Her
name was Sonali and she was just a middle class Punjabi girl who grew up in
Mumbai because her father had moved to Mumbai during his youth to eke out a
living. Like other middle class girls she would also have married after her
education and would have settled down to a life of rearing children and
attending to the needs of the husband.
However,
fate had different plans for Sonali since God had endowed her with what most
people consider is a blessing but in reality is a curse; for those who have not
yet understood what I am referring to, I wish to clarify that it is the beauty
of a woman which is like a double edged sword and simultaneously a blessing and
a curse on her.
In
short, I can state that Sonali was a beautiful girl; a rare beauty so precious
that fate interfered in her life in the form of Ramesh a drunken talent scout
for the movie moghuls of Kollywood. Ramesh was simply awed by her beauty and
his mind busily turned to calculate the rewards he could obtain by bringing her
to the notice of one of his contacts in Chennai, the home of Kollywood. He knew
that a find like Sonali would ensure that he could bathe in the costliest of
spirits for at least the next six months if not more.
It
was therefore with trepidation in his heart that Ramesh visited Sonali’s
residence late that night to inform her parents that the Goddess of fortune was
smiling benevolently upon them. Sonali’s Father who appeared to be a hen-pecked
husband received the news rather casually in a matter of fact manner but her
Mother appeared to be a shrew and demanded in a shrill voice why Ramesh was so
concerned about her daughter.
Ramesh
explained to her that scouting for talent was his job and that he was an agent
for several casting managers who were always on the lookout for virgin acting
talent. He elucidated on the scope and opportunities that would be available
for Sonali if she were to pursue a career in acting.
Sonali’s
Mother’s greed soon overcame her caution and despite the Father warning her of
how Sonali’s education could be affected, she decided to move to Chennai along
with her daughter leaving behind Sonali’s father and younger brother to take
care of their house in Mumbai.
Ramesh
soon organized a photo shoot with a professional photographer who knew his job
and kept clicking away at various angles and levels to showcase Sonali at her
best. Sonali for her part enjoyed twirling and swirling around wearing
different costumes, some of them quite scanty but nevertheless attractive. It
was much better than going to school anyway.
Once
Sonali reached Chennai, she soon realized that it was not all a bed of roses
and that she had to grin and bear a lot of indignities upon her womanhood to
become what her Mother wanted her to be. In Chennai Sonali’s screen name was
soon changed to Swapna. Her first movie in Kollywood was a major success at the
box office though Swapna could not speak Tamil and her screen voice had to be
echoed by a dubbing artiste. Soon offers started pouring in from other
vernacular movie makers who wished to cash in on her recent popularity.
However, Ramesh cautioned her Mother not to go overboard by accepting all the
offers and to be careful while selecting offers for after all, not all the
movie makers were genuine and some only wished to partake of the fruits of her
flesh.
Her
Mother being a very shrewd woman and knowing fully well that her daughter’s
true strength lay in her beauty and youth rather than any histrionic abilities
made poor Swapna curry favour with all the major Directors & Producers of
Tamil Cinema who were part of the big league. Sonali was not too keen to do so
but upon her Mother’s insistence was forced to satiate the sexual appetites of
these Directors and Producers who in turn promoted Swapna to become a major
star of Tamil Cinema with an annual income of several crores of rupees.
Within
two years, Swapna’s Mother had amassed two big bungalows in Mumbai and one in
Chennai, a big farm house on Old Mahabalipuram Road outside Chennai and another
bigger farm in Maharashtra. Swapna’s Mother had also managed to hoard more than
three hundred sovereigns of gold jewelry of which a little bit had been
purchased while most of it had been gifted to Swapna by her fans and suitors.
On top of it all Swapna’s mother still had some small change amounting to a few
crores of rupees in a few bank accounts. Being the shrewd woman that she was
Swapna’s mother had made all the investments in her own name and not her
daughter’s name.
It
was then widely considered that Sonali or Swapna as she was known in the Tamil
Film Industry had the whole world at her feet and the movie critics were busy
predicting that she was another star in the making who was similar to Sridevi
and Hema Malini rolled into one and that she would rule the industry for many
more years to come since she was hardly eighteen years old.
It
was at this juncture that Sonali or Swapna as she was known happened to meet a
young upcoming male dancer on the sets of one of the movies in which she was
currently starring. The young lad was indeed skilled at modern contemporary
dance and could put any epileptic to shame with his cool moves. The young
dancer was also the brother of a moderately famous director and therefore had
the requisite contacts to make it big in the Tamil Film Industry.
It
was love at first sight for Swapna as she was taken up with the youth, vitality
and suave stage presence of the young dancer. Since the shoots for the movie
were spread over the next six months, it gave Sonali ample opportunity to interact
with the dancer who was known as Devan. Devan too appeared to be fascinated by
Sonali and soon both the youngsters were spending their spare time together
visiting the various hot spots around Chennai and professing their love for
each other.
Sonali’s
mother was not at all pleased with this development and tried her best to
separate the two lovers. During a press meet to launch one of her new movies
Swapna even went to the extent of announcing to the world at large that Devan
and she were in love with each other and were planning to get married shortly.
On hearing this, Swapna’s mother was devastated and locked up her daughter in a
small room in their Chennai residence and refused to allow Swapna to meet
Devan.
Swapna
was only allowed outside to attend to shoots for which she was always escorted
by her mother. When Sonali tried to escape from her mother and attempted to
meet Devan her Mother categorically told her that she would not get even a single
paise of her earnings if she were to marry Devan. Sonali couldn’t care less and
cried that she only wanted Devan and that her Mother could have all the money
that she had earned. Finally, with one of the servant’s assistance Swapna
managed to escape from her mother and fled to Devan’s apartment.
Devan
received her happily but soon turned cold as he heard Swapna say that she had
left all her possessions behind and fled from her Mother with only the clothes
on her back. Devan was disappointed that Swapna did not possess any of the
crores that she had earned for he had pinned his hopes on making it big with
her money and all his well laid plans were now shattered. He refused to marry
Swapna and made it appear that he was against her running away from her Mother
and that he could not accept her against the wishes of her parents.
On
hearing this Swapna was heart broken for she had assumed that Devan had loved
her for herself and not for her money. She walked out of his apartment and
wandered the streets of Chennai, where many were able to identify her and crowds
began to stalk her in an attempt to touch, shake hands and fall all over her.
Soon a few goons employed by her Mother located her and dragged her back to her
Mother who immediately locked her up once again. Swapna went wild with grief
and in a fit of depression used the saree, which was draped around her body to
hang herself to death from a ceiling fan which was in the center of the room.
The
media flashed the death of Swapna and discussed for a couple of days the
hardships and pressures faced by cine stars who were constantly in the
limelight, before forgetting about her. Swapna’s Mother returned to Mumbai to
enjoy her newfound wealth. Meanwhile Devan grew up to become a Star in his own
right and married the daughter of a film producer who had promoted him in his
career. No one talks about Swapna anymore…
Such
is the way of Tinsel Town…..
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