A Movie Offer

Vinod Kumar came to Sunshine Films’ office for the first time. Producer Ashwin and Altaf, one of his mates were having discussion with him.

“Wonderful office, you have,” said Vinod. “No wonder Vinod, we have always met at your home when you were at the top. You never had to visit producers’ offices,” Ashwin said. “Those were the years of my life I will never want to forget; I was the king of box office,” Vinod said.

“Alright; let’s discuss about a suitable role for you, shall we?” Ashwin said. “Yes please,” Vinod concurred. Altaf started briefing him.

“See Vinod,” before Altaf could continue further, Vinod interrupted, “Hello, what do you mean by Vinod?” “Why, are you not Vinod? Should I call you William then?” Altaf said. “I am the Superstar. Call me Sir,” Vinod said.

“Look Vinod, this superstar story does not fit well with you anymore. All your movies have flopped during last ten years so please cooperate with my boy, otherwise we are getting lots of enquiries from promising newcomers,” Ashwin said. “Alright, continue,” Vinod said.

“We have various types of roles, such as lead actor, supporting actor, a villain, a comedian, etc. Which one will you be interested in?” Altaf asked. “Have you called me here to mock me? There’s no way I can play any role other than a lead role,” Vinod said.

“Don’t worry, Vinod,” said Ashwin, “we will consider you to play only a lead role and not any other. Just let me know how much you charge for a movie.” “Well, Ashwin, I reasonably expect a sum of Rs. 250 million,” Vinod said. “Comeon, Vinod; no kidding here. Be realistic. I can pay you Rs. 100 million,” Ashwin said.

“Okay, bye Ashwin; it was nice to meet you,” Vinod got up from his seat and marched towards the door. “Fine Vinod; I too, enjoyed talking to you. Do come again and we’ll have tea and biscuits together,” Ashwin said.

Vinod turned back and said, “Don’t you think we are hurrying too much? Can we have a relook? How about 200 million?” Ashwin looked at his watch and said, “Oh! I remembered, I’ve got an urgent meeting to attend; I must leave now.” Vinod walked up to Ashwin, held his hand tightly with both his hands and spoke with a nervous smile, “don’t take so much on your heart, it’s not good for health.”

“So, 100 million is final, okay?” Ashwin asked. Vinod nodded nervously.

“Fine, Vinod,” Altaf took over again, “What kind of a role will you prefer? We have various scripts on hand and we are thinking of starting projects on some of them. Some of them are action oriented, some are romantic, some others are family dramas. We also have a couple of scripts that have a patriotic theme.”

“I’ve never done any patriotic movie before. I should like to do one this time,” Vinod said, “how will I look playing a role of an army officer, giving commands to my soldiers?” “Fine, but it involves shooting in Ladakh in minus temperature; you may have to work in a hard schedule,” Altaf said. “Oh I see! I think I should go for an action movie then. Wouldn’t I look amazing thrashing dozens of dacoits alone?” “Fine, but how comfortable are you in doing stunts?” Ashwin interfered in-between.

“Stunts? Such as?” Vinod asked. “See, gone are the days when viewers used to enjoy action sequences on the ground. You may have to jump from height, lift heavy people, ride bikes with speed and do things of similar sort,” Ashwin said. “Good heavens! This is getting a bit complicated. Can I use a body double? I am almost fifty now and am not sure I will be able to do this.” “Don’t you feel your action scenes should be more realistic and convincing? You can try to do them yourself,” Altaf said. “Ashwin, explain him my friend. You can take a long shot while these stunts are done by a body double and take a close shot when I am doing actions on the ground. Why don’t you agree?” “Alright Vinod. Altaf, try to understand his position, man. We have other heroes doing these stunts themselves but they will charge not less than 350 million. I think this is a good deal,” Ashwin said.

“Alright! It’s a new era and we have to insert some intimate scenes with heroines in our movies. It’s not like you just hold her hand and give a couple of hugs, kind of romance when you were ruling the box office over a decade ago. Audience wants to see hard romance nowadays. How comfortable will you be in doing such scenes with heroines?” Altaf asked.

“I will have to do such scenes with heroines? But will heroines of the present generation be ready to do them with me? I am almost fifty now,” Vinod said. “Ready? Today’s actresses are very professional. You just say yes, they will jump on you,” Altaf answered him.

“By the way Vinod, you have an option to use a body double here also, just in case you are not very comfortable in getting closer to heroines. We can use long shot while shooting such intimate scenes,” Ashwin said. “Look, I am a very dedicated actor. If you want such scenes to be hallmark of your movie, they have to be realistic. People should enjoy them. Long shots will not appeal to them. I will do these scenes myself,” Vinod said.

“Whether people will enjoy or not is a different thing, but he surely wants to enjoy these scenes,” Altaf whispered in Ashwin’s ear. “Any problem, Altaf, do you want to say anything?” Vinod asked. “Nothing, Vinod; I was wondering if it would be nice to make actions scenes also more realistic,” Altaf said.

“Stop that, Altaf,” said Ashwin in a reprimanding tone, “with a great difficulty we have got a hero at 100 million; otherwise we’ll have to shell out 350 million.” “Alright, I’m sorry,” Altaf said.

“Fantastic! So, the deal is done. You are our protagonist for the next movie,” Ashwin extended his hand to Vinod for a shake. Suddenly, Vinod’s phone rang.

“Yes, speaking. What? Antagonist? No, I won’t play a villain,” Vinod was speaking as a smile spread on Ashwin’s face. “What? 200? Let me think and get back,” Vinod said and he hung up the phone.

“So, you are getting a villain’s role for Rs. 200 million; is that true?” Ashwin asked. “Yes, Ashwin,” said Vinod. “Who is offering you that role?” Altaf asked. “Bright Features is offering me the role,” said Vinod. “So, is our deal at Rs. 100 million done or not done?” Ashwin asked.

“See Ashwin, I will want you to double my payment to match the current rate I am getting,” Vinod said. “Alright; Bright Features means Subodh Kapoor. Let me talk to him,” Ashwin said. “Wait, wait, Ashwin. Can we renegotiate this?” “Look Vinod, I can give you a body double; not double your payment. If you are getting a better offer, please accept that, but I will not give you a penny more than 100 million. By the way, should I confirm with Subodh Kapoor if he really had called you and offered you a role?”

Vinod folded both his hands and said, “My dear, please forgive me for what I said. If you call him, my name will be spoiled and I will find it difficult to survive in the industry. I am ready to accept your offer of 100 million.”

Finally, Vinod Kumar signed the contract with Ashwin of Sunshine Films for a lead role in his movie for Rs. 100 million.

Author Notes: Glad to inform you about my new fiction book 'Beautiful Relationships' available in paperback version as well as E-book version on Amazon web sites in your countries.

Though a fiction book, Beautiful Relationships conveys a positive message and aims to create emotional positivity by bringing out beauty in various relationships in our lives such as parents-child, brother-sister, etc. It assumes a simpler and purer form of life and human nature and you will certainly feel this simplicity and purity while reading this book.

Beautiful Relationships reinforces us to do what we have forgotten over the years - trust others, be trustworthy ourselves and also, love others.

By buying Beautiful Relationships, you are not buying a book; you are taking home a loving and lovely companion for future many years. Author - Milind Kulkarni

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