion.

It just led to more destruction of Pallavi’s image. Though they denied the affair in public and Pranav even issued an official statement regarding this matter, they found very little support from public. Random people took to social media to simply tarnish Pallavi. People are commenting about her as if they knew her inside out. Some were demeaning her character, some questioning her parents’ upbringing and some her motives. The ratio of fingers rose at Pranav and his stardom is lesser. Not that this didn’t affect his image, but Pallavi faced severe backlash compared to him. Shyam Nadir is completely enjoying their destruction.

                                           ******************

When all this hullaballoo is happening down in India, Janaki is far away in Dubai walking amidst the crowd, unseen. In between her business commitments, she’s trying to deal with her pain and sort her head out in this unknown land. Being amidst strangers gives her freedom to not rein in her emotions. She walks ahead slowly and comes to a standstill seeing the setting sun. It reminded her of her life that is slowly fading out! But like the sun, that will rise the next day, will her life get another chance?