Caller Tune

Caller Tune

Opening scene:

View from top:

Nighttime. A half naked guy is sleeping chest down on a bed, the left side of the face showing. A crumpled pullover covers the lower half unevenly. His mouth is open, a bit of saliva dripping. An open cupboard is shown on a side, a window on opposite other. Third side has a door and the wall opposite has the bed touching it. The room is cluttered with newspapers, a shirt, presumably thrown down casually the night before, before hopping on the bed. There’s a small square desk of drawers to the left of the bed, joining it. Propped on it are a night lamp, a wristwatch and a cell phone. The watch shows 2 am.

The guy is fair complexioned, with long straight black disheveled hair sticking out in clumps, giving him a just-out-of-the-bed look. Looks immaterial, but preferably more than an average Joe, just for viewing pleasure.

From the top view, the camera zooms in, focusing on the guy and the desk, rotating.

The screen of the phone lights up suddenly as the camera nears. Now focusing horizontally on the guy’s face as he extends his hand out to reach to the cell and grunts “ Hello,” eyes closed all the time.

“ You sonofabitch...” an angry drunk feminine voice is heard.

The eyes open wide at the unusual greeting.

“ What took you so long? This is the 3^rd time. Busy fucking Liz? I wasn’t good enough for you, hun?” The guy sits up straight in apparent shock as the caller continues- “ But you know what? I give a shit even if you keep hurling at Liz. Ooo! Hehe (at the spontaneous unintended pun). In fact, I give a shit about anything now. Wanna know why? Coz I am feeling at the top of the world.” Scene change: A foot is shown extending over a ledge and you hear the same girl exclaiming “ Whee!” in drunken delight.

Back to the guy- who’s now shocked beyond doubt. He says in a careful measured voice “ Excuse me?”

Change of frame- now for the first time, shows a below the nose facial part, till the collarbone of the girl at the other end. “ Excuse me?” the girl says, in a mocking way. “ Wow. Since when did you become so polite? Liz keeps you under her thumb all the time, hun? Where’s all that attitude?” emphasis.

The guy now visibly recovered from the sudden audible outburst, more puzzled than shocked- “ But who the fuck are you?”

Back to the girl “ Ah there it is! See, someday even her perfectly manicured thumb is gonna break. And then, her heart.”

“ But…”

“ Oh shut up. Don’t spoil my mood. The moon, stars feel so romantic. I wanna dance. Remember how we used to dance before you left me for that bitch? 1-2-1-2 and…” takes one foot forward, then backward, twice, superimposing with each one’s and two’s, and finally taking a rotation on her own axis “ Whee! ” Stops. “ Though we have never tried it here. But this feels nice. We should do this here someday…” trails off.

Unable to conjure up a reply to such irrelevant talks, he ejaculates uncertainly, “ Uh, where?”

“ Here, silly, on the parapet. Ah, it’s a nice view.”

“ What the…” the guy exclaims, excitement showing on his face, before he is cut short.

“ Hey, I almost forgot. Guess what happened today. My-Dad-killed-my-mom!” she says, haltingly, in a conspiratory voice.

“ WHA??” The guy cries out.

“ Yeah,” a casual tone at first. It gradually darkens and the voice cracks subsequently as her narration progresses. “ I was there when he was removing the pillow from her face. He turned around, saw me, and went ‘You saw nothing.’ And I was like ‘ Yes I did you swine. And now someone’s gonna hear something and then you’re gonna explain everything.’ I tried to run. He chased me to the kitchen and slapped me hard, here.” She points out to her left cheek, which is until now not shown. It bears red finger marks. “ I was so angry, I grabbed the nearest object and…” Flashback- a man, her father is shown being stabbed. He bends double as the girl retreats, spitting blood. The girl’s face is shown for the first time, horror in her eyes, her palms cupping her mouth. Her eyes have welled up, we realize as the camera zooms into her eyes and zooms out from the eyes in the original scene- she standing on the parapet, eyes moist, face now clearly showing. Her looks- long straight black hair, flying in the breeze, fair complexioned, beautiful eyes… in short, hot. Viewing pleasure again.

Back to the guy, who baffled and dazed, is blank as he runs his hand through his hair.

“You know, its funny,” the girl gives a weird laugh, the one one gives where the song tum itna jo muskura rahe ho, kya gham hai isko chupa rahe ho feels apt. “ All my life, I wanted to kill my drunkard dad and when I did it, I was crying.” The flashback continues with she, drained and numb, her face now stripped completely of emotion, that is, hardened, goes past her father’s now still body, into her bedroom where her mom is lying unevenly, eyes open, staring at the ceiling. A vodka stash is lying on a small desk adjoining her bed. The girl pours herself a drink, settles down on the floor, against a wall, such that she’s facing her mom sideways. Keeps getting drunk.

“ And then, I missed you. So I came here. The place where we met the last time. Where you parted with a loving ‘ Bye Roshni.’ Where this Roshni didn’t know this this goodbye was for ever.”

Few moments pass, punctuated by Roshni’s sobs through the phone.

Finally, the guy musters up a bit determined “ Hey listen, umm, Roshni.”

“ No, you listen.” The sobs are gone. “ I feel like singing a song. Ajeeb dasatan hai ye…”

“ Roshni, please get down from the parapet,” the firm voice is now shrouded with an implore. The guy is now pacing up and down his room, his legs treading on his shirt and the newspaper, the sound audible.

“ Kahan shuru kahan khatam…”

“ Roshni,” the guy stops pacing. Closes his eyes, his face is contorted, and with his palm hitting the air with each word he is going to say, musters a halting “ I-love-you.”

“ Ye manzile hai…What??”

The bait has worked, the guy realizes. Now with a more confident plus pleading tone, “ Yes, Rosh, I really really do…”

Roshni cuts him short. “ Don’t give me none of that fibs.”

“ No, no, I mean it. Honestly.” He’s pacing again trampling on the newspaper again. “ What you heard about Liz is what is fibs. I swear to God I love you more than my life.” Unconsciously pinching his throat. “ And you know what? I don’t care whatever happened tonight. You come with me Rosh, I will take care of you.”

Roshni is uncertain, is standing still on the parapet. A few mute moments pass.

“ You still there?” the guy asks apprehensively.

“ Ya.” He hears a small voice.

That peps him up. His eyes light up suddenly as he dives down to pick up the newspaper. “ And you know, I missed you sooo much, I wrote a poem on you.” Swiftly sifts through the newspaper, into the obituary section. His pointed finger, moving rapidly from one ad to another, rests on an ad displayed in a fat square box, with a picture of an ugly, fat, mean looking businessman with all the praises and sweet words being heaped on him that sounds ironical. He reads out “

I miss your laughter, fun, and gentleness.
I miss the things I used to do for you.
I miss the time, now filled with emptiness,
when each day was a stage for something new.

All these I miss, and yet they are all here
within my heart, far more than I can bear.” Looks up expectantly.

As he finishes, Roshni, overwhelmed and mellow now, speaks up. “ Nikhil?”

Doesn’t get it for a few moments as his eyes show. Then it clicks and he says hopefully, “ Yes?”

“ I love you!”

A wave of relief sweeps over him as he closes his eyes and smiles. He conjures up a confident and peaceful “ Now will you get down? For my sake?”

“ Okkaay,” a playful reply is shot back as Roshni is smiling too. She moves, stumbles as she takes a wrong step and disappears from the view. You hear an “ Oops.”

The guy hears the fast rustling wind punctuated by a terrified wail and the connection goes blank. So does his face. His hands fall limply by the side as the handset falls on the floor reading CALL DICONNECTED, before the screen lights off. Period. The screen lights up again and the credits appear.