Chap 3

Pari’s call somehow pierced into Rajat’s heart…jerked him to stop in his motion. Don’t know why but he felt as if something moved inside him, awakening another Rajat, who felt whatever he was doing was not right.

Rajat slowly lifted his head from her bosom…his gaze fell on her swollen skin. Red biting marks were testimonial to his torment on the innocent soul. Rajat felt ashamed…perhaps for the first time in his life.

He turned his eyes towards Pari’s face. It was filled with pain and agony…something Rajat couldn’t even imagine bringing on her in his wildest of dreams. He always dreamt to love her…to make her happy. He himself was surprised at his deed.

Rajat slowly moved away from her and got down from the bed. The only thing he uttered before leaving the room was…’Am sorry Pari…please forgive me.’

Couple of minutes later…

He was gone. But Pari still could not get out of the trance. She was laying still on bed…her dress, hair all messed up. In fact she herself was quite messed up. Those few minutes she spent under his spell had taken her by utter shock. She was still wondering…was he the same guy she comes across every day…was he the same guy she hates to see everyday. She didn’t know…she really didn’t know. But one thing she was hundred percent sure about…nothing will be same after this night…after this encounter.

It’s been two weeks since that night. They hardly talk to each other. Their fiery chemistry begins with action and ends with cut. Nothing before, nothing after. They hadn’t even been seen uttering a single word to each other once the camera was switched off. This spread a wonder around media…how can such a hot couple on screen have such a cold relationship off it!!! People kept guessing but that didn’t affect this two much. They were what they were.

But was it the only truth….. what all had before their eyes??? Perhaps not!!!

The storm was gaining strength…lashing its tail harder and harder…tossing the souls endlessly with full power. They were hurt…they were bleeding…they were lost.

Rajat didn’t know why he did this…he didn’t know why he bent his ego to fall for that girl…he didn’t know why he was feeling this immense desire to have her. Only thing he knew was…he wanted her…that too by every means.

Pari was confused. She didn’t approve what he did. She never wanted it to happen. Neither did she want it to occur again. But for some unknown reasons…she didn’t hate that guy anymore.

One morning…

Director explained the shot. They will shoot the sequence of Jodha’s suicide attempt and the scene of Jalal’s saving her today. It was supposed to be a daylong affair. So the actors were asked to be prepared for it.

Shooting began…… Pari rode the horse and ran towards lake. Then she jumped and Rajat followed. Pari knew how to swim but she had a phobia with huge water bodies…and to add to her worries, where they were shooting, was a huge mountain lake. But whatever it was…she had to shoot…that’s how her profession is. Hence she jumped. In that scene Rajat was supposed to save her. So he jumped after her. Now they both were in water. Rajat swam towards Pari and clutched her. Suddenly Pari felt something odd there. Visibly nothing was wrong. The jump, the scene, the act…everything was as per the script. But it was Pari alone who could feel the oddity. Reason? Rajat’s behaviour…more precisely his grip on her!!!

Rajat was supposed to hold Pari and drag her to the shore. He did so. But with a personal touch to it. Initially Pari thought Rajat would hold her by neck…but to her huge shock he didn’t. Rajat glided his arm around her slender waist, which was bare due to her dress. Pari wouldn’t have felt odd had it just been a formal gesture. But it wasn’t. She clearly felt…Rajat caressed her waist with his fingers while gliding his arm…as if his aim was to touch her not just hold her. It pushed her to suspicion and at the same time confusion as well. ‘Is he really doing this?’ His next move cleared her doubt.

Pari could feel his hand slowly griping her waist…he pulled her to him…perhaps a bit closer than it was actually required for the scene. Pari felt a bit uncomfortable at this sudden proximity. She tried to move away but his grip was strong enough to fail her effort. Suddenly she felt the ultimate breach…she felt Rajat was slowly tightening his grip on her waist…almost squeezing it. On that very moment she realised his true intentions. She realised…what he was actually up to.

The camera was rolling, the scene was being canned. Hence Pari had to act along. So she did. But this one incident unlocked a new floodgate in her life…which swept away all her restrains in near future.

Three more takes and the scene was finally over. Both of them got out of the water. Director allowed them a small break to refresh and get ready for the next scene…which was a follow-up of this suicide attempt.

With the announcement of break, everybody rushed to their respective camps to refuel themselves. Rajat too started walking towards his van. But Pari stopped him in his way. ‘I need to talk to you Rajat.’ Her call made Rajat halt in his pace. He stopped. But before she could utter anything Rajat shoot off his mouth and answered her. ‘Will you mind if I get back to you later…am a bit tired now.’ With this Rajat walked past Pari…openly ignoring her.

‘He was the same Rajat…arrogant, rude and ill mannered. May be what I thought about his changing behaviour…was just my assumption.’ Pari was hell confused…she was confused about what she saw and what she felt…which one to believe and which one to not. There was a constant fight going on between her mind and her heart. She didn’t know whom to believe.

Finally the day came to an end. Everyone returned to their guest houses. So did Rajat and Pari.

Lavlin was still in Mumbai…to accompany her ailing mother. Pari called her up and inquired about everything. She was the first person Pari mingled on the set of Jodha Akbar. More their enmity increased on screen, more their friendship intensified off it. In a very short span of time they became besties. Apart from the time they spend in shoot, they are seen together…either doing chitchat…or pulling somebody’s leg. Without her Pari felt damn lonely in Karjat.

After putting down the call Pari retired to her bed and slipped under the duvet. It was a calm chilling night outside but in her mind there was a storm going on, which started in morning… by Rajat. His thought was still disturbing her. If that was not enough, like icing on the cake there was her worry for next day’s shoot, where she was supposed to ride a horse!!!

Next day…

Pari was late. First a morning call from her mother, then one from Lavlin – together they cost her some good chunk of time. As a result she reached the shooting spot 40 minutes after the call time. The whole sequence was supposed to be shot at hilly outdoor location…not inside their studio. When Pari reached the place, everybody was already there, gearing up for the task.

With a guilty face Pari walked up to the director. ‘Sorry sir…I was…’
‘It’s ok Pari…go and get ready for the shoot.’ Santanu replied with a smile. Among all the vices the only thing Pari liked about her director was his patience and his power of understanding.  He was a complete darling there.

Few minutes later…

Pari did her makeup and came out of the vanity. It was basically a continuation of previous shot in which Jalal saved Jodha. Now he was supposed to take her back to palace in his horse.

Pari went through the dialogues…there were not many actually… a few lines were there after the horse riding. She remembered them. Pari reached the spot, from where the ride was supposed to begin. Rajat was already there.

‘Good morning guys,’ Pari greeted all. Everybody greeted her back with equal joy…except one, Rajat.

Rajat was standing near the horse, going through the script, for the final time. He seemed to not pay any heed towards her greet…kept his eyes fixed on the papers. Pari glanced at him for a quick second and then called the makeup artist for a final touch up. His arrogance was no surprise to her.

Preparations were over. Director called for take. He asked Pari to mount first and instructed Rajat to follow. Following this order Pari mounted the horse with little help from the assistant director. Now it was Rajat’s turn.

After settling on the horse back, Pari was busy arranging her clothes, when suddenly she felt something brushing against her bare waist. She glanced down only to find it was Rajat’s arm. Tightening the lagaam in his grip, he was preparing to mount the horse…during that time his arm brushed Pari’s waist. Rajat quickly mounted the horse…he was a pro with this beast. In fact he loved horse riding personally.

After mounting, Rajat settled himself comfortably on its back. He held the lagaam with left hand and gripped the strap on horse-back with his right….eventually circling Pari with his arms, which resulted in huge embarrassment for her. An embarrassment that only increased with time.

Pari didn’t even think in her wildest dream that a single horse ride could unnerve her so much. She could feel Rajat at her back as he was sitting bang behind her. At the same time she could see his arms moving dangerously in front of her. Pari was sitting in between them with strained nerves…neither could she move back, nor she could bend ahead…either way she would fall in more embarrassment…..and that too by her own action.

‘Pari…just relax ok? Don’t need to panic.’ yelled Santanu from the director’s chair as he noticed her palpitations. Pari looked at him and gave a mild nod.

‘Action!’ After hearing the director’s call Rajat kicked the horse. It started galloping. That’s when Pari realised what kind of terrible situation she was in. Every time the horse was jumping she could feel Rajat’s front colliding with her back. At the same time this jerk was causing her softness brushing against his arm in front…over and over again. These two erotic touches were sending shivers down her spine.

She could feel her entire form trembling heavily. This trepidation of her didn’t go unnoticed by the final monitor…more precisely by the director. He ordered a CUT.

‘Pari…you want to take some time?’ uttered Santanu in mike. This question of his made Pari realise…she was actually making a scene in front of so many people…..which was in a way making a fool out of her. Hence Pari decided to control her reaction…irrespective of what she comes across. ‘It’s alright Santanu.  I am fine. We can start over.’

Second take for the same scene began. This time Pari forced all her attention into the act…not to her surroundings. But this didn’t last long. Initially Pari tried to focus on the scene and negate the touches as eventual. But very soon her assumption shuttered against the wall of reality, when she felt the oddity at Rajat’s end.

Pari was busy giving angry expressions when she suddenly noticed…Rajat was much closer than he was when the ride began. In fact his front was now pressed against her back…not giving even air space to come in between. On the other side his arm was brushing her b****t more often than before. Pari almost felt…as if Rajat was trying to embrace her…trying to be more intimate with her. She tried to look at it from her previous point of view but that didn’t seem to fit in here…..things seemed more intentional than accidental here. Pari tried to move a bit but she couldn’t. She was almost trapped between him and his arms. With every jump the horse bracing, Pari was sinking more and more in his ways. Finally she could even feel his hard manhood against her bottom.

Lagaam was in his grip, he was running the horse in his own style…as if to entrap Pari in his own way. On the other hand Pari’s heart was beating at a dangerous speed. She was almost falling short of air in her lungs. Her alarmed senses were slowly taking over her mind…her sanity.