On the morning of the fourth day of their stay, as Lugal and Sunny walked down the stairway to the foyer, the receptionist called out to him.
"Excuse me Mr. Shankar. An appointment has been made for you. Mr. Ramoji will see you at ten this morning."
"Today? Isn't that great? Did you say Mr.Ramoji? The great Mr. Ramoji?"
"Oh no Sir. That's his Uncle. You'll be seeing Mr. Sachin Ramoji, Producer at Sun Valley Motion Pictures."
At about 9:45, the couple reported at the Sun Valley desk where they were politely welcomed and asked to sit down. Twenty minutes later, the main door was opened and in the doorway stood a smiling middle aged man with greying temples. He held out his hands towards them.
"There you are. Come in and let's talk showbiz. Welcome to Sun Valley Studios. The finest film company in the world."
As Lugal passed him he patted his shoulder and said "hey, I'm just kidding but we do our beat. We always look for that something special here."
Once they were seated, he looked from the one to the other as if he was sizing them up.
"So you two are dance partners? I mean do you work together?"
Lugal immediately held out his hands towards Sunny.
"Sir, we only met recently but she's a superstar of the future. I call her Sunny-devi because she's born to be great. In fact, she's my inspiration. I had to tell you this."
Lugal rose to his feet and looked earnestly at the older man.
"Sir, instead of all this talking, why don't I rather show you something. Once you've seen it, we can discuss whatever you like."
The producer smiled, put his hands behind his head and leant far back.
"Hey, I like that. They say action speaks louder than words. So let's see some action. Go for it. The floor is yours."
Lugal went to one end of the room and after flexing a muscle or two, ran forward, did a complete cartwheel and leapt high up into the air to land with one foot on the seat of a leather upholstered chair and with the other foot on its back rest.
He tilted the chair backwards gently enough for him to land, perfectly balanced, on the other side.
As he spun around, he was able to see, right on cue, the secretary enter the office carrying a tray filled with cups and other tea things.
When she saw Lugal's antics, she gave a little scream and let her glasses fall into the sugar bowl.
Undeterred, Lugal dashed forward, scooped up the try just before she dropped it, did a few turns and then placed the tray gently down on the desk of the astounded producer.
In Lugal's eyes he saw only dutiful politeness.
"What will it be Sir? One lump or two?'
Then he picked up the glasses, cleaned them with a tissue and returned them to the still shocked secretary, with a polite bow.
Mr. Ramoji looked at her with some sympathetic understanding.
"It's OK Mrs. Singh. That will be all. Please don't worry. Everything is perfectly under control here."
As he turned to leave, he spoke to her again.
"Another thing, Mrs. Singh. Please cancel all the other auditions. Tell them that they'll all be fully compensated.
I think that I've found what I've been looking for."
PS
You may wonder why I've written such a flamboyant way out story. For me Gather is a place of learning. To learn, I must extend myself...to my utmost. Once I know what my limits are and I've explored the widest range of avenues, I'll settle down and write what I'm meant to write...but hopefully the reader will always sense that there are many arrows of versatility in my quiver. Here and there in my works, they will sense the freedom of my spirit.
What I'm trying to say is this. If you've climbed high mountains and swum in deepest pools then surely walking along the plains has a greater significance for you?
There's another matter. Should your book be considered on day for a movie, you'll find that the studio will rewrite parts of it to enhance what they call cinematographical effects.
Like the kites in the Kite Runner.
I'm just trying to prepare the way for them.


Comments: 25
Keep 'em coming, friend, and let me know when you get the screenplay finished. :-)
Note in the Gather eMail.
I agree that we -- meaning people who wish to write/tell stories -- should write beyond our limits, though I'm not sure the imagination has limits.
Hi Mariana
I'm glad that you had a peep at what I wrote. Are you comingback? I would like that.
Ah your comment was a real delight. Just what I needed...an informative review of my kind of experimental story telling.
If I can be magical and yet somewhat believable then you've made my day. That's what i want to do very much.
Now, if you can see compassion in my stories...even an attempt to inspire others to be compassionate....then I thank you for seeing that and telling me that you saw it.
As a writer one needs to hear whether one is even close to achieving one's aims.
You were kind enough to say that... leaving me very motivated.
II'll sned to a couple of tickets to a cinema near you...when the time comes. Hahaha.
Thank you Tom.
I thought you kept all the action moving briskly here; never a dull moment or wasted word.
Hi Sheila Of course they'll dance together. They're going to become the leading actors of the age. But not yet. In later chapters.
Thank you Cristina. I enjoy each of your visits. I feel that you see something in my writind.
Wait till you see them on the screen. Their performances will rock the world. They will be magical because there is something magical between them.
Thank you Karl
True...there's no limit to ones' imagination but one must always explore the limits in order to extend them. Unvisited, the limits will shrink due to lack of use.
Thank you for that invaluable mail. Great.
If you type In Microsoft word and then make it into Times Roman and select number 12...and then paste from word... I feel page looks more inviting... many times it happens easily and sometimes it's not so easy...make some words in bold or italics..
well try this...I try a lot...
Take care
Dancing is a way of releasing feelings deep down inside of you. That doesn't mean, however, you must actually do the dancing. Watching good dancing can be an exhilirating experience.
I'm so glad that you see the passion even thought I only hint at it. That's my style. I leave it to the reader to fulfil. But, truth be told, I sometimes do leave othing to te imagination. Perhaps when I've had a Jack Daniels.
I find that a change in style widens my horisons and I begin to see more and more scope for expressive writing. Good to see you.
Experience has told me that anything beyond 600 words is not too popular on Gather.
I went to the limit of what I thought was would be read. I said to myself, 2 1/2 chapters is all time they're gonna give you buddy.
This is taken from a longer story and so I could have gone on...but who would have read it?
Bill, I thought of it as experimental as it was a action strong story line. Very little romancing and not much background scene painting. Sunny (in these three chapters) was a minor player and so I depended on Lugal alone to hold the readers attention
I'm always glad when you knock on my door. I'm so happy to hear how involved you became.
A sequel??? Now there's a thought. Let me go for a ride on my camel and think about it.
It's good to hear from you and get these comments from you. When you give me your opinions I listen and learn.
I wrote about Ramoji because two great people in movie making (whom I know) helped to produce the Hollywood blockbuster "Under The Eye of the Cobra" there.
Yes I believe in simplicity. I don't hide behind esoteric words and convoluted phrases.
Bhawana I only write happy endings as I believe in spreading knowledge, experience, emotions and lifes lessons and then leaving the reader in a joyful mind. Why? Because spritual experiences are joyful, aren't they?
Thank you for your advice. I'll try what you say. Perhaps when I submit poems.
Your visit was a real pleasure