The Director was very
excited. He was happy since he had managed to obtain call sheets for his next
project from the leading lady of South Indian, nay, Indian cinema. He gushed
profusely, thanking the female superstar and her personal secretary before
leaving to make all the necessary preparatory arrangements for the upcoming
shooting with Reshma, the current prima donna of the Indian celluloid world.
As he wended his way
to his car Reshma smiled gently at her companion who also happened to be her
personal assistant, Kanchana. Actually Kanchana was really not an employee of
Reshma. They had studied together since primary school and had been friends for
almost sixteen years now. While Reshma had been naturally endowed with divine
beauty, Kanchana was the perfect counterfoil to highlight the beauty of Reshma.
An ugly duckling by birth, Kanchana had grown in the shadow of Reshma’s beauty
and had become popular with her peers through her proximity with Reshma.
Reshma smiled at her
friend Kanchana as she said, “Getting booked for director Gurucharan’s upcoming
film is indeed a great opportunity to showcase my acting talent to the whole of
India. The role too is different from the ones I have done earlier and I see a
great opportunity and scope in this role to display my talent”.
Kanchana smiled back
at her, “Yes it is indeed a mega project and the role will get you greater
acclaim; but do you really think the director wanted you for the role for your
acting abilities or for your physical beauty?” she demanded.
“What rubbish are you
talking Kanchana?” Reshma raised her voice. Do you think that I have become
such a famous and popular actress only because of my glamorous body?” “Let’s face it,
Reshma”, Kanchana continued to tease Reshma, “Your popularity is because of
your beauty and not because of any spectacular talent that you have. You just
do what the director tells you to do and most directors knowing what pulls
crowd to their movies make you flash parts of your body which will attract
attention and thereby produce blockbusters.”
Reshma was really
infuriated by Kanchana’s statement. “Come on Kanchana you are exceeding your
limits. Just because we have been friends from our school days does not mean
you have the right to speak ill of me. I guess it is because you are jealous of
me that you speak this way”.
Kanchana was really
upset to hear Reshma say this. “Reshma my dear friend, I only wish to make you
aware of the ways of the world and it was not to insult you or belittle your
success. I felt as your friend it was my duty to ensure that you don’t fall for
this illusion of popularity. This illusion will only make you popular as long
as you are young and beautiful. The moment you become old and ugly nobody will
bother about you and I just wanted to make you understand this” she said.
“Do you think the
world will forget my face when I become old and ugly?” Reshma demanded. “My
fans will always adore me even if I look ugly and old. Why don’t I prove this
to you and let us have a small wager to prove that you are wrong. I shall dress
myself as a dirty and ugly looking beggar woman and beg on the most popular
main road of the city for three hours. I’ am sure that I will be noticed even
though I may look ugly and at least five fans will identify me as Reshma within
these three hours. Not only that, my acting will be so natural that those who
really don’t know me will think I’ am a real beggar woman and I’ am sure that I
will collect more than a hundred rupees as arms by the end of those three
hours.”
Kanchana looked upset
on hearing this. “What stupidity is this Reshma? My intention was not to get
into a wager with you. It was only to mention the ways of the world in a frank
manner. I didn’t think it would upset you this way. Kindly forgive me and take
rest for a while as you have an important shoot this evening at the studios”
She said.
However Reshma was
not deterred. Reshma went about purposefully planning the wager. She even
formulated precise guidelines and set the ground rules. She told Kanchana, ”I
will commence begging on Mount Road which is the biggest arterial road in
Madras for three hours and I wager at least five of my fans will identify me as
the heartthrob of Indian cinema. Not only would a minimum of five fans identify
me, I’m sure that I will act exactly like a beggar so much so that I will be
able to collect a minimum of hundred and fifty rupees in those three hours as
alms from the passerbys.”
Kanchana was rather
disturbed that her words had affected her friend this badly. “What stupidity is
this Reshma?” she said. “I merely wanted to make you understand the temporary
nature of beauty and you have now misunderstood my words and planning for some
stupid wager in which I do not want to participate. I fear that this will
create a rift between us and I do not want that to happen. In fact I would
prefer to take back my words back or rather eat my words if you would just call
all this off.”
However Reshma had
become completely fixated on the idea and even called her lawyer to draw up the
terms of the wager. She instructed the lawyer to prepare a document which
mentioned that if she should win Kanchana would have to leave her position in
Reshma’s household and go away for good. If God forbid, Kanchana should win
Reshma would hand over all her material assets including the money she had
earned in her acting career to Kanchana. Kanchana cried and begged Reshma not
do this as she did not want to leave Reshma’s side. But Reshma forced Kanchana
to sign the document.
Reshma then called up
her beautician and makeup artist as well as wardrobe manager and asked them to
prepare her for the role of a beggar woman. Within a few hours they completely
transformed Reshma from the gorgeous beauty that she was to a trashy beggar
woman.
Reshma wanted to
fulfill the wager the same day and therefore at six that evening she entered
Mount Road from one of the by lanes where her car had dropped her. It was peak
hour in the busiest stretch of Madras city. Commuters pushed and jostled as
they hurried their way home after a hectic day in the office. Nobody cared for
the other and each one had to look out for their own safety or be trampled by
the flowing mass of humanity on the sidewalks.
The automobiles on
the road were worse than the pedestrians on the sidewalk. They slowly inched
their way bumper to bumper accompanied by shouts and screeching horns that
created a cacophony worse than hell. In the middle of all this Reshma found a
fairly quiet an unpopulated spot where she sat down and began the task of
begging. It was exactly six fifteen that evening as observable from the clock
tower at the junction as Reshma earnestly started begging.
For dramatic effect
Reshma kept wheezing and coughing like a beggar woman suffering from consumption.
“Amma, Ayah, Brothers, Sisters.” She called out every conceivable relationship
as she asked them to spare a few pennies for her. Reshma had come prepared and
she kept waving a tin can which she had brought along with her but nobody
seemed bothered. In fact the more Reshma wheezed and coughed the more the
people veered away from her for they were scared of catching some bug or the
other from her.
Reshma became
oblivious to time as she kept focused on her acting and continued to plead with
the passersby. After about fifteen minutes she found that her can had only
collected two fifty Paisa coins. “Humph! People today don’t want to give unto
other.” She thought to herself. “Every day when I enter the studios on my way
to shoot, I throw ten rupee notes to the beggars at the entrance. But nobody is
willing to spare a few coins for me” she fumed.
It was at that moment
that a huge whack landed to the left side of Reshma’s face leaving her
literally shell shocked, while a huge leprous woman peered into her face. “You
fucking moth eaten dummy” said the woman who appeared worse than moth eaten.
“How dare you sit on my fucking spot? Did you know that I give monthly bribes
to the fucking policeman on this beat to retain this fucking spot and you
fucking bitch think you can take away this fucking spot from me?” she screamed.
Reshma was shocked at
the number of times the f word could be used in one sentence but recovered
quickly and screamed back, “How dare you hit me. Do you know who I am?” she
screamed as she raised her hand to hit the other woman and then desisted from
doing so as the very thought of touching a leper was revolting to her.
It was at this moment
that a fat policeman with handle-bar mustache entered the scene. “Hey you
there, what are you two doing?” he demanded. The big sized leprous woman
immediately turned to him and said, “Aiyah (Sir), you know this is my spot and
I pay my mamool (bribe) regularly but this woman is now trying to take over my
place.” she complained as if it was a throne that she was being asked to
abdicate.
The policeman scowled
at Reshma and said, “You are new around here, aren’t you? Don’t you know that
you have to pay me five hundred rupees per month to beg on this stretch of the
road? Go find yourself another spot and give me five hundred rupees at the end
of every month or I shall book you as a vagrant and lock you up in some beggars
home” he threatened as he pocketed the two coins which had accumulated in
Reshma’s tin can. Reshma not wanting to
delay her ordeal with the policeman who appeared oblivious to the fact that he
was talking to one of the leading, leading ladies of his time. She hurriedly
moved away and found another spot about a hundred metres further down the road
next to where a roadside cobbler was seated busily polishing shoes and mending
slippers of passersby.
The surroundings were filthy and Reshma who had lived a
life of luxury and comfort was not used to the same. She wrinkled her nose in
disgust but realized she would have to act her part.
Meanwhile, more than
an hour had passed and Reshma had hardly collected two rupees in her tin can.
She wondered if the tin can she had brought along was unlucky or if her acting
abilities were not making that much of an impact. She decided to raise the bar
on her histrionic abilities and started wailing and flailing her arms at the
passersby who just moved on unimpressed.
Only an old Man paused for a few
minutes to regain his breath before walking on towards his destination. By the end of the
second hour Reshma had only managed to collect seven rupees. Even a one hour ad
shoot would have fetched her anywhere between seven to ten lakhs of rupees and
would not have been so tedious. The seven rupees she had earned in the past two
hours were indeed the most hard earned in her entire career.
It was then than
Reshma noticed the cobbler eyeing her. He was just not looking at her but his
eyes were ridden with lust. “Hey, I guess, I’ve seen you somewhere’, he
exclaimed. “Yes, you may have” replied Reshma who was by now desperate for
attention. “You seem tired” the cobbler responded. “Here have a glass of water
to drink” he said and poured out water that appeared cold from a plastic bottle
onto a plastic tumbler which he then handed over to her.
Reshma was glad that
someone was finally being kind to her and gladly accepted the glass of cold
water from the cobbler. Drinking the water
was all that that Reshma ever knew that evening.
When she woke up Reshma found
herself shivering on the cold pavement of a dingy bye lane. Her loins ached,
she knew not why but out of the corner of her eye she espied the cobbler
lighting up a beedi (a locally made Indian smoke). He seemed joyous as he spoke
“My God, that was the best fuck I've ever had and hope you guys too had a good
time’. As he said that Reshma could make out five figures in the dim light
standing around the cobbler and realized she had been raped by all these guys.
One of the five figures also resembled the policeman she had encountered that
fateful evening.
The time was exactly
six fifteen in the morning as observable from the clock tower at the junction.
Reshma smiled at her friend Kanchana as she said, “Getting booked for director Gurucharan’s upcoming film is indeed a great opportunity to showcase my acting talent to the whole of India. The role too is different from the ones I have done earlier and I see a great opportunity and scope in this role to display my talent”.
Kanchana smiled back at her, “Yes it is indeed a mega project and the role will get you greater acclaim; but do you really think the director wanted you for the role for your acting abilities or for your physical beauty?” she demanded.
“What rubbish are you talking Kanchana?” Reshma raised her voice. Do you think that I have become such a famous and popular actress only because of my glamorous body?” “Let’s face it, Reshma”, Kanchana continued to tease Reshma, “Your popularity is because of your beauty and not because of any spectacular talent that you have. You just do what the director tells you to do and most directors knowing what pulls crowd to their movies make you flash parts of your body which will attract attention and thereby produce blockbusters.”
Reshma was really infuriated by Kanchana’s statement. “Come on Kanchana you are exceeding your limits. Just because we have been friends from our school days does not mean you have the right to speak ill of me. I guess it is because you are jealous of me that you speak this way”.
Kanchana was really upset to hear Reshma say this. “Reshma my dear friend, I only wish to make you aware of the ways of the world and it was not to insult you or belittle your success. I felt as your friend it was my duty to ensure that you don’t fall for this illusion of popularity. This illusion will only make you popular as long as you are young and beautiful. The moment you become old and ugly nobody will bother about you and I just wanted to make you understand this” she said.
“Do you think the world will forget my face when I become old and ugly?” Reshma demanded. “My fans will always adore me even if I look ugly and old. Why don’t I prove this to you and let us have a small wager to prove that you are wrong. I shall dress myself as a dirty and ugly looking beggar woman and beg on the most popular main road of the city for three hours. I’ am sure that I will be noticed even though I may look ugly and at least five fans will identify me as Reshma within these three hours. Not only that, my acting will be so natural that those who really don’t know me will think I’ am a real beggar woman and I’ am sure that I will collect more than a hundred rupees as arms by the end of those three hours.”
Kanchana looked upset on hearing this. “What stupidity is this Reshma? My intention was not to get into a wager with you. It was only to mention the ways of the world in a frank manner. I didn’t think it would upset you this way. Kindly forgive me and take rest for a while as you have an important shoot this evening at the studios” She said.
However Reshma was not deterred. Reshma went about purposefully planning the wager. She even formulated precise guidelines and set the ground rules. She told Kanchana, ”I will commence begging on Mount Road which is the biggest arterial road in Madras for three hours and I wager at least five of my fans will identify me as the heartthrob of Indian cinema. Not only would a minimum of five fans identify me, I’m sure that I will act exactly like a beggar so much so that I will be able to collect a minimum of hundred and fifty rupees in those three hours as alms from the passerbys.”
Kanchana was rather disturbed that her words had affected her friend this badly. “What stupidity is this Reshma?” she said. “I merely wanted to make you understand the temporary nature of beauty and you have now misunderstood my words and planning for some stupid wager in which I do not want to participate. I fear that this will create a rift between us and I do not want that to happen. In fact I would prefer to take back my words back or rather eat my words if you would just call all this off.”
However Reshma had become completely fixated on the idea and even called her lawyer to draw up the terms of the wager. She instructed the lawyer to prepare a document which mentioned that if she should win Kanchana would have to leave her position in Reshma’s household and go away for good. If God forbid, Kanchana should win Reshma would hand over all her material assets including the money she had earned in her acting career to Kanchana. Kanchana cried and begged Reshma not do this as she did not want to leave Reshma’s side. But Reshma forced Kanchana to sign the document.
Reshma then called up her beautician and makeup artist as well as wardrobe manager and asked them to prepare her for the role of a beggar woman. Within a few hours they completely transformed Reshma from the gorgeous beauty that she was to a trashy beggar woman.
Reshma wanted to fulfill the wager the same day and therefore at six that evening she entered Mount Road from one of the by lanes where her car had dropped her. It was peak hour in the busiest stretch of Madras city. Commuters pushed and jostled as they hurried their way home after a hectic day in the office. Nobody cared for the other and each one had to look out for their own safety or be trampled by the flowing mass of humanity on the sidewalks.
The automobiles on the road were worse than the pedestrians on the sidewalk. They slowly inched their way bumper to bumper accompanied by shouts and screeching horns that created a cacophony worse than hell. In the middle of all this Reshma found a fairly quiet an unpopulated spot where she sat down and began the task of begging. It was exactly six fifteen that evening as observable from the clock tower at the junction as Reshma earnestly started begging.
For dramatic effect Reshma kept wheezing and coughing like a beggar woman suffering from consumption. “Amma, Ayah, Brothers, Sisters.” She called out every conceivable relationship as she asked them to spare a few pennies for her. Reshma had come prepared and she kept waving a tin can which she had brought along with her but nobody seemed bothered. In fact the more Reshma wheezed and coughed the more the people veered away from her for they were scared of catching some bug or the other from her.
Reshma became oblivious to time as she kept focused on her acting and continued to plead with the passersby. After about fifteen minutes she found that her can had only collected two fifty Paisa coins. “Humph! People today don’t want to give unto other.” She thought to herself. “Every day when I enter the studios on my way to shoot, I throw ten rupee notes to the beggars at the entrance. But nobody is willing to spare a few coins for me” she fumed.
It was at that moment that a huge whack landed to the left side of Reshma’s face leaving her literally shell shocked, while a huge leprous woman peered into her face. “You fucking moth eaten dummy” said the woman who appeared worse than moth eaten. “How dare you sit on my fucking spot? Did you know that I give monthly bribes to the fucking policeman on this beat to retain this fucking spot and you fucking bitch think you can take away this fucking spot from me?” she screamed.
Reshma was shocked at the number of times the f word could be used in one sentence but recovered quickly and screamed back, “How dare you hit me. Do you know who I am?” she screamed as she raised her hand to hit the other woman and then desisted from doing so as the very thought of touching a leper was revolting to her.
It was at this moment that a fat policeman with handle-bar mustache entered the scene. “Hey you there, what are you two doing?” he demanded. The big sized leprous woman immediately turned to him and said, “Aiyah (Sir), you know this is my spot and I pay my mamool (bribe) regularly but this woman is now trying to take over my place.” she complained as if it was a throne that she was being asked to abdicate.
The policeman scowled at Reshma and said, “You are new around here, aren’t you? Don’t you know that you have to pay me five hundred rupees per month to beg on this stretch of the road? Go find yourself another spot and give me five hundred rupees at the end of every month or I shall book you as a vagrant and lock you up in some beggars home” he threatened as he pocketed the two coins which had accumulated in Reshma’s tin can. Reshma not wanting to delay her ordeal with the policeman who appeared oblivious to the fact that he was talking to one of the leading, leading ladies of his time. She hurriedly moved away and found another spot about a hundred metres further down the road next to where a roadside cobbler was seated busily polishing shoes and mending slippers of passersby.
The surroundings were filthy and Reshma who had lived a life of luxury and comfort was not used to the same. She wrinkled her nose in disgust but realized she would have to act her part.
Meanwhile, more than an hour had passed and Reshma had hardly collected two rupees in her tin can. She wondered if the tin can she had brought along was unlucky or if her acting abilities were not making that much of an impact. She decided to raise the bar on her histrionic abilities and started wailing and flailing her arms at the passersby who just moved on unimpressed.
Only an old Man paused for a few minutes to regain his breath before walking on towards his destination. By the end of the second hour Reshma had only managed to collect seven rupees. Even a one hour ad shoot would have fetched her anywhere between seven to ten lakhs of rupees and would not have been so tedious. The seven rupees she had earned in the past two hours were indeed the most hard earned in her entire career.
It was then than Reshma noticed the cobbler eyeing her. He was just not looking at her but his eyes were ridden with lust. “Hey, I guess, I’ve seen you somewhere’, he exclaimed. “Yes, you may have” replied Reshma who was by now desperate for attention. “You seem tired” the cobbler responded. “Here have a glass of water to drink” he said and poured out water that appeared cold from a plastic bottle onto a plastic tumbler which he then handed over to her.
Reshma was glad that someone was finally being kind to her and gladly accepted the glass of cold water from the cobbler. Drinking the water was all that that Reshma ever knew that evening.
When she woke up Reshma found herself shivering on the cold pavement of a dingy bye lane. Her loins ached, she knew not why but out of the corner of her eye she espied the cobbler lighting up a beedi (a locally made Indian smoke). He seemed joyous as he spoke “My God, that was the best fuck I've ever had and hope you guys too had a good time’. As he said that Reshma could make out five figures in the dim light standing around the cobbler and realized she had been raped by all these guys. One of the five figures also resembled the policeman she had encountered that fateful evening.
The time was exactly six fifteen in the morning as observable from the clock tower at the junction.
