“You seem to be in low spirits today?” he enquired not expecting an answer. Shanya looked up and just gave a dry smile. “Is something bothering you?” he tried to probe further. She just said “No”.

Avi asked for a coke from the café and they sat quietly for some moments. The breeze was blowing hard and the light drizzle made the weather very pleasant. Shanya’s silky hair was flying in the breeze and she was quietly sipping her coffee, not saying anything. The golf course in the valley was exotic. Avi had paid a lot of money to book the location for his movie. The weather was perfect for the scene, but his lead actress was in no mood to shoot.

“Raj, we will shoot day after, as tomorrow I have some other work, and bye all of you.” Avi waved at his crew and drove away in his scarlet Ferrari. 

Somehow Shanya knew that he was the one. But, she tried very hard to put the thought away. How could she feel like that?  He was her mentor.  He was her guru, the one she learnt from. These thoughts kept disturbing her.

Shanya woke up choking for breath. She was sweating all over. She looked around in her room. There was complete silence except for the sound of the clock ticking away. The time was 3:30 am. She drank some water and waited to come back to normal. Then she slumbered again into her dream world.

The lake was calm, the night tranquil and the moon shone bright. The chill breeze was soothing. Avi’s hand around her made her feel very comfortable. She slowly leaned her head on his shoulder. “I love you,” she whispered in his ear. The alarm rang and her dream was left incomplete. 

Shanya rushed to get ready. She had to catch the city bus at 9 if she was to make it in time for the shoot. She appeared to be in good spirits today and smiled to those she encountered on her way.  At the bus-stop a scarlet Ferrari came and stopped. The window lowered and she saw his hand wave for her to come in. “Hi Shanya, how are you today?” his resonating voice made her skip a heartbeat. “I am fine,” she smiled. “Ready for a long and grilling day?” Avi tried to find out if he could shoot a full day for his movie ‘In Search of the Meaning of Life’. Shanya was ‘his find’ at a local dramatics & acting class where Avi had gone searching for new talent, a fresh face. She had the perfect looks for the role in his movie. Her features were very angelic and he felt he had been very lucky to find her. But she was a novice; like a raw rock that needed to be carefully polished into a gem.

Avi was a person of few words. He did not make much conversation except with very close friends. He was from the Rajput community of India; the warrior caste. His looks matched well with his clan. He was tall, lean and had grey eyes that made him look handsome. He was what women call fine-looking and attractive. He had graduated from the International School of Film & Television and had always been a topper. He already had made some movies which were quite successful and he had been able to make life comfortable for himself and his parents.

Shanya belonged to an orthodox and conservative Indian family from the Southern part of the country. It was with great reluctance and with restrictions that her parents had allowed her to follow her dreams. She was very creative and talented in many ways. Her parents had a lot of resistance from their relatives when she was sent to study dramatics and acting. “Girls in our community don’t go displaying their body around” some said sarcastically. Avi had promised her that every care would be taken to make the movie clean and she would not have to do any scenes she was not comfortable with.

Shanya had an unemployed brother. Her family lived on her earnings. Avi would go sometimes to visit her family and assure them that she was in good hands and that life would only become better from here. When her father was ill, Avi paid for his hospitalization and he even managed to get her brother a job in a friend’s firm. When Shanya tried to thank him for his goodness he just said, “That’s what friends are for.”

Avi knew his storyline was strong and he had what it took to make a great movie. He had a perfect actress, most popular actor, adequate financing and a hardworking crew. He had all the right ingredients for making a good movie. He was almost half way through, when Shanya had fumbled in her dialogues a few days ago. 

Avi loved it when he shot emotional scenes.  Shanya got into the role, became very emotional and even cried if the shot required it. Raj was a perfect romantic hero and made Shanya feel comfortable. Avi coached Shanya very carefully and showed her how small changes in her dialogues or mannerisms could give her better shots and improve her performance. There were days when they shot late into the night and worked very hard. Shanya looked at Avi as her mentor and guru. She trusted him and slowly but surely realized that the hero-worship was turning into something more than that.

“I am sorry about the other day,” Shanya tried to break the silence between them. ‘It’s alright, don’t worry about it,” he always made her feel so comfortable she thought. They reached the studios and the valet came up to open the door for her. Avi drove to the car park as he did not trust anyone else to drive his ‘Elsa’ the scarlet Ferrari as he had named her, his prized possession.

The day was long and Avi was exhausted but happy with the work. The financers of the movie had come over to see the progress and they looked happy. They agreed to go ahead with releasing the final part of the finances.

“Come, today I will drive you home,” Avi told Shanya. Though she knew it was very late and her folks would be furious, she could not refuse an offer like that. She always wanted to spend some time alone with him. The night was dark, a new moon day. The roads were deserted, with very little traffic around. The music on the stereo of the car was from her favourite album. Our choices match, she thought. Avi was sounding very excited and was talking non-stop about how he was planning the promotion of his movie. “If this movie clicks, I will get into the fast track” he said. Shanya felt a strong urge to open her heart to him and tell him that she loved him, but in India such things are considered a taboo. It was past midnight when he dropped her home. “See you in the morning, bye,” Avi waved and drove away.

The next few days were very hectic for the entire crew of the movie. It was the night of the party for the promotion of the movie at a famous five star hotel in the city. The party was in full swing when suddenly the security staff of the hotel came up to Shanya and asked for her handbag to be checked. She was shocked. She looked around and found that Rinita, a famous actress, was standing a few meters away whining that her necklace had been stolen. Just as Shanya was being taken for checking one of the security staff members came running with the necklace saying it was found on the staircase near the third floor.

Shanya looked towards Avi for some support but he was too busy with his guests. Also there was no remorse in the eyes of Rinita, leave alone an apology. Shanya could stand it no longer. She walked up to Rinita and told her, “Ma’am I may be from a not-so-rich background but my morals have never been challenged by anyone.  This is the biggest insult in my life and I will never forget it” She barged out of the room, sobbing profusely.

Days had turned into months and years.  Avi’s movie had done well at the box-office and as Avi expected he was on to the fast track. Shanya on the other hand had drifted away from Avi. What hurt her most was that Avi had totally ignored the incident and never tried to reach out to her.

Avi had become what is known as a Page 3 person. His photograph appeared on page 3 in the news paper almost every other day. There was a lot of gossip around him, but none of it bothered Avi. He was pursuing his dream; his dream to create a masterpiece. Create something which had never been created before. The project was called ‘Divine Perfection’. The story line was about how a high profile Corporate Executive loses his touch with Nature and finds himself as a nervous wreck till he meets a messiah in the Himalayas who shows him that if anything is real in life, it is love which in other words is Divine Perfection.

The movie had the star cast of the best pair in the film industry. The actor was his friend Manish and actress the famous Rinita, the same person who had accused Shanya. The storyline was great, the stars were the best in the industry, yet Avi felt something was amiss. Avi was losing heavily on the project and he was in deep debt. Just at that time a rumor was circulating of Rinita ditching the movie as she could not stand the tantrums of Avi. The newspapers and TV channels were having a feast on this news.

Avi was exhausted and sitting in his office trying to figure out a way to improve his situation when he received a call from his lawyer. “She has filed a case against you of exploitation and is asking for a compensation of a crore of rupees!” Avi’s head was spinning. How could Rinita do this to him? Slowly but surely Avi had noticed that his friends and well-wishers vanished into thin air. He was lonely in times of trouble. He hardly ate food and looked old and exhausted.  If things didn’t improve, he would have to shelve his project for want of finances.

Avi was nervous about the meeting. His promoter had told him that someone wanted to meet him regarding re-starting his project. The name was not revealed to him. The curiosity was killing him. He waited in the lobby of the hotel when from the corridor a lady emerged. She was lean and beautiful and had an aura about her. Avi rubbed his eyes. Was he dreaming? She walked up to him and held her hand out to him. “Hi Avi, I hope I have not shocked you.” It was Shanya. “Hi Shanya, what’s up?” he tried to hide his emotions. “Nothing, I want to invest in your company as a partner. I know you have a strong project and you will do well. But it would mean you may have to shoot part of the movie again as I would be the lead actress.” She decided not to mince words. “If you agree, I have the document ready for you to sign.” She looked at a man standing nearby who walked towards them with the papers.

After signing the contract, both of them walked towards the coffee shop. “You look more beautiful as the years are passing by,” he could not help telling her. When he enquired as to why she wanted to back a project which was almost shelved, she smiled. She remembered how good he had been to her and how he had helped her and her family in times of difficulty. He had never ever taken advantage of her in any way. “You are my mentor and guru, I owe every happiness in my life to you” Shanya had tears of joy in her eyes.

A few months later…..

The auditorium was packed to capacity. Divine Perfection had swept all the film awards and was declared the Best Movie of the Year. At the podium Avi stood with the award in his hand and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe that whatever happens always happens for the good. I was becoming too arrogant and had lost touch with my roots. My best friend had left me and gone away and I did not make any effort to search for her. Then my world came crashing down. But today I know, it was all for my good. Because of this event, I got back my best friend. And today in front of everyone I say, Shanya thank you for doing the movie with me. If she was not a part of the movie, I am sure it would not be such a big success.” He paused while the applause continued. Then he said “My dear Shanya,  I love you and will always love you, forever and ever. The love I share with you cannot be described in words but it can be experienced in the form of a peace and serenity, an ecstasy beyond words, the love that is called Divine Perfection.”

The auditorium was filled with the thundering sound of applause as Shanya walked up to the stage and hugged Avi.

The next days’ page 3 had the caption, Love Triumphs as Avi finds his ‘Divine Perfection’ in Shanya below a picture of the couple hugging each other.