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“Sir I am not saying the idea is wrong, I am just saying the script needs some changes, otherwise it can be problematic. That’s it. If you do not want to make the required changes then it's alright! I am not doing this project. You can find someone else. Bye!”
Ayushmann cut the call immediately after completing his rant, without even listening to the other side, while his driver parked the car.
“You know what, Fuck off!!!", he shouted at the blank phone screen.
“Sahib, aap bhot gusse mai lag rhe ho! Itna tension lena aapki sehat ke liye theek nahi hai, apna khayal rakhiye, thoda aaram kar lijiyega, aapki tabyat bhi theek nhi lag rhi hai.”
“Ji kaka! Aap bhi aaram kar lena. Meri chinta mat karo mai theek hoon. Ab mai chalta hoon.”
He tried not to vent his irritation on kaka and started walking towards the hotel he was supposed to stay in, when he saw two girls in the parking area hand in hand, giving each other a peck on the lips.
He flinched at the sight.
"Oh... aajkal ye sab khule aam hone laga hai?", he muttered to himself, and immediately moved away from there for checking in, before he got a call from one of his past co-actors, Yami Gautam.
“Hay Ayush! Kaisa hai? Kahan hai yaar aajkal dikhta nahi kaheen! Sab theek hai na?”
“Han han sab theek hai, mujhe kya hona hai?”
“Kya hua Ayush? Sach sach bata kya baat hai? Teri awaz se kuch theek sa nahi lag raha.”
“Vo actually…..I am not getting any good scripts these days and the few I got were kinda problematic, so I myself said no to them. Isiliye thoda tensed hoon.”
“Don’t worry yaar! I am sure some great script is on its way.”
“Thanks! I hope the same. Chal abhi mai rakhta hoon. Subah shoot hai, toh jaldi uthna hai.”
“Kal shoot hai? Kahan shoot kar raha hai? I mean, kuchh to idea dede yaar ki kya khichdi pak rahi hai!”
“Mai bass tujhe ye bata sakta hoon that I am shooting near Chail palace for a song. That’s it. Ab aage aur kuch mat poochiyo, kyuki mai nahi batane wala.”
“Ok baba, nahin poochti. But Ayushmann please be safe yaar Chail palace is really spooky! It is haunted.”
“Haunted? Kya mazak kar rahi hai? Don’t tell me that you believe in ghosts and shit.”
“Listen Ayush! I have shot there. Mai rahi hoon vahan, voh bhi poora ek maheena, and only I know how. And this place is actually really spooky.”
“Shut up yaar. Kya kuch bhi bol rahi hai. Aur ye hotel to dikhne mai bhi kitna modern lag raha hai, furniture, decor, it's so beautiful yaar how can this place be spooky?”
Ayushmann said, looking all around himself. The hotel was too beautiful and modern to believe that it can be spooky, so he was clearly not convinced with what Yami said.
“Tujhe nahi manna hai toh mat maan, but please take care yaar.”
“Haan ok bye.”
He immediately cut the call and threw the phone on the bed. He was already very irritated and Yami just made it even worse. It was too much for him to take. He just wanted to rest now. So he opened the cupboard, took out his clothes, and went to the washroom to change. When he was finally feeling a bit comfy, he heard a knock.
“It must be the waiter, of course!”
He stood up and opened the door, but there was no one there. There was another knock and then another...and another… He started following the sound, Yami’s words ringing in his ears.
“Wtf! Why does the sound seem to be coming from the cupboard?”
He switched on the lights, went near the cupboard, and placed his ear on the door to confirm.
“Knock-Knock”
“What the actual-! Who's inside my cupboard?“
He opened the cupboard to see only clothes and no one else.
“Toh Yami sach bol rahi thi kya? This place is really spooky yaar!”
He placed a chair in front of the cupboard, sat there and said.
“Whoever you are, please listen. I am an actor, and I have a shoot tomorrow early morning. I am here for only today and I promise I will not disturb you. I hope you understand and will not knock again. Please let me sleep peacefully. Thank you.”
Saying this, he hoped that he had convinced the “bhoot” and slowly closed the cupboard, careful not to make any noise. He then slowly placed the chair back to its position, switched off the lights, and went back to sleep. For some time there was no knock and that made Ayushmann really happy. He closed his eyes and drifted to comfortable sleep, but then there was a knock again. And this time, it was harder and faster than the previous time.
“Arrey yaaar! Pehle hi itna sir dard ho raha hai abhi dhang se sone bhi na do is bande ko!”
He picked his tired body up, again switched on the light, and sat in front of the cupboard on the stool with his head buried in his hands.
“Ab kya hua?! I told you na I am here for just one night and I will not disturb you. Please understand I need to sleep right now, otherwise, I will have to take these reddened eyes of mine to the shoot which is not at all great! Please let me sleep. Please!”
He spoke without looking up.
“I am really sorry to disturb your sleep, but I- I really need your help.”
A sound came from the cupboard. Although Ayushmann knew that there was something spooky in there and he was clearly not alone in that room, that voice shook him from the spine. He instantly started looking around searching for the origin of the voice.
“Ka- kaun? Who are you? And what are you doing here? Where are you hiding? COME IN FRONT OF ME!”
Ayushmann shouted out in a terrified voice, while was sweating profusely. His heart rate had gone really high and that made it hard for him to breathe. He was impatiently pacing around the room, when he heard that sound again.
“Listen, please calm down. I do not want to harm you. Please sit down.”
“How can you even expect me to calm down when I am literally talking to a fucking Ghost!”
Ayushmann was terror-stricken and was not at all able to calm himself, not on his own. He was leaning on the wall for support when he saw the locked gate and ran that way to try to open it. But he was not able to.
“Kya kar rahe ho? Bahar jaana hai? Itni bhi kya jaldi hai? Meri baat sun lo, phir chale jaana jahan jaana hai. Please listen to me!!”
“What the hell! How dare you lock the door? Wait mai abhi telecom pe call karta hoon!!”
Ayushmann rushed to the landline placed on the table and quickly dialed the number, but it was not able to connect. He dialed and re-dialed some numbers before he heard the ghost again.
“Jab tak aap meri baat nahi sunenge, mai sab band karta rahonga! Why don’t you just calm down, and just hear me out, once?”
He threw the landline on the floor and started searching for his phone, firstly in all his pockets and then on the bed.
“Ye mera phone kahan gaya ab? Haan ye raha! Kisko call karoon? Haan!”
He started calling some numbers only to listen to the same sentence.
“The number you are trying to call is out of the network area. Please try again later. The num- “
“What the fuck! What the hell are you doing?”
“Will you please listen to me? Please calm down. Please sit here and... and let's breathe together.”
“NO! I DON'T WANT TO SIT OR BREATHE OR WHATEVER! I- I- “
He was not able to breathe properly, sweating a lot, and even standing straight was becoming impossible. He collapsed on the bed trying to breathe from his chest that had started to hurt real bad due to the panic.
The ghost got really scared and wanted to help him but he did not know how to. He assumed that some song might work, so he started playing a song.
“Gumnaam hai koi………..”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! WHAT THE ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!”
Ayushmann got startled on hearing the abrupt tunes. It made him sit up on the bed once again.
“Oh sit! I am so sorry, I just wanted to help you, but I don't know how this song started playing, I am so-”
By this time Ayushmann's head was throbbing with ache, along with the pain in his chest. He wanted to scream at the troublemaker but had no energy to do so. He could only barely utter a few words.
“Please shut up! I don’t wanna hear no songs, I don't wanna hear anything. Just- just shut up!”
“Ok! I am so sorry. But you are not okay, please breathe, saans lo saans”
“Arrey yaar! Nahi leni mujhe saans! How the hell am I supposed to breathe when an actual ghost is creeping the hell out of me!”
“Okay, tell me, do you have any choice other than listening to me?”
Ayushmann looked all around him and realized that he was actually trapped now. He did not want to say anything, so he just lowered his head and nodded in a NO.
“So do what I am telling you okay?”
Ayushmann was literally begging for some air (ok he was not begging, but his body was! Begging for oxygen). His condition was just worsening every passing second. He was not able to speak or even listen to anything properly. He had his eyes tightly closed, brows narrowed way too much, mouth wide open, and chest heaving. His restless hands had found the corner of the bed he was sitting on, and he was panting relentlessly.
There was silence for some time in the room that made him a bit relaxed and suspicious simultaneously. He slightly opened his eyes when suddenly he felt something wet on his neck. It took him a while to notice that-
“Aaaaaaah! Don’t even dare to touch me!!!”
“Shhh! Do not panic, it's me only and I am not trying to harm you. Trust me it will help you.”
The ghost said in a calm tone; applying water on his neck, the area behind his ears, and on his arms and palms too. Ayushmann tried to oppose at the start, but the water trick seemed to actually work, as he calmed down a bit.
“Please wash your hands once, and apply some more water on the same places again. Here, take this glass.”
Ayushmann had understood by now, that even if the ghost was creepy and he was freaking him out with his behavior, he had no other choice but to listen to him and obey his orders.
So he did as told by the ghost. He took the glass offered by the ghost (that was swinging in the air!) and applied some water on the areas told by him.
“Feeling a bit better?”
“Yeah”
“Ok nice. Now we'll breathe together.”
“But why-”
“BREATHE IN! 1…..2….3”
“Okay fine! 1…..2….3”
They did some breathing exercises till Ayushmann was feeling much better and his panic was gone.
“How are you feeling now?”
“Much better. Thanks.”
“Now please liste- “
“NO! You need to understand I have a shoot tomorrow morning and I need to sleep now. And also I don't want to go through the same panic attack once again. So please let me sleep!”
“I am really very sorry to disturb you but I- I think this can be a great script idea!”
The ghost said after thinking for a little while.
“WHAAAAT! WHAT ARE YOU- ARE YOU CRAZY? A SCRIPT IDEA? You are joking right?”
Of course, he could not believe what the ghost had just said. He was about to drink some water but the ghost’s words made him choke on that.
He put the glass aside and started laughing aloud! When he thought nothing could be creepier than the ghost trying to calm you down, he was immediately proven wrong.
The ghost got confused as he did not expect laughter at all. He said in a serious yet perplexed tone.
“Why are you laughing? I was not at all joking, I am serious!!”
“Hahahaah! Ok, so when even the greatest writers and directors fail to give you good scripts, God sends you to ghosts to tell you great scripts!!! Hahahahaaah!!!”
He still could not digest this and thus could not stop laughing and his laugh was now freaking the ghost out, for a change. But he could not afford to panic at that moment so he calmed himself down and tried again.
“I don't know what is making you laugh, but please listen to me once, or I will keep on disturbing you throughout the whole night and also during the shoot. I know it's rude, but please try to understand that I desperately need your help!!”
The ghost was left with no other choice but to blackmail him in order to get his help. And Ayushmann, on the other hand, was feeling trapped, and guilty of choosing this place as a shooting location just out of curiosity. He should have listened to the director and shot in the location suggested by him instead of the location near this spooky hotel. But he also knew for a fact that feeling guilty wouldn't help him, and he had to make some wise decision right now. So he thought that if he would just listen to his story once, then he might have a chance of getting at least some sleep before the shoot.
“Ok fine! I am ready to listen to you, but before that, you have to promise me that you will let me sleep after that and will not disturb me during the shoot tomorrow.”
“Yes yes! As I have already told you, I do not want to harm you. I just want your help and so I promise that if you listen to me and help me then I will not disturb you ever again. Rather, I will be thankful to you!”
“Ok thanks. I am listening.”
“Ok. So… My name is Amitabh and I am a closeted gay man.”
“But if I am not wrong, you are sitting, standing, or floating right in front of me. Right?”
“Yes. Here I am. Why?”
Ayushmann felt a hand on his left shoulder, it did not startle him this time as he was expecting it.
“Okay so, does that mean you came out of your closet for me? Hahaha!”
He started laughing again saying this. Does that mean he was getting comfortable talking to the ghost? Well...maybe yes!!
“What!?! I mean...that is not wrong! That’s true actually!!”
The ghost was a bit confused at first but soon he too joined Ayushmann and they both started laughing together. Ayushmann thought the ghost was not that creepy as they show in movies and the ghost was loving Ayushmann's laugh that he once found injurious to his hearing powers. They started enjoying each other’s company.
“Oh, I am sorry! Hi Amitabh! My name is-”
“Ayushmann Khurrana?”
“Yeah! But how do you- Do you know me?”
“Of course I know you! That’s why I am sure you are the only one who can help me!”
Amitabh said in an excited tone. He had heard a lot about Ayushmann and the kind of movies he had done, from the people that had stayed in his hotel room. He had always wanted to meet him and tell him his life story as a hope that he would make this into a movie or do anything that makes people a little less homophobic. That’s why when he saw him in the room, he did not want to let go of this rare opportunity.
“Actually I have been closeted here for 10 years now, and I have heard many people talk about you, watch your movies on the TV here, and even simp on your movie choices and their characters. So I am sure you will understand me and help me accordingly.”
“Oh wow! Now I am really excited to listen to your story. But...why are you closeted? And why only here?”
“I knew that question was coming. So I will start from the very beginning. I am gay and this society is too homophobic to come out to. But I still preferred coming out of the closet than living in the closet for the rest of my life. My father was someone who would not even think twice to kill me just because they are homophobic. They used to beat me up every day, so bad that the injuries could still be seen on my body even after so many years. So, one day I decided to run away from my home and start living in Delhi on my own. That’s where I met Chandravadan, and everything changed for me. It was the first time I had come out to someone and I was accepted positively. He was all things beautiful, and unlike any friend I had ever made in the past. I realized I was falling in love. But when he confessed that he had feelings for me too, I was thrilled! We started dating."
Ayushmann flashed a lovesick smile at Amitabh.
"What about your parents?" He asked. "Did they come around by that time..."
"No, but we were living away from them, so they did not know about us and neither did I get any chance to meet them. On our 3rd year anniversary, I wanted to surprise him, so I booked a hotel room for a trip and kept it a secret. It was when we entered this hotel that he told me I had made a huge mistake. This hotel was owned by his own family! Although it was kinda shocking, I thought this was a great opportunity to meet his family. So I tried to convince him that we would pretend to be just friends before them and he reluctantly agreed. So before we would have to start the drama, we wanted to share just one kiss, as an assurance that we could deal with everything that would come together. We sneaked behind the cars in the parking area and started kissing each other when a car entered and parked right beside us. It was Chandravadan's folks… and they saw us… together. Entangled. Before we could react, they dragged us inside and locked me in this room to starve till I die. I felt they were having some heated argument with Chandravadan, from the sounds I heard. They were saying shit like they'll 'fix him', but obviously I don't know what happened to him after. Sometimes he comes around just to hear my knocks on the closet door. Bet he misses me…"
Ayushmann heard a semblance of a sigh.
"When my soul finally shed my body, they came inside to take the corpse away, and I was so scared that I locked myself in this closet. From that day on, I am closeted here. Whenever someone comes in, I feel there is some hope of getting help. So I knock, but I don't know why everyone gets scared, runs away, and never comes back. You were the first one who didn’t run but talked to me. That’s when I realized you might be the only person who would not only listen to me but maybe also help me.”
Amitabh narrated the whole story while Ayushmann listened attentively. The moment he stopped, Ayushmann was in tears. He tried to wipe them off immediately but couldn't. The tears kept flowing continuously as he was also feeling utterly guilty about his reaction when he saw two girls kissing in the parking area. He understood how homophobic he was being then... but now, after listening to Amitabh, he felt a change inside him. The thing he found really creepy a while ago suddenly started to seem precious to him. He understood that love… is love! Gender does not matter, feelings do. Love does. Public display of affection is not only for heteros, it is valid for everyone on this planet. In fact, it is a heroic act to challenge societal oppression for all the rainbows out there.
Ayushmann was a bit lost in his guilt when he saw some tissue papers floating in the air. They seemed to be coming towards him. He knew it was Amitabh trying to help him, so he smiled at him and took the tissues.
“Thanks!"
Said Ayushmann and wiped off his tears, when he suddenly felt a hand rubbing his back. Ayushmann calmed down in his touch and asked, "so, how can I help you?”
“By making a movie on it. You are an actor!”
“That's the problem. I am neither a writer nor a director! Where shall I get the script from?”
“Oh, don't worry! Wait."
Suddenly the radio got switched on again and started playing a song.
"Milegi Milegi
Tujhe bhi milegi,
Mujhe bhi milegi,
Sabar mere yaar!"
“Oh God! Tu baat baat pe gaane kyun bajane lagta hai yaar! I am asking you something!! Please tell me how I will get the team I need?”
“Don’t worry too much, just go with the flow and you will eventually meet them.”
“No, please! I don’t like suspenses…..kuch toh bata de yaar! I really wanna do something for you!!”
Ayushmann said in his cute pout face that melted Amitabh and he rolled his eyes.
“Ok fine! You have worked with them before, one of them is a curly-haired writer who will soon debut as a director. That’s it, don't ask anything beyond that.”
“Curly hair….writer….debut as dire- ok I think I know him!!!”
“I think you do!”
“Ok then don’t worry, I am gonna meet him at the ITA awards anyway, and I am not letting go of him this time.”
Ayushmann said, bumping his right fist to his left hand, with sheer determination clear in his eyes. But that determination soon got replaced by confusion.
“But...what about the parallel lead? Who will agree to do this movie?”
“Of course another actor! Who else?”
"It's not that easy. This is Bollywood honey, and I don't think anyone will be up for this, because people here try to act all 'woke' on social media, but deep down they are so prejudiced and insecure that I don’t think it's gonna be easy for us to find me a parallel lead!”
“Ummm….Not exactly in Bollywood, but as I have said before, you have met him earlier too, and you thought he was sweet. He is not yet in Bollywood but he will be soon, with your film and he is gonna hit it out of the park as he is an amazing actor."
Ayushmann thought for a while and demanded another hint, as he was not so sure, but deep down, he truly wanted him to be who he was thinking he should be.
“Okay…. Ummm…. Can you give me one more hint, just one more I want to know, please!”
“Well… you're low-key a fan, and he mispronounced your name.”
“Oh okay… I think I have some idea.”
“Good! You are right, finding your parallel lead is not going to be an easy process. But since you know him, you just have to push for him and be a little more active in the casting process. Can you manage that?”
“Of course! I can do anything to work with hi- I mean I can do anything to help you!”
“*cough cough*”
Ayushmann heard Amitabh cough and gave him a sheepish smile. He literally wanted to facepalm himself for that fumble, but he also knew that Amitabh was aware of everything and there was no escape.
“Ok ok, it's fine! Do you want some water?”
Ayushmann saw a bottle rising from the table and immediately grabbed it.
“It's fine! I will take it.”
“I am really sorry for disturbing your sleep, but you should go take some rest. I promise I won’t knock now.”
“Please don’t be sorry! I am glad to meet you and know you. I will be more than happy to help you!!”
“Yes, I know what in particular you are excited about! Now go and take some rest or I will start knocking again!”
“Ok ok I am going. Good night!!”
“Let me just help you make your bed. ”
Ayushmann saw the telephone rise from the floor and he immediately took a step back. He did not say anything and started cleaning the bed as he did not have much time left for him to take some rest. Soon the room was cleaned and he went to sleep.
There was no knock after that, so Ayushmann had had a good sleep and woke up fresh before the shoot time. He opened the closet to take out his clothes when he heard something.
“Good Morning! I hope you slept well.”
“Yeah! I am fresh and now I have to get ready for the shoot. Bye!”
“Bye! All the best!”
Ayushmann got ready, checked out from the hotel, and went towards the parking area where driver kaka was already waiting for him.
“Good morning kaka! Kaise ho!”
“Achha hoon sahib! Aur aap bhi kal se theek lag rahe ho, kal raat achi neend aayi lagti hai.”
“Haan kaka, aisa hi kuchh samajh lo! Kal ki raat bohot achi thi. Ab hum chale? Nahi to late ho jayega.”
Ayushmann said with a glowing smile on his face. Although he could not get much sleep last night, he was still feeling more energetic than ever. And the shoot also went really well. The project got wrapped up.
He was all set to go back to Mumbai when he got a call from the hotel.
“Ayushmann sir! Didn’t you already check out from the room?”
“Yeah! I did. What happened?”
“Then why did we get a call from the room you were staying in?”
Ayushmann thought for a while when he realized something.
“Oh yes, I was... I am coming, I am coming to check what’s wrong.”
Within 15 minutes, Ayushmann was there at the reception. He took his keys and ran towards his room.
He slammed the door open and shouted.
“WHYYYY!”
“Hey, you're back! So nice to see you again!”
“I ASKED YOU SOMETHING! WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU CALL THE RECEPTION FROM AN EMPTY ROOM?”
“Oh- I- I... wanted to tell you that I am going to stop knocking from now.”
“THE WHOLE STAFF GOT SO- oh but why? Why will you stop knocking?”
"I only ever had one wish. Since you said you'll at least try to fulfill it… I don't see any point in continuing to 'bother' people anymore. So yes, I won't knock again. Also, thank you."
"Yeah… anytime."
Ayushmann's eyes began to water a little, but he had to cover it up.
"But that certainly doesn't make up for the fact that you decided to raise suspicion– oh. I need a favor."
"From me?"
"Why not? I'm trying to figure out a whole ass film for you, why wouldn't you join me, if I'd ask you to?"
"Really? You want me? And people won't think you're crazy for occasionally talking to the air?"
"You think I'm stupid enough to give it away, huh? Then guess you don't know my brainy self. Honestly… an actual rainbow film, scripting, making, promotions… I won't be able to do it without you. So… would it be a yes?"
"Congratulations, you officially have me on board."
A slow but wide smile spread across Ayushmann's face.
“I am going to the award show tomorrow. Will you help me get the writer?”
“Sounds like we are gonna have a great time.”
Amitabh said with a wink, but oh god he has forgotten that Ayushmann could not see him. He facepalmed himself as he realized.
“Hahahaha! Yeah.*wink*. Ok, I think we should go now or their suspicions will get even worse.”
“Oh yeah let's go.”
Ayushmann locked the door and went to the reception.
“Ummm... I didn't find anything spooky there. Maybe there was some cross-connection or something I guess.”
“Might be the case, sir. I am so sorry to waste your precious time.”
“It’s okay. No problem.”
Ayushmann said with a smile and walked towards his car.
“Oh that was such a narrow escape!”
Came a voice from beside him.
“Yes, but I won’t be able to do that again, so please be careful not to do anything stupid. Okay?”
“Okay. No promises, but I'll try.”
“Good.”
Ayushmann was feeling hopeful when he sat inside his car. But Kaka was so stressed, that he bombarded Ayushmann with so many questions at once.
“Kya hua sahab! Sab theek hai na? Inhone aapko yahan kyu bulaya tha? Aur aap itne khush kyu lag rahe ho?”
“Kaka calm down! Sab kuch theek hai. Bas ek glitch ho gya tha to unhone mujhe poochhne ke liye yahan dobara bulaya tha, Aap tension mat lo sab theek hai. Aur haan, mai itna khush isliye lag rha hoon kyunki mujhe ek bohot achhi script mil gyi hai!”
“Ye to badi achhi baat hai", Kaka replied cheerfully. "Mai to roz prarthana karta hoon ki tumhe bohot achhi achhi scripts mile, dekho ek aur mil gyi.”
“Thank you kaka, bass aapka hi ashirwad hai.”
“Aur mera bhi, Ayushmann bhavah!”
Ayushmann smiled at the empty seat beside him.
“Kaka! Aap bass dekhna ki mai kya karne waala hoon! Aasha hai sab kuch achhe se ho jayega. Abhi aap koi zabardast sa gaana laga do! Volume tez karke… kyunki record bhi karna hai. Aur kal award function jaana hai, toh lene aa jaana time pe please.”
“Haan bilkul, aur gaana bhi lagata hoon.”
Ayushmann proceeded to post many silly insta stories of him singing and dancing along with the car music — His favorite way to convey to his fans that something exciting is coming up.
A whisper sounded from the empty seat, "aren't you having a little too much fun with this?"
"Jealous?", he replied. "Don't worry, fun is done, now let's strategize."