My So-Called Bollywood Life(65)
“I’m on it,” she said. “I first need the username and password for your blog.”
“Why?”
“You want people to show up? You have to hashtag the right things. The right things are usually ‘Ranveer Singh,’ ‘Aditya Chopra,’ and ‘shirtless.’?”
“Ah, the finest of Bollywood actors. Is that going to be enough?”
“Eh. I’ll add Katrina Kaif to the mix.”
“What about people who don’t like Bollywood?”
“We’re in central Jersey. Do people like that exist?”
“Truth. But to be safe, I’ll have Henry post something on the school’s website, too.”
“Good idea.”
They walked together into the Rose.
23
KAPOOR AND SONS
Sometimes the hero doesn’t get exactly what he or she wants, and ends up with something that has the potential of being better. I used to hate plot devices like this. Now? Not so much. Just because goals change doesn’t mean I do, right? #RanveerSingh #AdityaChopra #KatrinaKaif
WINNIE: Hey, I know you’re mad, but Raj is going to clear your name today. I dropped out of the festival, too. Also, you hurt me when you lied. If we’re going to try to make this work, you can’t lie. That’s not cool.
WINNIE: That is if you want it to still work?
WINNIE: I hope you come tomorrow. Make sure you’re there by 6:15PM if you can. I have a ticket waiting for you at the front table.
WINNIE: Miss you. I wish there was an emoji for that.
DEV:
Winnie was in shock from the moment people first started walking in the door, and she had to work at containing her surprise. Bridget’s social-media strategy had actually been effective. She saw a few familiar faces and a lot of new ones. They bought food from the concession stand, stood in front of the film posters to read the summaries, and checked the filmmaker bios on the info table. The banner in the entrance read:
THE MEHTA WEEKEND FLASH FILM FESTIVAL
A Precursor to the Princeton Academy Student Film Festival
Celebrating Short Films in Princeton, New Jersey
“Here you go, beta,” her father said as he handed her a cup of soda. He settled in next to her and surveyed the incoming crowd. “How is everything?”
She looked up at her father and smiled. “You look good in your suit, Daddy.”
“Your mother thought so, too, when I was doing my MBA.”
Winnie looped her arm through his. “I’m sure she thinks the same thing now.” They scanned the crowd until they found her and Nani leading people into the first movie hall. Bridget was at the front door, checking in the filmmakers, and the AV guys were making sure that the movies were ready to go. Henry was going to play the shorts from the projection room and address schedule mishaps through the night. Eric, along with Winnie’s father, was going to troubleshoot.
“Thank you, Daddy,” Winnie said as she wrapped an arm around her father’s waist. “Thanks for believing in me and doing this with me.”
He patted her curled hair. “I take some of the blame for your love of movies, so I can shoulder some of the work as well. You’ve done good, beta.”
Her smile wavered. “I know I’ve been…uh, difficult for a few months.”
“No, just lost. You’re okay now.”
She squeezed his arm. “If you had a chance to do it all over again, would you have gone to America? Would you have tried to study film even though Dada and Dadi told you that you had to be in finance?”
He shook his head. “I would’ve done everything exactly the same,” he said. “I knew that one day I was going to have a daughter who would do all this so much better than I ever could.”
“How did you know?”
“I followed my heart.”
Winnie stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, Daddy.”
“And I listened to what Pandit Ohmi told me to do.”
“Very funny,” she said as her father snorted with laughter. She hugged him again, and they continued to watch the crowd. She still had some time before she gave the welcome speech and thanked the theater and volunteers. Mr. Reece was supposed to arrive soon with his surprise guest, and there were a few other details that were still left.
Like Dev. She hadn’t heard anything from him since he’d texted her that emoji.
When she spotted Jai in his suit coming through the front door, she broke away from her father to meet him. He was carrying a giant box.
“Hey, gorgeous. Very nice suit.”
He grinned. “Thank you. Now that I’m free again, maybe I’ll catch me someone as hot as you here.”
“What? Whatever happened to Tara? The Indian Barbie look-alike you were at the carnival with?”
“Oh, we broke things off. Sort of.”
“Man, I’m sorry. You didn’t mention anything over the last few days.”
“Because it’s a ‘sort of,’?” he said, smiling.
“Ah. Well, you’re better off, right? Come on, let’s take a peek.” Winnie motioned for him to follow her with the box to Eric’s office.