He had last seen Kalyani five years ago, and these five years had come with so many changes—dramatic ones! An ordinary student who had taken the 9 a.m. local passenger train to Trichy from a sleepy small town on the banks of the Kollidam river was now a phenomenon across southern India. ‘Arun! Arun! Arun!’ sounded everywhere like the final burst of Deepavali sparklers.
Kalyani, in those same five years, had grown beautiful in a gentle, quiet way. What magical chemistry was this? Her hair had grown thick, and her cheeks and bosom were filled out, with a special pout of the lips and a height that served her well. Wow! She was a delightful departure from the profusion of manufactured beauty he was used to. To bring that feminine shyness on screen, Premalatha may need a hundred re-takes.
Kalyani looked up gently and smiled with a dash of nervousness. ‘You remember?’ she asked.
‘That’s a question I should be asking! You know, on the way to the studio I was reading Sundaram’s letter. Is he here as well?’
‘No.’
‘How is it that you are here?’
‘This is my cousin Bhooma. She is crazy about you, Arun. She said she was going for a group interview with you, and I thought I would tag along for fun. Navaratri holidays, you know.’ The Bhooma in question, sporting a white shirt and two long plaits, laughed loudly, the braces between her teeth showing.
‘Navaratri holidays? Nah! Arun, her parents are here to have her meet a prospective groom,’ Bhooma said. ‘Hey Kalyani, won’t you tell him that?’
‘Aah, really? That’s nice,’ said Arun. He meant to say: ‘Ah, really? I am so disappointed.’
‘We see you in all the magazines, and virtually every movie.’
‘Arun, is she really your childhood pal? I thought she was fibbing,’ Bhooma said.
‘No, really,’ Arun confirmed. ‘We are really friends.’
‘It seems you played hopscotch as kids.’
‘Yup, the grid shaped like an aeroplane.’
‘With little girls?’
‘Yes! And what was that song, Kalyani?’ He lapsed into the village folk tune that went with the street game—something about a spider-like nose and coloured tongues.
‘We used to keep scores with tamarind seeds,’ Arun said. ‘She was so young then. A crybaby she was!’
The girls roared with laughter.
‘And what other games did you play?’ an outspoken girl asked slyly.
Arun glared at her. Both of them remembered at once the game in question.
‘Come! Come, na!’
‘I am so scared.’
‘So you played only with girls?’ ‘Yup! During Navaratri days, I would be dressed up as a gypsy, and Kalyani’s elder sister would take me along.’
Gnanasekaran was taking notes furiously.
‘Hey man! I’ll break those pencils. Don’t write all this, okay? Leave the personal stuff alone.’
‘A photo, perhaps?’ Gnanasekaran ventured.
‘Nooooo!’ Kalyani stepped aside, keen to avoid the spotlight. She looked scared.
‘Don’t you worry. This guy won’t bite,’ the journalist assured her.
‘Arun…shot ready!’ a voice called out.
‘Just a moment,’ he said. ‘Kalyani, what are you studying now?’ ‘I’m at MSCR College,’ she said without any elaboration. ‘How long are you here?’ ‘I am going back tomorrow.’
‘Why don’t you stay back for a couple of days?’ ‘Aha!’ said Bhooma.
The voice called out again: ‘Arun, come on, please. The clouds are waiting for you.’
‘See you later,’ Kalyani said.
‘Please give my regards to Sundaram. Tell him I’ll drop everything one day and join him. How is he now?’ ‘He is still the same.’
Arun went back to the delicate mermaid. A female assistant was touching up Premalatha’s face. The camera and the guys who pulled the trolley in crouching postures had changed places. The director was screaming at someone. A short distance away, a bear with its nose tied with a rope sat dejectedly.
For some reason, the director was furious. ‘I’m telling you, this is horrible. One more time you let these guys in, and I’ll blow my top. What’s this farce between shots? I am telling you, man, I don’t want any bear here.’
‘Please don’t say that, saar,’ the bear tamer persisted. ‘You just see what it can do once, no?’ And then to the bear, he cried, ‘Hey Rama!’ He pulled the rope and the bear walked on its forelegs, legs up in the air.’
‘Is there a man inside?’ Arun asked.
‘Illeenga!’ the tamer protested. ‘That’s really a bear, I swear.’
Arun joked, ‘Let’s forget this script and do something with the bear.’
‘No, sir,’ the scriptwriter explained. ‘This is a family subject, you know. Everything happens inside the house.’
‘Sandow Chinnappa Thevar is done with his animal movies and all these street performers are now bugging us,’ said the frustrated director.
‘We haven’t eaten for two days, saar,’ the bear-tamer said.
‘You or the bear?’ Arun enquired as he moved close to Premalatha for the shot.
‘The “I’ll whisper it only in your ears” bit is over,’ the director said. ‘We have to move now to the next line: “I’ll bring the whole world to you.”’
‘Before that, may I have a glass of water?’ asked Arun.
‘Bring water!’ The message spread on the sets like wildfire to help the lead actor.
‘Who are those girls?’ Premalatha asked.
‘College kids.’
‘You know, when I was in school, even I had gone to take Sivaji Ganesan’s autograph.’
‘Which school?’ he asked. His eyes were still furtively looking for Kalyani. As the girls trooped over to watch the scene being shot, she was sitting in a far corner under a tree, reading a book. Must ask her which one, Arun thought. He felt uneasy pangs in his stomach as what Bhooma had said came back to haunt him. ‘Her parents are here to have her meet a prospective groom.’
Meanwhile, the playback unit played a song whose lyrics dedicated the whole world to the leading lady. Arun summoned Bhaskar.
‘You want the girl’s address? I’ll find out,’ Bhaskar replied, without delay.
‘Action!’ the director’s voice cried out.
Arun became a lover again and moved his lips to the blaring song. ‘Cut, cut!’ the director shouted. ‘What’s this Arun? What are you looking at?’ To the assistant, he said, ‘Come on, play that line again.’
‘I’ll bring the whole world to you,’ the lyrics resumed.
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