by M. V. Kasi
“I was just the helper,” she replied.
“Speaking of which, where’s your mother?” he asked as he peeled off the fake beard and removed the sunglasses and cap.
“I’m coming, DJ!” an excited voice shouted from inside the room.
“That’s—” Before Shilpa could complete the sentence, the door burst open with a bang, and out came a woman dressed to the T’s. The jewellery especially was an overkill.
But soon, Shilpa forgot everything except the happiness and excitement evident on the older woman’s face. It made Shilpa smile and want to hug the movie star for being able to bring that.
“Oh my God! It is you! I can’t believe it!”
“Nice to meet you, Mrs—”
There was a screech from the older woman. “I totally forgot. Shilpa! Bring the welcome drink we both prepared for DJ.” She swept towards a high-backed winged chair that she usually watched television from. “DJ, please sit here. This is the best seat in the house. I can watch TV without a glare.”
Dhruv followed her instruction. “Thank you—”
“Oh my God! Oh my God! I feel like I’m dreaming. DJ is sitting in my chair!”
Shilpa brought a tray with three glasses.
The older woman’s enthusiasm continued. “How is it, DJ?” she asked after they sipped their drinks.
“Quite good,” he answered with a smile.
“Oh God! Your smile is just like it is in the movies. No. No. It’s even better.” There was a dramatic sigh. “You look much more handsome in person than on television. Doesn’t he, Shilpa?”
Shilpa froze. Two sets of eyes were directed towards her. One waiting for confirmation and the other dancing with amusement.
“Well?” the older woman asked.
“Uh… yes, I suppose,” Shilpa answered, almost choking on her voice.
Satisfied, the older woman turned to Dhruv. “Let me check on dinner. Be right back.” She hurried into the kitchen before Shilpa could stop her or tell her everything was fine and ready.
Dhruv grinned. “Why thank you, Shilpa. That’s quite a compliment coming from you. I didn’t know you often watched me on television.”
Shilpa threw him a glare, only to see his grin widen. She couldn’t hold on to the glare for long and shook her head in exasperation. “I doubt if anyone can avoid watching you on television or the posters on the streets anywhere in India.”
“Not just India,” an excited voice joined their conversation. “DJ has fans all over the world. He was rated among the top one hundred influential people in the world!”
That piece of information definitely surprised Shilpa.
“Thank you, Mrs—”
“Call me Rhima.”
“Thank you, Rhima.”
Dinner was a boisterous affair. And Shilpa already knew Ma was a force to be reckoned with when it came to food.
“I don’t think I can have any more, Rhima.” Dhruv looked helplessly at Shilpa.
Shilpa bit down a smile and shrugged. “Sorry. I can’t help you with this. I’m just glad the focus is on you tonight.”
“Not so soon, missy,” Rhima snapped. “You are looking increasingly frail. Isn’t she, DJ?”
Dhruv swept his eyes over her, causing a flutter she couldn’t account to an empty stomach. “She looks fine to me.”
“Hahh. Maybe compared to model-thin women you work with. But as a police officer, Shilpa needs to eat more to keep the criminals away.”
“That’s true, Rhima,” Dhruv chimed in.
“Ma!” Shilpa protested as a generous portion of dessert was served into her already emptied bowl.
“Skin and bones. That’s all there is to you lately. How will you get married if you continue like this?”
“Yeah. How will you?” Dhruv added with amusement in his tone.
Shilpa shot him a look. He was enjoying this too much.
“What about you, Dhruv?” Shilpa asked. “We heard you are getting married early next year after your movie releases?” Thank God for her memory, she picked up on that little tidbit as her team gossiped.
“Shilpa! That’s too personal. How can you ask DJ something like that!” the older woman admonished, and then she turned towards DJ and watched him with barely-veiled curious eyes.
Dhruv didn’t seem fazed. Shilpa was sure he came across such probing questions on a regular basis.
“I’m not getting married any time soon,” he replied. “Not unless I find a suitable bride for myself first.”
That answer didn’t impress the older woman much. Rhima clucked her tongue. “You youngsters are all the same. Shilpa keeps prattling similar excuses. She had a perfect match recently. The boy was ex-army and started a business on his own. He was good to look at and courteous to boot. Still, she didn’t accept him.”
There was a sudden silence. After constant talking and laughing, it seemed decidedly noticeable and slightly awkward.
“You want to get married?” Dhruv asked in a strange tone.
“If I meet someone I like, then yes.” Shilpa was annoyed at his skeptical look. It was true that she didn’t want ever to marry, but he didn’t know that or her reasons for coming to that decision. Then why was it so surprising to him that she could have normal needs and wishes like everyone else?
The older woman scoffed loudly. “Hahh! I’m tired of searching for this so-called-ideal guy you could possibly like.”
Dhruv continued to watch Shilpa. “Maybe Shilpa has too high a standard. Unless the man is perfect in every way, they wouldn’t interest her.”
Shilpa returned his stare with a challenging one of her own. “I do have standards. But the man doesn’t have to be perfect in every way. He should just be perfect for me.”
There was a flicker of a change in expression on Dhruv’s face and then it was gone.
Rhima Kumar practically bounced. “Oh my God! That’s exactly what Dhruv said in his recent interview, too, when he was asked about his ideal woman. By the way, I loved it, DJ. I have it recorded. You are so funny and witty in all your interviews. I never miss them.”
“Thank you, Rhima.”
Soon, it was late. All the three of them were surprised when the clock struck twelve indicating it was already midnight.
“I’m sorry I kept you up this late,” Dhruv apologized to the older woman.
“Don’t be silly, DJ. This was the best dinner I’ve had in a very long time. You are welcome to visit and stay however long you want.”
“Thank you.” Dhruv pulled out something from the bag he had brought along with him. “This is for you. If you want to bring more people, let me know, I’ll make arrangements.”
“Oh God! Is this real or am I dreaming? Tickets to your upcoming movie premiere!”
Dhruv smiled. “Yes.”
“Thank you so much, DJ!”
It was a little after half-past twelve before Shilpa and Dhruv headed down the stairs. He was back in his disguise.
They were both silent, and the walk down the stairs felt intimate in the confined space.
“Did you come here on your own?” Shilpa asked, trying to break the increasing awareness she felt towards him.
“No. I have someone waiting for me downstairs,” he answered.
As soon as they reached the parking lot, Shilpa sucked in a huge breath of air. “See you tomorrow,” she murmured, about to stride away.
“Shilpa, wait.”
She paused and turned towards him. He looked towards her quietly. In his long beard and sunglasses at midnight, he should have looked ridiculous. And adding to that with his missing cocky smile, the air around them seemed to be steeped with something she wasn’t entirely comfortable with.
“I really had a great time tonight,” he said softly.
She took a deep breath and pushed the awareness she felt firmly to the side. “Me, too. And it was obvious that Ma did, too. I’m glad you came and put a smile on her face.”
“You are welcome.”
She l
ooked at him for a few more seconds, and then, “Goodnight, Dhruv,” she said before turning to leave.
This time she didn’t look back. But all the while, she felt his eyes on her as she walked away towards where her SUV was parked.
As she drove out of the building, she saw the familiar low sports car pulling into the complex. She knew it was Dhruv’s ride.
AS SOON AS Shilpa reached home, she turned on the lights to an empty apartment. As she readied for bed, for the first time she felt a strange need.
She thought she was content with the life she led. She loved her job, she enjoyed spending time with Ma, and occasionally she socialized with the colleagues in her department.
Then what was this nagging need?
She wondered how it would be if she had company like Ma kept insisting. Shilpa tried to paint the picture of a perfect man and a perfect life.
She mostly gravitated towards introverts. So the ideal man would be an unassuming, simple man with a shy and reserved personality. Probably a nerdy computer geek or a scientist.
She and her man would have quiet evenings at home and occasional outings to either stroll lazily in a public park or meet with friends and family. Their lovemaking would be sweet and enjoyable. Then after some time, they would have a child whom they would both dote on to complete their small family.
Shilpa sighed. It did sound perfect.
Later that night, she dreamt of her perfect man.
The man wore the typically geeky, dark and thick-rimmed spectacles. But instead of a shy and reserved smile, there was a cocky smirk on an outrageously handsome face. And instead of a quiet dinner at a restaurant, their table was swarmed by women and men to get his autograph and pictures. Some of them more or less pushed Shilpa out of their way.
“This is all wrong. You are not what I want,” Shilpa said in shock.
“Too bad, Officer Dasani. You are stuck with me.” The man waggled his eyebrows, and they were transported to her bedroom “Now this is where it’s going to get interesting.”
Shilpa woke up with a jerk.
Shit. She had been dreaming about Dhruv.
Chapter 11
For the rest of the two weeks, Shilpa had Dhruv joining her in field work. And along with the fieldwork, Dhruv chose to stay late at the police station, observing while Shilpa and her team continued to investigate people and plan the warehouse raid.
Dhruv often ordered food for her team. The team adored him, and they offered a lot of information and insight about the cases they were working on. Shilpa was quite impressed with Dhruv’s sharp analytical skills.
Looks and brains, Dhruv Jagannath seemed to have it in spades.
Even as Shilpa worked relentlessly trying to track the henchmen of the Mafia drug lords who were supposed to meet at the warehouse, she still felt a keen awareness towards him. It only seemed to grow when she saw how genuine and unaffected he was with people around him. Even Ma kept gushing about him. And Dhruv joined her once again for the weekly dinner at Ma’s.
“When did you decide to be a police officer?” he asked her one late evening while she was dropping him home.
“Since I was six.”
He didn’t seem surprised.
“How about you?” she asked, genuinely wanting to know. “Have you always wanted to be an actor?”
“Yes. Since I was six-years-old, too.” He smiled and added, “Much to my mother’s chagrin. She wanted me to be a doctor. I was even enrolled in medical school, only to quit it after the first year when my first movie offer came along.”
Shilpa found that surprising. She still remembered him saying that he lived in shady places for a while growing up. Even though she was tempted to know more about his personal life, she stopped herself. She knew that whatever fascination she felt towards him was temporary. Maybe she wasn’t that much different from the rest of the star-struck fans Dhruv had. So she would continue to keep as much distance as she could from him.
Soon, she stopped the SUV in the underground parking garage and waited for Dhruv to step out.
“Have dinner with me.”
Shilpa smiled. The man never gave up. Over the past two weeks, despite getting the same reply from her, he had been asking her the same question over and over again.
“No.”
He smiled back. “One day, you are going to agree, Officer Dasani.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You seemed to be quite confident, Mr. Jagannath.”
“Oh, I am,” he replied with a grin. “And determined, too. Never doubt it.”
Shilpa laughed.
“Goodnight, Shilpa,” he said with a charming smile.
Shilpa knew his smile might feature in her dreams. Yet again.
SOON, IT WAS time for the warehouse raid.
It was funny how the rich criminals didn’t trust having a meeting at any of the luxury hotel conference rooms or private resorts or guesthouses. They were too cocky, thinking they wouldn’t be tracked if it were at an obscure location. During one of her visits to Vinay Pathak, he had mentioned that the location kept changing each time, and the meeting wouldn’t happen at the warehouse once again.
“Is he on his way?” Shilpa asked her informer on the phone.
“Yes. He should reach there in two hours,” the informer spoke in hushed tones.
The other informers also gave similar information regarding other henchmen who were headed to the warehouse.
“Team, it’s time,” said Shilpa. They were dressed in their police uniforms, and the vehicles were readied for them outside. They would be stopping at a place that was half-a-kilometer away first. Once they received confirmation that all the parties had joined the meeting, Shilpa and her team would ambush them, catching them red-handed.
“Guys, remember. Safety first. If needed, don’t hesitate to shoot.” She turned to Dhruv. “Dhruv, you are to remain at the police station. You can observe the happenings from the control room.”
Dhruv nodded.
Taking a deep breath, Shilpa looked at her team. “Let’s go. Let’s bring those buggers down and rid our city of the menace.”
Chapter 12
Dhruv watched the entire operation from the control room.
Unlike the movies, there were hours of waiting time and patience required until the right moment arrived.
Dhruv could hear everything, including Shilpa’s instructions to her team as she prepared them to enter into a highly volatile situation where there were dangerous armed criminals who ran the city’s drugs and weapons Mafia.
Dhruv knew he was in trouble when a bead of sweat slid down his forehead in tension and worry as he watched Shilpa. Despite knowing she was an able female police officer doing her job, the worry churning inside his stomach wouldn’t stop.
“Police! Drop your weapons and put your hands up in the air!” Shilpa ordered, after bursting into the warehouse.
Chaos ensued. As anticipated, a few criminals dropped their weapons, but a few didn’t. Dhruv could hear the gunfire. He watched as Shilpa flinched and was knocked back when a bullet hit her. Even though he knew she wore a bulletproof vest, he still felt agitated.
He felt tortured as he watched the live footage for the next few minutes where Shilpa dodged a few more bullets. Finally, the criminals gave up the fight when they realized that they were outnumbered and overpowered.
Sounds of cheers dominated the control room, but all Dhruv saw was the way Shilpa subtly held her shoulder and grimaced in pain.
IF DHRUV HAD thought having a major crackdown would offer a few days of relief to the police work, then he was mistaken. He watched as further investigations and interrogations followed. Apparently, a norm in the life of the police.
Currently, they were watching the footage again for the tenth time. Not the actual ambush, but the part where the drug-dealers were talking to each other and strategizing.
They were supposed to be on a lunch break, but Shilpa had replayed the footage once again. She hadn’t asked anyone to join her, b
ut everyone did.
“I am really impressed by the footage, Shilpa,” said Dhruv. “You know what I think? I think you should act alongside me in the movie.”
“What?” Shilpa frowned. Shilpa’s eyes were glued to the screen in front of them.
“The brooding female sidekick who secretly harbors a terrible crush towards my character.” Dhruv said that in a serious tone. “I think I’m going to suggest this to the Commissioner. It would be good PR to have a real police officer act in the movie.” He took a bite from the special lunch that Rhima had packed exclusively for him. Since he couldn’t risk being identified by visiting Shilpa’s mother’s place again, the older lady decided to send him her special dishes. He was touched by her gesture and enjoyed each time her daughter handed him the lunch bag.
Shilpa’s head whipped around to glare at him, only to see his grin.
Dhruv had noticed a change in Shilpa’s behavior over the past few weeks. Instead of warming up to him, she now made a conscious effort to avoid eye contact with him. Sure, she took him along with her for field work and answered his questions professionally, but there was a marked difference in her behavior.
Dhruv found it interesting. And it made him want to pull her leg deliberately.
“Very funny,” Shilpa murmured as she turned away.
There was laughter heard from the rest of the police team who were in the room having lunch with them. “That’s a wonderful offer, Madam Sir. If you don’t take it, one of us would be more than ready to do so.”
Shilpa tore her eyes away from the screen to throw a brief look towards Dhruv. “Just so you know, Mr. Jagannath,” she began in an amused tone. “If I ever decide to act in your movie, it wouldn’t be as your side kick. Maybe as your boss or your exceptionally smart partner who has to do all the work while you use your special power of distracting the female criminals.”
Dhruv laughed. “Duly noted.” He had also noticed that Shilpa Dasani had a good sense of humor. Initially, he was under the impression that she preferred to maintain the strict officer image. But her team adored her, and she had a relaxed camaraderie with people she worked with.
