Falling For a Bollywood Legend

by Mahi Jay

  He grabbed a saucepan to prepare a simple meal with poha. ‘Eat up, then, because I intend to make you burn a lot more later on,’ he warned mischievously.

  ‘Aadith, I … I want to ask you for a favour,’ put in Nina hesitantly.

  Aadith was surprised at her sudden, serious tone. His heart skipped a beat as he wondered what he would do if she wanted to end their affair.

  ‘You know you can ask me anything,’ he said cautiously.

  ‘It’s about my parents. They don’t really approve of us and they are not the most tactful people in the world. Since we are just engaged temporarily, please ignore it if they happen to say something awkward today,’ she said pleadingly.

  Aadith was not looking forward to meeting them. Why had he agreed to meet them for lunch? Couldn’t he have pleaded a prior social engagement? He now understood why Nina had felt apprehensive about meeting his folks. Meeting family made a mockery of their charade. It almost seemed to erase the fine line between reel and reality. It felt all too real when you had to lie to family, he realised. He felt guilty he’d pushed her into this.

  ‘Nina, you forget that I’ve known them a long while and it’s just who they are. So it will be all right.’

  Nina was still biting her full lower lip and looked uncertain.

  ‘Besides, there isn’t a thing they could say that hasn’t been said about me already,’ he said bluntly.

  Nina gave a slight smile. ‘If we’d actually been engaged for real, I’m sure I’d have been sick with worry by now!’

  ‘If our engagement had been real, it wouldn’t make a difference what anyone else thought, would it?’ asked Aadith, looking into her eyes. His expression said it wouldn’t ever be real.

  ‘No, it wouldn’t,’ agreed Nina lightly as she turned away to begin setting the table.

  The excitement of winding through the familiar streets of Pune with Aadith overtook the underlying dread she always felt when she had to visit home.

  ‘Do you miss your Yamaha?’ asked Nina as she remembered watching Aadith rakishly cruising through the town on his old bike.

  ‘I’ve upgraded to a Ducati now, but what I actually miss is the sense of normality that I took for granted. With all the drama happening around me it’s often a struggle not to let fame get to me. But then you gain some and you lose some, right?’ he asked with a wry smile.

  ‘You’re one of the most down-to-earth celebrities I’ve worked with, so you don’t need to worry on that count. Besides, if you ever get big-headed I shall ask Daadhi to whack some sense into you.’

  ‘No doubt she’d do it for you! You’ve got her wound around your little finger,’ he remarked. He felt a spark of happiness that she understood the insecurities that went with constantly being in the public eye.

  ‘Watching all those girls ride pillion with you, I was so desperate for a spin then. Somehow, I could never scrounge up the courage to ask you for a ride,’ confessed Nina, smiling in remembrance.

  ‘One of your secret fantasies, huh?’ he asked with a wink.

  Nina grinned. ‘Oh, yeah! Racing down the road with the wind in my hair and my arms around the hottest boy in town was the most outrageous thing I could dream of then. Now I think I’d probably up the ante a bit,’ she teased, suggestively letting her eyes run up and down his body.

  Aadith let out a whoop of laughter. He loved the fact that she no longer hid her desire from him. She was brazen about it and it turned him on as nothing ever could. When she was shy he found it endearing, when she was a siren he found it sexy. It seemed to him that there wasn’t a lot he didn’t like about her. Damn! Had he just thought that? This cosy set-up was wreaking havoc with his feelings. Feelings! Where had they come from? he wondered. He didn’t do feelings. This was getting weirder by the minute, he thought impatiently.

  He shifted his hands and unlaced his fingers from hers. He clearly needed to put some distance between them. Both spent minutes with their own uncomfortable thoughts until they neared their childhood homes. The minute Aadith watched Nina tense in worried anticipation his caution flew out of the window. He knew today wasn’t about him, he needed to be there for her.

  He drew up alongside a modest duplex house with a neatly tended garden in the front. Upon their arrival Nina’s parents came out to welcome them inside.

  ‘Congratulations on the engagement. Who would have thought you both would end up together?’ said her mother, the surprise still evident in her face.

  ‘Well, they’re both in the entertainment industry so it is not really a stretch of the imagination, is it?’ was her father’s opening line, with a slight emphasis on the word ‘entertainment’.

  ‘You’re right. We were bound to run into each other sooner or later,’ agreed Aadith politely.

  Not if it had been left up to her, thought Nina. She’d taken great care not to come into contact with Aadith for years. The Gaurav Tiwary account had brought her to his attention and her luck had turned. For better or for worse, she didn’t know yet.

  ‘Did Nina tell you that Mohit and our daughter-in-law are working on some important experimental cancer research in Geneva?’ asked Nina’s mum with a look of maternal pride on her face.

  ‘Yeah, she did mention it,’ lied Aadith, wondering how Nina put up with such grossly unfair treatment.

  ‘Even if what you both do is not really life enhancing, the least you can do is help each other’s careers,’ added her father, blithely oblivious to the insult he’d so casually delivered.

  Nina groaned to herself. The subject of her career was a sore point with her parents. Having been teachers themselves, they never could understand why she hadn’t chosen to work on something they considered useful to society. Her brother and sister-in-law’s scientific work ranked much higher in their regard and constant comparisons to them were the norm.

  ‘Yes, Papa, it does seem to work well for us,’ acknowledged Nina simply.

  ‘We seem to have started a family tradition of working with our spouses, with your brother and now you following us,’ stated her father with a guffaw.

  Her parents had worked together as teachers in the same schools throughout their career and had in fact fallen in love at work.

  ‘We’re glad that we at least got that right,’ pitched in Aadith with mild irritation.

  ‘So are we. Finally our Nina managed to get something right!’ chuckled her dad.

  For Aadith, having been brought up in a nurturing environment, at least on his father’s and grandmother’s side, this constant criticism heaped upon Nina seemed like abuse. He wondered how she’d stood it all these years and escaped with her confidence intact. It didn’t matter to him what they thought about him, but to constantly belittle their own daughter seemed senseless. He wondered how much longer he would be able to hold his tongue.

  He met Nina’s eyes and read the pleading in them. He gritted his teeth as her mother ushered them in for lunch. They sat down to an elaborate meal of several meticulously prepared dishes.

  ‘Now I know where Nina picked up her cooking skills from. You seem to have passed on all your talents, intelligence and good looks straight down to her, aunty,’ complimented Aadith.

  ‘I have?’ asked Mrs Shah, looking at Nina doubtfully.

  ‘Of course you have. Nina cooks very well and she’s also made a big name for herself at work. In a predominantly male centric industry she’s carved a niche for herself. In fact I had to pull a lot of strings to get her to work with me,’ elaborated Aadith.

  ‘We didn’t know she was so sought after,’ exclaimed her mother in surprise.

  They’d never asked her about her work so she’d refrained from sharing anything more than the barest of details. But Aadith’s words seemed to interest her mum, which put a smile on Nina’s face.

  But Nina’s father wasn’t done yet. He didn’t seem to want to let the topic of career choice slide past so quickly. He looked perplexed as he stated, ‘Aadith, I couldn’t believe it when you entered film school af
ter scoring such good grades in your higher secondary exams. It seemed like a waste of your knowledge!’

  ‘Papa!’ remonstrated Nina. ‘Aadith is incredibly talented at what he does. Just because he chose a career in the performing arts, it doesn’t make his work or his success any less impressive.’

  Both her parents looked at Nina in surprise. She’d never once defended her own choice of career, but now here she was, standing up for Aadith.

  ‘Of course, yes, his success is to be appreciated,’ agreed her father in a fluster.

  ‘And Nina’s as well,’ reminded Aadith in a hard voice. He could no longer let Nina be relegated to the sidelines. She deserved a lot more attention and appreciation and he would see that she got it, he vowed to himself.

  ‘To both of your professional and personal successes, then,’ toasted Nina’s father reluctantly.

  At which word, Aadith took centre stage and proceeded to extol Nina’s virtues and enumerate all her career achievements to her parents. Nina couldn’t believe he knew so much about how far she’d come. He staunchly ignored all her attempts to shift the conversation away from her.

  She went pink with embarrassment. Anyone overhearing the conversation could easily be forgiven for mistaking her to be a saint at home and a genius at work, thought Nina wryly. When she couldn’t stand it a moment longer she glared at Aadith and kicked him under the table to shut him up. Unruffled, he sent her a wicked grin in return.

  Her parents were gobsmacked. They hadn’t had the faintest idea that their daughter was such a roaring success in her chosen field. When someone so famous declared that their daughter was a resounding success, they couldn’t really ignore it. She could see a reluctant acceptance, if not appreciation, creeping into their eyes. Nina felt light with happiness. This was a start, she thought, and she owed it all to Aadith.

  ‘Thanks, but stop it. You’re overacting!’ muttered Nina in an undertone as the lunch drew to a close.

  Aadith narrowed his eyes, mock glared at her and said sternly, ‘You call this overacting? I call it a performance of a lifetime. Baby, you’ve got a lot to learn about acting.’

  Nina felt her stomach drop at the endearment. He’d whispered a thousand sweet nothings to her in bed, but this one word that he’d dropped so casually in public left her longing for more. As her father and Aadith made their way back to the living room Nina helped her mother clear the table and stack the dishes in the sink for their maid to wash up later.

  Nina’s mother carried a glass of badham geer and handed it to Aadith when they rejoined them.

  ‘Ah … badham geer—my favourite,’ exclaimed Aadith happily.

  ‘Nina insisted I make it,’ admitted her mum cheerily. Nina groaned to herself; her parents didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘subtlety’.

  ‘Well, Daadhi mentioned that you always had her make it for you on every occasion. And Mama does a really fantastic one, so I thought you might enjoy it,’ shrugged Nina, striving for an offhand tone.

  ‘Well, thank you, aunty,’ he said, but he had eyes only for Nina, who was blushing prettily.

  They extended their visit and took their leave after a pleasant dinner. Nina was in high spirits as she bid her parents goodbye and got into the car with Aadith. As soon as they turned a corner and were out of sight of her parents Nina leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on Aadith’s cheek.

  ‘Thank you for today. I don’t remember spending a better day with my parents. It meant a lot to me,’ she stated unreservedly.

  Aadith smiled in understanding. He knew how deep the scars of childhood could run. That he’d helped to make Nina’s life that much better felt satisfying. ‘You are most welcome. Besides, the geer more than made up for it,’ he teased playfully.

  ‘Oh, really? And here I thought I’d reward your good work amply,’ whispered Nina, pouting sexily, leaving him in no doubt as to how she was going to do that.

  Aadith growled. ‘The night’s not over yet, sweetheart. I could give you yet another reason to reward me.’

  Nina’s heart swayed again. The endearments rolling off his tongue thrilled her. They caressed each other with their eyes. Mere words seemed superfluous. There seemed to be an intangible connection between them that held them both enthralled.

  The powerful car ate away the miles quickly and they were soon approaching the Mumbai suburb limits. Aadith drew up at a fuel station and got out to meet someone who seemed to be waiting for him. After a quick exchange of words Aadith came around to her side of the car to open the door for her.

  ‘Is something wrong?’ asked Nina with a worried frown as she hurriedly got out of the car.

  Aadith took her hand in his and asked, ‘Do you trust me?’

  Nina rolled her eyes and replied, ‘You know I do.’

  ‘Good, then close your eyes and follow me,’ he instructed. ‘No peeking allowed!’

  Nina was intrigued. She wondered what all this mystery was about. But she obligingly shut her eyes and fell in step behind him. They walked about fifty yards and came to a halt.

  ‘Open your eyes now.’

  Nina’s eyes opened to confront a monstrous, mean-looking bike in front of her. She gasped. He grinned. He executed a bow and said, ‘Your wish is my command.’

  ‘No way am I getting on that machine’ she breathed, shaking her head firmly.

  ‘Oh, yes, you are. Didn’t you say you wanted to ride on a bike with me?’ he persisted.

  ‘That was ages ago and on a sweet, tame vehicle. Not this monstrosity!’

  ‘I’ll have you know that this monstrosity, as you insist on calling it, cost me a bomb and is one of the finest bikes in the world,’ he growled.

  ‘Seriously? You want to go for a ride now?’ she asked doubtfully.

  ‘What better time? Come on!’ he urged, almost vibrating with excitement.

  ‘How did it get here?’

  ‘I got someone to drive it over. He’ll take the car back. Stop stalling, and say yes now.’

  ‘All right!’ she conceded grudgingly. ‘But you can’t go over the speed limit,’ she added warningly.

  ‘Of course,’ he agreed with a look of such innocence that she couldn’t help but laugh.

  Nina was thankful that she was wearing a salwar kameez that allowed her to sit astride. The mean machine throbbed to life with a roar in the relative silence of the night. Her heart seemed to race faster than the bike initially. Aadith let her get used to the steady pace before he upped the throttle.

  Nina shrieked as she clung onto him tightly. Aadith laughed loudly with joy.

  ‘Slow down!’ she screamed into the night air to make herself heard. Aadith deliberately accelerated more. Nina pinched him, which didn’t seem to have the slightest effect.

  She leaned close to him and lightly nipped his ear. His body jerked in response. ‘Do that at your own peril,’ he warned.

  ‘Unless you’re going to slow down, I don’t intend to stop,’ she replied as she raised herself slightly to let her tongue trail his ear sensuously.

  ‘OK. I surrender. Sit down now,’ he said warningly. He knew what they were doing was risky. He couldn’t bear it if anything bad happened to her.

  It was Nina’s turn to grin as he brought the bike to a more normal speed. Yet she didn’t take her arms from around his waist.

  She was touched he’d done this to please her. She was high as a kite. The wind was playing havoc with her hair. She had the most gorgeous guy in town in her arms. She needed nothing more. Her heart was overflowing.

  Nina stilled. She needed nothing more? Oh, my God! She was in love with him.

  She hadn’t realised it when they’d made love over and over. She hadn’t realised it when she’d cried over his childhood hurt. She hadn’t realised it when he’d stood up for her today, at her parents’ place. She’d realised it now. On a bike ride, of all things, she thought hysterically.

  What was she going to do? There was no love in his vocabulary and all she wanted now was for ever. She wa
s doomed, she thought miserably. Her mind ran over it in circles until she could think no more.

  Aadith zoomed into the compound of her condo and waited for her to get down. His eyes glowed with happiness while hers held the merest trace of tears.

  ‘Aadith, today was one of the happiest days of my life. Thank you for making it happen.’

  ‘I told you the night wasn’t over yet. I’m ready to collect my reward now, minx,’ he said with a deliberately lascivious leer.

  Nina squealed as he chased her into the lift. The doors closed to them kissing each other hungrily.

  CHAPTER TEN

  ‘YOU DO REALISE I’m not a mind-reader, don’t you?’ bit out Aadith in frustration.

  Since that day at her parents’ house Nina had become, for want of a better word, closed. Except in bed, where she was uninhibited and gave full rein to her passions. However, her conversations with him out of bed were stilted and guarded, as if she had to measure each word she spoke.

  Nina paused in the act of dicing capsicums. It was her turn to cook and she was getting all the vegetables chopped for the curry. She gave him a quizzical look and said, ‘Well, I’m glad to know that. But what’s this about?’

  ‘Nina, what’s wrong? Unless you tell me, I can’t do anything about it.’

  ‘There’s nothing wrong. I’m fine,’ she said firmly.

  ‘Ahh … the nothing word. Isn’t it girl speak for, “There is something wrong and if you can’t figure it out yourself, I’m not going to tell you about it”?’

  ‘Who fed you all that psycho babble?’

  ‘Well, I happened to read it in a magazine.’

  ‘Must have been Cosmo. A girl’s bible. What were you doing with a girlie magazine?’ she teased, winking at him.

  Aadith coloured slightly and said defensively, ‘Nonsense. It was in some in-flight magazine! And I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work, so stop trying to change the subject. You’ve been acting differently since that day at your parents’, and please don’t insult me by denying it.’