Flames OF Paradise - Season 1 - Episode 4

Episode 7 years ago

Flames OF Paradise - Season 1 - Episode 4

Hi! Got the good news?’ Nitin saw her beaming smile and smiled back.

Snigdha locked the door and sauntered towards the round glass dining table where a metal flask of tea was kept made by Dimple. She poured steaming tea in a big white tumbler with a smiley printed on it and passed it on to Nitin. Then she picked up her letter. Twirling the letter around her long fingers, she couldn’t hide her excitement. Nitin looked at her face glowing with excitement, her uptilted nose wrinkling, with the wide smile that her full lips were sporting now. Snigdha plonked herself on the fluffy rug on the floor, and leaned back on the settee kept near the window, close to where he was sitting. Nitin felt amused seeing her expression.
‘So finally we made it!’ Snigdha said happily.
‘No you made it!’ Nitin took the letter from her hands and skimmed his eyes around the subject. It was the same he had seen CCd to him by his boss, Chetan Nangia, who owned the ‘Triple Eye Communications.’ It’s your brainchild Snigdha. I just helped you push the proposal a bit. Now we are a team. Coming Monday, everything will be finalised. Your role in it, the contract, the initial advance given to you, the people who will assist you from Triple Eye and the deadlines. Soon after that, I will leave for Srinagar, to make some arrangements, take permissions, etc. In the meantime, you have to make the entire plan with two team players from Triple Eye, Tripti Khetan and Srinivasan from the production team. ‘They will tell you everything about the finances and introduce you to the right people. Of course, you are free to choose your own crew members.’ Snigdha was zapped by the speed with which Nitin was making the plans.
‘What about the person for the protagonist’s role?’ Snigdha asked cautiously.
‘Haven’t thought about it. Maybe you might want to do an audition. Again Tripti will help you.



You know better the kind of person you need. My suggestion, take a professional, as the person has to be present throughout our shoot and be in command of herself in front of camera.’ Nitin said taking a sip from his tumbler.
Snigdha cleared her throat and began gingerly, ‘How do you feel about Dimple?’
‘Dimple? Your crazy, multicoloured friend?’
‘Nitin! What do you mean multicoloured?’
‘Never mind. Do you mean to say she is interested in this? Is she a good presenter? Has she ever appeared in front of camera?’ Nitin fired a barrage of questions.
‘One at a time please! Yes, she is a very good bilingual narrator, good in English as well as Hindi. She has emceed a couple of stage shows and is a voice over artist too. Satisfied?’
‘Ask her to come and meet me in a couple of days.’ Nitin said thoughtfully. He tried to remember the effervescent, chirpy little girl he had met a couple of times with Snigdha. She was one hell of a good looking female, no doubt. But she was not of this type. He liked serious, level-headed women, more like Snigdha. He shrugged off this sudden excited leap of his heart at the thought of meeting Dimple.
‘Good for her.’ Snigdha said under her breath.
‘What did you say?’ Nitin came out of his reverie.
‘Oh nothing. Tell me Nitin, in my research paper, I have mentioned a couple of local links of journalists and social activists who can help us get in touch with the militant groups that we need to interview. One of them is Chander Prakash Raina from a local daily newspaper who met me in Delhi to give me some significant details. Would you be meeting them as well when you visit Kashmir?’ Soon after that Snigdha and Nitin got engrossed in the nitty-gritty of the planning that they were supposed to do regarding their shoot.

The documentary was going to be a real life account of some militant or ‘Jihadi’ groups as they were called, out of which Snigdha had mentioned two low-key operatives whose members might be willing to appear on camera for interviews. They were surrendered militants. Nitin told her about the contact persons he had located from her research paper through a couple of his news channel friends, a few stringers, social activists and local Kashmiris in whose homes these militants took refuge during snowfall. In-between the discussion, Snigdha observed Nitin’s clean shaven face, sharp brown eyes, and crop-cut hair, cut close to his skull, giving him a distinct army guy look. He was one of those guys who had attracted a lot of female attention during their FTII days. She looked at his neat, expressive hands moving with his words, the expensive gold watch flashing under his formal shirt, and the pearl ring on his little finger. A cool-headed guy, she wondered why he was wearing a pearl studded in a smooth silver band, as astrologically she had heard, pearl was meant to cool hot temperaments. She was sure his cool temperament would gel really well with Dimple’s fiery nature! She felt aghast at this new matchmaking streak in her and shook herself literally to come out of the Dimplesque mood. It seems some of her best friend’s nature was affecting her too!
‘So, now I will have to take my leave Snigdha. Must get packing done and make some important calls to Srinagar.’ Nitin was getting up.