My So-Called Bollywood Life(26)
“I don’t think my life story is like Jab We Met in this situation.”
Winnie’s face was so close to Dev’s, and his calm and steady gaze helped her focus. A part of her couldn’t help but be grateful that things were spiraling out of control. If they hadn’t, then she never would have reconnected with Dev.
“I think you have time before the festival to get your title back,” Bridget said cheerfully. “When is it again?”
“January fourth,” Winnie and Dev said in unison.
Bridget jerked up to a sitting position. “January fourth? Don’t you think it’s a little strange that you have to find a solution for the film festival with Raj on your birthday? Isn’t that your prophecy—ouch!”
Winnie had probably pinched her best friend’s thigh hard enough to bruise, but that was the only way to get Bridget to shut up. “There is nothing odd about that date. Other than it’s going to be here before I know it and I’m screwed.”
“So what are you going to do?” Dev asked.
“I wish I knew.”
* * *
—
Winnie was beginning to expect the dreams now. She stood on what looked like an empty 1970s Bollywood movie set. Round tables with white tablecloths sat in front of a blue gazebo covered in twinkle lights. She brushed her fingertips against the aqua fabric of her salwar kameez. Long jhumkas hung from her ears, and her anklets chimed when she walked. Man, she wished she could pull the same look off at school.
Shah Rukh Khan wore powder-blue bell-bottoms and sported muttonchops this time. He sat at a piano, playing a familiar song. Winnie approached him and leaned on the piano.
“So I told my dad I’m no longer the film-festival chair.”
Shah Rukh Khan continued to play, but he nodded.
“And I know that Raj said he was doing all of this guest-judge business for me, but he screwed my college application in the process. And on top of everything, I’m kinda getting a thing for Dev. It’s too soon, though, right? Am I a horrible person for wanting to be with someone else after dating the same guy for years?”
“Only you can answer that question, Winnie,” he replied.
“Well, I feel horrible. It’s just that, well, Raj and I have known each other for forever. Even though he didn’t wait long to date Jenny, I feel like I should wait because I have this prophecy that I’m still not sure about. Also, waiting will give me time to focus on proving myself to Mr. Reece. Whether Pandit Ohmi’s prediction about soul mates is true or false, I don’t know. But I do know that film is definitely my future.”
“Do you think that concentrating on your future is a way for you to avoid your destiny?” Shah Rukh Khan asked.
“I don’t know,” Winnie said. She closed her eyes, and then had to pry them back open when her false lashes stuck together. “I’m thinking that I need to come to terms with destiny being something that I can actually control. It’s not magical and it’s not something that can be predicted, no matter what my parents and grandmother and Pandit Ohmi say.”
Shah Rukh Khan gave his iconic wavering laugh.
“What, you don’t think that’s a good idea?” she said.
“I think that’s a foolish idea.”
“Well, I don’t. Focus on school; then, after I graduate, look for a good guy. I’ll have to avoid Dev. Avoid Dev and Raj, I mean.”
Shah Rukh Khan stood; his fingers slipped from the keys. He adjusted his cuff links and walked off the set until he was only a shadow in the darkness.
“You’re still thinking you can control your future and you’ve reached the end of your story, when in fact there is still much of the movie left to see, my friend.” His voice echoed as he faded.
“You need to stop quoting your cheesy movies, Khan!” she called out. “Oh, and Deepika Padukone totally stole this movie from you!”
* * *
—
Winnie jerked awake. She grabbed a half-finished bottle of warm iced tea off the floor and chugged it.
“Well, that was completely useless,” she said in the dark when her heartbeat slowed.
She powered up her laptop and scrolled through her video library until she found Om Shanti Om. She played the movie from the moment Shah Rukh Khan sat at the piano in the gazebo. She didn’t know why she continued to dream about one of her favorite actors, but she was sure that if she played his films, she’d understand what he was trying to tell her. There was no other way to decipher her conversations with him. In the process she’d hopefully get some direction about what she should do.
9
BOMBAY
This movie is the reason I love Bollywood films. There is a scene where the guy and girl connect. It’s quiet, it’s quick, but you just know that these two are meant for each other, and they’ll fight for their love until the very end.
Winnie carefully lined up film strips in the splicing machine and glued the cut ends together. The sound of the machine, metal rotating against metal, was like music to her ears.
She examined the lead. “Perfect.”
“Always so humble.”