Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Shooting Draft
April, 2013
Gurgaon.
They are talking. They are laughing. But all we hear is the
smooth jazz number.
The SUV exits the main road and makes its way towards the
secured precincts of a gated highrise community.
RANVEER
Now say that in Tamil.
MEERA
(in Tamil; subtitled)
Screw the party. Let’s go home and
make mad love till the sun comes up.
RANVEER
Ooooh. Jaldi nikalenge. Promise. Can’t
waste my lucky day.
Meera giggles.
RANVEER
Have you been smoking?
MEERA
Nope.
MEERA
I knew you’d say that.
HOSTESS
Bangalore is too I-T I-T, yaar. And
the bars close at eleven thirty.
Chalo, conceded ki weather better
hai...
Meera starts to say something but changes her mind and smiles in
surrender.
HOSTESS
Is he as much fun when sober?
MEERA
Yeah, Vinay?
He smiles.
MEERA
Listen. Gussa mat hona please. But...
RANVEER
No. No. No. You’re serious? This is
the...
MEERA
Sorry, guys. Need him for a second.
MEERA
Jaana hoga. Some fuck up with the test
batch. Raaste mein bataati hoon.
RANVEER
Tell Vinay to handle it, na.
4.
MEERA
Usi ka phone tha.
RANVEER
Shruti ko bol. Why can’t she...
MEERA
Can we just go? Please?
RAJIV
All ok, you guys?
RANVEER
Yeah.
MEERA
Office emergency. Have to go.
Rajiv groans.
RAJIV
Tu fire brigade mein thodi kaam karti
hai?
MEERA
Product launch, yaar. Can’t help it.
RAJIV
Toh tujhe main chodh dunga.
Meera looks at Ranveer. She can see he wants to stay back but
doesn’t want to say it.
MEERA
Great. Rajiv chodh dega.
MEERA
Coming now ya Rajiv ke saath?
RAJIV
Ruk jaa na yaar. Chodh doonga. We
hardly meet these days.
5.
RANVEER
You sure?
MEERA
Yeah. Dus minute ka toh rasta hai.
RANVEER
Pakka, na?
MEERA
Stop repeating yourself.
RANVEER
Thought we had plans for the night.
Chal, office pahonchte hi phone kar.
The two look at each other. Until the door shuts between them.
The SUV exits the busy highway and enters an unlit back-road.
Meera stops, even as a few others zip past honking. She’s the
law abiding type.
The bike slows down again on the other side of the traffic
signal. And stops.
She honks again. The Pillion gets down. The bike turns.
Headlight glare in her eyes. She can’t see much.
She sees the pillion moving towards her window. She puts the
car in reverse gear.
She panics as she sees two men get down from the car.
FEMALE RJ (O.S.)
GIBBER GABBER GIBBER GABBER.
And then -
The car heads straight for the bike. Meera can see the
Rider’s face lighting up in fear.
At the last moment - she swerves the car hard, avoiding him
and his bike.
She pulls herself out of the water and sits down on the edge
of the pool.
Breathless.
ATTENDANT
Theek ho, ma’m?
Meera nods.
ATTENDANT
Baal baal bachi aap. Aajkal to
dekho...
Meera and Ranveer sit across the desk of the Station In-charge.
SI BENIWAL
Area mein poochh-taachh kar rahe hain.
Kuchh habitual offenders ki
questioning bhi chalu hai. Madam,
aapne unka registration number note
kiya hota toh matter kaafi simple
hota.
SI BENIWAL
Nahin?
SI BENIWAL
Yeh shaher badhta bachcha hai, Sir.
Kood to lagaayega hee. Aapko inko aise
raat mein akele travel nahi karne dena
chahiye.
SI BENIWAL
Aapki DIG saab se achchi pehchaan hai.
Aap inke liye ek gun licence kyon nahi
apply kar lete?
MEERA
Gun?
Eating in silence.
Just then - the MAID appears with chappatis. Meera pulls her
hand away.
On a big screen, slides with the proposed plan for the launch
of an economy brand of sanitary napkins for the rural market.
Bar graphs and all that marketing mumbo-jumbo.
MEERA
So even if assume a conservative five
year time-frame to come to 50% of
China’s per capita consumption of
female hygiene products, we are
talking about an annualized growth
rate of 28% in this segment.
MEERA
Moving on to the brand name. The
key “insight” from our qualitative
research was that in a majority of
cases, the purchase of the product
is conducted by the kids of the
household.
Meera explains.
MEERA
Chemist shops in Tier-2 and rural
markets are manned mostly by men.
Women are too embarrassed to buy
the product over the counter. And
the men of the household find it...
beneath their honour. So in most
cases, it is the child who is sent
to buy the product.
THE BOSS
(sighs)
Only in India.
MEERA
Which means that our brand name has
to be something which can be easily
remembered by a child. And from the
shortlisted names, the one with the
maximum recall in a sample set of
800 kids was...
She looks at her watch and then at her boss. He gets it.
THE BOSS
Great job, Meera. Well done.
Alright, everyone. ‘Saathi’. Let’s
sleep over it. Meera needs to
leave.
VINAY
I got a key “insight” too.
11.
VINAY
Evidence would suggest that women
tend to have it easy with their
bosses.
MEERA
Technically speaking, that’s an
observation, Vinay. Not an insight.
Thought they teach you all that at
IIM.
Meera rushes down the long, sanitised corridor with the hand bag
and the laptop bag slung across either shoulders.
PERKY RECEPTIONIST
Happy birthday in advance, Meera Ma’m.
Have a nice trip.
The LIFT MAN checking out her reflection in the steel door.
She adjusts.
RANVEER
Dikhaao kahaan hai ‘no parking’ sign.
TRAFFIC CONSTABLE
Aagey lagaa hai.
RANVEER
Toh maine aagey park kari hai?
TRAFFIC CONSTABLE
Sau meter ke andar hai. Chalaan toh
katega.
RANVEER
You go sit inside.
Meera stops short. Then goes to the car. She opens the boot.
Meera dumps the laptop bag in it. Then unzips her handbag. In it
- the gun.
RANVEER
Ridiculous, yaar. Koi ‘No Parking’ ka
sign dikh raha hai?
MEERA
Toh fine kyun diya?
RANVEER
Just trying to impress you.
MEERA
Nice try.
A few of the other lanes have been blocked off. Cops try hard
to control the traffic.
Honks. Lane-cuttings.
RANVEER
Lanes kyun band kar rakhi hain?
RANVEER
Toh?
MEERA
Kya hua?
RANVEER
Huh?
MEERA
Kya bol raha tha wo?
RANVEER
Nah... nothing. Some random fight.
The highway has stretched out nice and wide. The SUV’s into
cruise mode now.
A signboard.
Meera reclines her seat. Puts her bare feet up on the dashboard.
She’s beginning to look relaxed.
MEERA
I wanted a swim first thing. Par late
pahonchenge na?
RANVEER
I booked the private pool wali cottage
- for us.
MEERA
What? Haha. Wait. Wait.
RANVEER
What?
MEERA
Birthday mera. Lucky day tumhara? How
does that work?
Smiling - she slides down the window. Lets the wind blow in her
hair.
RANVEER
Do bottle Bisleri.
RANVEER
Tau, yeh Basantpura ka cut yehi
hai?
RANVEER
Kitna, 3-4 ghante hoga yehan se?
Raasta kaisa hai?
16.
IN THE CAR:
Meera ties up her hair in a bun when she sees a man wrapped in a
blanket approach her.
HITCH HIKER
Kis taraf jaa rahe ho? Hisaar?
Meera. Awkward.
MEERA
Sorry.
She slides up the window. The man stays there, looking at her
from the other side of the glass.
Meera’s relieved when she sees Ranveer reappear and get into the
car.
RANVEER
You ok?
MEERA
Huh... Yeah.
They drive into what’s beginning to look more and more like
the hinterland.
Arid farmlands.
22A The radio playing in the car tries hard to catch frequency.
22A
Ranveer changes the channels. Still no good.
And then, out of nowhere, a girl and a guy come running and
appear bang in front of their vehicle.
The girl turns to look at them for a moment. She looks lost.
And then she is gone. Pulled away by the guy. They seem to be
chasing the jeep.
Stretch a bit.
MEERA
Dickey kholna, please.
Meera takes it out and puts it away into her travel bag.
RANVEER
Tune promise kiya tha hamesha handbag
main rakhegi.
MEERA
Par aaj toh tum ho na saath mein.
Ranveer looks at her. Hurt in his eyes.
18.
MEERA
Sorry. I... I didn’t mean it that way.
Just that... bahot heavy hai yaar...
MEERA
(in Tamil)
Yes, Amma... I’m fine...
Alone.
MEERA
(on the phone)
No, they haven’t found anyone yet... I
don’t think they will. Listen, Amma...
Low battery... Talk to you tomorrow...
yeah, yeah, bye.
Sudden silence.
A waiter appears.
WAITER
Kya lenge?
Her eyes go to the mirror. The door behind her. With the
graffiti on it.
But can’t.
She tries to scrub the graffiti off. The damn thing’s sticky.
But she goes for it with all seriousness.
PINKY (O.S.)
Didi?
Pinky stands there, the same young small-town girl who had
almost bumped into their car.
PINKY
Didi, please... please hamaari help
karo... Hum log bahot problem mein
hain...
PINKY
Please, Didi. Main aur mera
huaband... Hamein saath le chalo...
MEERA
(mutters)
Sorry.
PINKY
Didi, please, Didi...
MEERA
Side hato.
RANVEER
Butter chicken, roti and daal ok, na?
MEERA
Huh?
RANVEER
You ok?
MEERA
Ranveer...
The Scene -
The men are pulling the two out of the dhaba towards the
parking lot.
MUKESH
(screams)
Pinky... Pinky...
SATBIR, the leader of the pack, has the screaming girl by the
arm. She throws herself on the ground in desperation but he
drags her along nevertheless.
ASHOK and RAMOTAR now jump in to help Omi pull the boy along.
They finally manage to wrestle the scooter out of his grip
and hoist him in the air.
RANVEER
Kya problem hai?
SATBIR
Behen hai meri.
PINKY
Bhai... chhod de bhai... bhai jaane
de...
Ranveer now looks at the crowd for some support but they seem
to be losing interest.
ONLOOKERS AT DHABA
(murmurs)
Family matter hai...
FAUJI
Chaabi kiske paas hai?
OMI
Chhotey... khol baawle.
Omi pushes Chhotey aside and jumps into the driver’s seat.
As they are pushed into the vehicle, Mukesh and Pinky scream
even louder now. Almost like wails.
RANVEER
Boss...
Beat.
SATBIR
Bhosadi ke, bola na behen hai.
The group jumps into the vehicle and drives away, along with
the young couple.
MEERA
Slow down, RV.
He doesn’t respond.
MEERA
You did the right thing. You stood
up for...
RANVEER
(cuts her)
Drop it.
MEERA
I mean it. Itne saare log the
wahaan, kisi ne...
24.
RANVEER
I said shut the fuck up, Meera.
MEERA
Listen, if this is how it’s gonna
be, I don’t even wanna go.
BAM!
MEERA
What is it?
No response from Ranveer. His eyes have gone back to what he had
originally spotted off the road that led to the accident.
MEERA
Ranveer?
Still no response.
MEERA
Ranveer... no...
Before Meera can do much, Ranveer unlocks the boot and walks
up to it.
MEERA
RV... just let it go... please
RV...
He puts the car in motion, taking it off the main road, and
on to the kachcha road that leads to the Scorpio.
MEERA
RV, don’t do this. Please. I’ll never
talk to you again.
RANVEER
Relax. Aaj toh main hoon na.
MEERA
No. RV, don’t be stupid. I didn’t
mean it that way. I swear.
MEERA
Please, RV. Please...
RANVEER
Relax. Idiot gaon waale hain. I’m
just gonna scare them a bit. Teach
them not to fuck around, ok?
RANVEER
Stay right here. And lock the
doors.
Back with Ranveer: He can hardly see much behind the tinted
windows.
He stops. Thinks.
To see -
The men huddled around the young couple who are on the
ground. Only a few yards away from Ranveer.
And then, all of a sudden, Fauji swings the iron rod that he
had been holding.
Crack. Scream.
A heartwrenching scream.
But Satbir grabs her hair and starts to drag her away.
MEERA
Tumne kisi ko dekha yehaan?
CHHOTEY
Gaadi. Teri hai? Kiski hai?
MEERA
Lamba sa. Blue shirt.
CHHOTEY
Gaadi chalaaun?
MEERA
Pehle bataa blue shirt waala kahaan
hai.
She grabs the keys out of the ignition and jumps out.
MEERA
Kis taraf gaya wo?
MEERA
Kis taraf?
Chhotey watches her go. Then tries to get into the car.
Realises it’s locked.
CHHOTEY
Kutti.
He puts his hand in. Tries to get to the door lock inside.
But it’s a very small opening. And his arm gets stuck.
Chhotey panics. Struggles.
RANVEER
Fuck.
MEERA (O.S.)
(still faint)
Ranveer!
Have they heard her? He doesn’t know. But at this rate, they
soon will.
MEERA
(mutters)
What the fuck have you done?
(shouts)
Ranveer!
MEERA
Ranveer, you ok?
RANVEER
Let’s just get out of here.
MEERA
Kya hua? I thought...
RANVEER
Chal.
MEERA
It’s ok. He’s ok.
RANVEER
No, he’s not. They’re fucking
butchers. Meera - they...
MEERA
He’s like a kid, Ranveer.
RANVEER
Side Hatt.
RANVEER
Bhenchod side hatt. Nahi toh goli
maar doonga.
MEERA
(screams)
Ranveer!
It’s Omi - digging the ground, along with Ashok, Ramotar and
Fauji. Chhotey fools around, jumping between the flying
shovels.
OMI
Laarey ho ley beera. Haath godey
fudwayega.
RANVEER
Maine Dilli phone kar diya tha. DIG
ko. Anant Sahai. Check kar le. Dost
hai mera. Aur dhaabe pe sab ne
ladaayi dekhi hai. Koi na koi to
bata dega. Police aati hogi.
SATBIR
Thaara phone kathey sa? Gaaddi
mein?
RANVEER
Dekh bhai. Galti kar raha hai tu.
Bola na hum koi reporter sheporter
nahi hain.
SATBIR
Toh Chaudhri sa? Paachha kyaa ne
aaya? Oore ke swaang ho rya tha?
RANVEER
Tune haath uthaaya. Toh mujhe bhi
gussa aa gaya. Dono se galti ho
gayi. Baat khatam karte hain.
33.
RANVEER
Dekh.
RANVEER
Paise chahiye? Bol.
Meera panics.
MEERA
Bhaiyya please jaane do. Kisi ko
kuchh nahi bataayenge bhaiyya.
SATBIR
Rehen de. Bhaanan ke dinmaan theek
naa sa aaj. (It’s not a great day
to be a sister)
Bang. Bang.
MEERA
(frantic)
Fuck. He shot her. He shot her,
Ranveer.
Silence.
OMI
Baaki isme ghaal de.
FAUJI
Goli hi maarni thi to gaaon bhela
karne ki ke jaroot thi?
Satbir feels just a tad unsure. But he can sense Fauji’s eyes
are on him. Are you man enough?
He shoves the gun in the back of his pants and takes the
shovel.
FAUJI
Jey baat... Chhet... Chhet
bhaanchod na.
The gun falls off from behind his pants. He doesn’t care. He
continues to swing.
BY THE TREE:
But they can hear. Mukesh’s wails. Then his whimpers. Then
his silence.
Meera can see Fauji’s eyes are on her. And then they travel
down her body. Slowly. Ominously.
CHHOTEY
Gaaddi. Bech denge.
CHHOTEY
Thaari gaaddi. Bech denge.
Bhaadargarh mein jaankaar hai.
MEERA
(frustrated)
What the fuck is he talking about?
RANVEER
They’re going to kill us.
RANVEER
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
MEERA
Tumko chahiye? Gaadi?
MEERA
Bolo. Chahiye?
36.
CHHOTEY
Paise?
RANVEER
Haan, paise bhi denge.
MEERA
Nahi paise waise nahi chahiye. Bas
rassi khol do. Gaadi tumhaari.
CHHOTEY
Pakke se?
MEERA
Chaabi... chaabi le lo. Pocket mein
hai.
MEERA
Ab tumhaari baari.
Chhotey goes behind the tree and starts to untie her knot.
Omi stops digging and looks. They have dug up a four feet
deep grave.
OMI
Ho gaya ke?
FAUJI
Hor ke tel kaadna sa?
The other men too come out of the grave. Throw themselves on
the ground tiredly.
FAUJI
Soki... kiraasni le aa.
ASHOK
Saans to le lene de khasam.
RANVEER
Meera. Quick.
Ranveer’s eyes are on the men. One of them gets up. Starts
walking towards them.
RANVEER
Quick. They’re coming.
It gets the attention of the other men. They too get up and
run in the direction of Ranveer and Meera.
Ranveer manages to pick up the gun with the men only a few
yards away.
RANVEER
Chaabi de.
RANVEER
(shouts)
Chhabi de.
RANVEER
(screams)
Goli maar dunga saaley paagal.
OMI
De de Chhotey.
CHHOTEY
Meri gaaddi hai.
OMI
Hor ghani lyaa dunga.
39.
CHHOTEY
Baawla bana rahe ho saare. Naa deta
main.
Confusion. Chaos.
BANG.
MEERA
Ranveer. Run.
OMI
Chhotey... uth re... uth laala.
OMI
Baalak tha yaar yo.
FAUJI
Nikal jaange dono.
No response.
40.
FAUJI
Karo maatam inghe aalthi paalthi
laga ke.
OMI
(curses)
Cheechad saala.
He puts some more effort. And then some more. The anger on
his face rising with every second. He lets out a scream.
RANVEER
Did he die?
MEERA
We... we need to find help.
RANVEER
You think he died?
MEERA
Let’s get to the cops.
RANVEER
Fuck. Fuck.
They reach the Scorpio first. Ranveer checks the door - just
in case.
MEERA
Ranveer. We need to get to the
cops. Somehow.
41.
RANVEER
Yes. We... we just need to get out
of here. Sahai hai na. Sab sort out
ho jaayega.
RANVEER
My phone.
RANVEER
I need my fucking phone.
Hope. Tantalising.
RANVEER
Find a rock. I’ll break the window.
It’s just out of reach. He tries to dig further. The arm gets
stuck in the slit.
RANVEER
Shit!
Feet. Shouts.
MEERA
Shit! They’re coming. Let’s go,
Ranveer.
Ranveer panics. Tries harder. The damned arm won’t come out.
And -
The men go running towards the car. Look all around it.
Heck, they can even see that the laces on one of his shoes
are untied.
In the scampering -
FAUJI
Bhaanchod!
RANVEER
RUN!
RANVEER
(calming himself)
We have the gun. We still have the
gun.
He notices the kachcha road that brought them there and the
one that leads back to the road from where they diverted.
RANVEER
This way.
39A As they get closer, the darkness and the quietness of the 39A
wilderness make way for -
Hope. Renewed.
FAUJI
Roko saalon ko.
RANVEER
Try and stop someone.
An approaching truck.
44.
Meera steps aside at the last moment. The truck whizzes past
her.
RANVEER
Stop someone, dammit.
MEERA
I’m trying.
Ranveer has his eyes on the three men. And the darkness that
lies behind them.
The men too notice the light coming from behind. They move
aside.
In panic - he fires.
RANVEER
MEERA... RUN!
The two run to the other side, with the vehicle chasing them -
almost missing a side-on collission with an oncoming car on
the road.
Meera and Ranveer jump off into the fields on the other side.
RANVEER
Go that way.
Fauji, Ashok and Ramotar have caught up by now and run in the
direction of Meera.
So does Ranveer.
The Scorpio follows him for a bit but is forced to stop when
the vegetation gets thicker.
She can hear feet chasing her. And the distant voices of the
men.
MEERA
Ranveer. Find me. Find me, Ranveer.
Fauji’s stick swings over her ducked head. Only just missing
her.
RAMOTAR
Kinghaan ne gayi raand?
FAUJI
Bichalo mat re chutiyon. Phaiyl
jaao. (Don’t fucking get confused.
Spread out.)
47.
SOMEWHERE THERE:
Ranveer. Running.
RANVEER
(screams)
MEERA! MEERA!
RANVEER
Fuck.
ASHOK
FAUJI! RAMOTAR!
A visibly shaken Meera has still not brought the gun down
when Ramotar appears there.
There are no more bullets in it. Meera knows it. But she’s
hoping Ramotar doesn’t.
The two look into each other’s eyes for a long moment. The
first one to blink loses.
And then, she takes a step towards him. He takes a step back.
That’s it. Meera lets out a scream as she charges at him with
the gun.
RAMOTAR
FAUJI!
MEERA
Ranveer, you ok, baby?
MEERA
Let’s go.
OMI
Ghani door naa jaa paayenge.
Ranveer halts.
RANVEER
I can’t. I can’t walk any more.
MEERA
We’re there. See.
Blinded and confused, Meera shields her eyes trying to make out
what it is.
MEERA
Aas paas koi toh gaon hoga... A
police station maybe... Bas wahaan
tak pahunch jaate -
MEERA
Ranveer, baby, I’m gonna go get
some help.
Meera helps Ranveer get up. It’s difficult as his knees are
wobbly.
She helps him walk up to under the bridge. Makes him sit down
with his back to it.
MEERA
I’m gonna be back soon, ok? I
promise.
MEERA
And you promise that you’ll wait
for me here.
MEERA
You got some money on you?
Then her eyes fall upon his watch. The big fat designer
watch. A man’s watch.
MEERA
If they find you, this will scare them
off. OK?
Her voice betrays the feeling that she doesn’t quite believe it
herself.
MEERA
RV. Sona mat. Wait for me, RV.
Listen. Listen to this.
(whispers in Tamil)
We’ll go home and make mad love till
the sun comes up. OK?
RANVEER
My lucky day today?
INTERVAL
FADE IN:
She holds her arm as she runs on the dusty road, towards the
light, shouting -
MEERA
HELP!
As she gets closer, she realises it’s a small rest stop for
passers by. A tube light flickers over an inscription on the
wall -
She runs to the middle of the road and flails her arms about.
MEERA
Please help. Police station -
Her words taper off as she looks at the men on the vehicle.
Their eyes on - Her state. Her face. Her ripped shirt. Her
alienness.
She slowly backs off. And runs away in the direction opposite
to which the jeep is going.
Meera can’t believe her luck. She runs in the direction the
arrow is pointing at.
CONSTABLE
Wo kuttey ghus jaate hain toh bandh
rakhna padta -
MEERA
Please help. Mera husband... he’s
in danger. Please saath chaliye.
CONSTABLE
Ke baat ho gayi?
MEERA
Kuchh log... unhone humpe attack
kiya. Highway par. They...
(MORE)
56.
MEERA (CONT'D)
they stabbed my husband. Please
jaldi chaliye.
CONSTABLE
Main saab ko phone karta hoon.
CONSTABLE
Ringing kar rya sa.
CONSTABLE
Janaab. Ek madam hain. English
type. Boley koi rolla raapda hoya
sa...
CONSTABLE
(cups the phone)
Tam aa kahaan se rahe ho?
MEERA
Delhi.
CONSTABLE
(relays)
Dilli.
57.
CONSTABLE
Naa janaab. Aayi dilli se... kaand
inghe hoya... highway par. Hain
janaab?
(cups the phone again)
Highway ke is taraf ki parli taraf?
MEERA
Sir... please try and understand.
Hum Dilli se aa rahe the. Raaste
mein kuchh logon ne attack kiya.
They... they stabbed my husband.
(listens)
Nahi, mujhe nahi pata kaun log the.
Koi honour killing ka case hai. Ek
ladke aur ladki ko utha ke le gaye
dhaabe se...
MEERA
(chokes)
Dono ko maar diya. Hamaare saamne.
Ladki ka naam shaayad...
MEERA
Phone... phone kyun kaata?
CONSTABLE
Tam jaao yehaan se.
MEERA
Kya hua?
CONSTABLE
Bola na. Jaao.
58.
MEERA
(pleads)
Sir, mere husband injured hai
wahaan. Aap please...
MEERA
Aap... aap yeh le lijiye Sir.
Expensive hai. Do... Do lac.
CONSTABLE
Jaao madam.
MEERA
Aap aise kaise kar sakte hain?
Aapka kaam hai help karna.
CONSTABLE
(shouts in frustration)
Arey naa karni help. Niklo yehan
se.
Sudden silence.
MEERA
F...fuck you.
Then slams the phone back on the desk. Anxiety in his eyes.
59.
She crosses the rest house she had earlier stopped at. Still
no one there.
Meera cycles past it. She seems very low on hope at this point.
The jeep’s almost there now. Meera strains hard for a better
view.
SUB INSPECTOR
Phone pe aap hi thi, Madam?
60.
SUB INSPECTOR
Madam mere saath hi hain. Hum abhi
andheriya gali se nikale hain.
Dhulichand... Dhulichand... manne
na sunna. Sab ko le ke rail patri
pe aa ja... Ganne ke khet waali
side.
SUB INSPECTOR
Dhulichand aadmi maada nahi hai.
Aap please complaint mat karna.
MEERA
Police wala hai. Kuchh toh...
SUB INSPECTOR
Madam, police koi hawa mein toh
rehti nahi? Gaon mein hi rehti hai.
Biradari mein. Hukka paani band ho
jaata. Byaahne waale teen ladke
hain Dhulichand ke. Kaun beti deta?
Aise hi ladkiyaan nahi hain.
SUB INSPECTOR
Achcha chalo. Aap apni caste
bataao.
MEERA
Huh?
MEERA
Iyer... Er, Puri. Wo shaadi ke baad...
61.
SUB INSPECTOR
Intercaste marriage?
MEERA
Jee?
SUB INSPECTOR
Waise Iyer, Puri... yeh sab toh
surname hai, Madam. Caste? Jaise
bramhan, baniya, jaat, gujjar, kurmi,
lohaar etcetra etcetra.
SUB INSPECTOR
Gotra toh fir ke hi pata hoga?
(beat)
Yo hi farak hai, Madam. Gaon mein
aap kisi 12 saal ke bachche ko rok
ke poochho. Jaat paat gaut patri
sab bata dega. Apni. Padosi ki.
Ahlawat takes it. They are getting closer to where she left
Ranveer.
SUB INSPECTOR
Manu padha hai aapne?
Meera doesn’t reply. Her focus is on the road and the turns.
He continues irrespective.
SUB INSPECTOR
Bahot badey gyaani the. Jaise
Ambedkar saab. Jinhone Bharat ka
kaanoon banaaya. Ab Ambedkar saab
ne bola ki saari gaadiyaan left
side pe chalegi to chalti hain na?
Koi right pe chalegi to accident
toh hoga hi.
SUB INSPECTOR
Ab yeh Mukesh Pinky ka hi case lo.
Inko pata hai daada laahi ke
jamaane ka kaanoon hai. Koi nayi
baat to hai nahi. Par fir bhi inko
gotra mein hi byaahna hai. Galat
hai na?
62.
SUB INSPECTOR
Madam? Kya hua?
MEERA
Huh? Shaayad galat aa gaye.
MEERA
Sab ek jaisa hi... Raat ke waqt
woh...
SUB INSPECTOR
Mhaare se mistake ho gayi, na? Aap
ne hamein Mukesh Pinky ka naam kab
bataaya?
She moves to get out. The Sub Inspector grabs her hand. Hard.
Smiles.
SUB INSPECTOR
Dhulichand bechaara theek salaah de
raha tha.
Paaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiinnnnnn...
The car horn pierces through the stillness of the night. And
through Meera’s shell-shockedness.
Meera pushes Ahlawat’s body out of the jeep. And slips into
the driver’s seat.
She barely manages to drive away before Fauji and Omi reach
the jeep.
The men cling to the jeep for a bit but she eventually shakes
them off.
The Scorpio - driven by Satbir - catches up. The two men hop
in to it.
Meera can’t see clearly. The windshield has blood all over
it.
64.
But a quick glance at the Scorpio and she changes her mind. She
swerves the jeep a hard ninety degrees and steers it away from
the spot where she had left Ranveer.
The jeep crashes through the barbed wire and enters the farm.
Satbir turns sharply and bangs into the jeep from the side.
Meera’s almost thrown out of the jeep from the impact. But
manages to recover.
She tries to steer away but the Scorpio follows her, going
for another bang.
Meera swerves and she’s now riding pretty much alongside the
edge of the canal.
She panics. Just a few feet separating her from the slope.
The Scorpio barges in, but at the last minute, Meera brakes
hard.
She then looks at the canal waters. And the lights on the
other side.
And jumps.
For the first time in hours, she seems calm and focussed.
Almost like she’s practising a hard lap in the pool.
Fauji and Satbir are not too far behind, though Meera seems
to be pulling away from them with every yard.
They too stop as they see her standing on the bank looking at
them.
With her eyes still on them, Meera takes off her wet squishy
shoes. Throws them away.
A chimney.
MEERA
(shouts)
Hello?
No response.
And waits.
FAUJI (O.S.)
Isi taraf aayi thi.
SATBIR
Tu udhar dekh.
Still crouched - she scurries away towards the end of the row.
But he doesn’t.
As Satbir pulls himself back, Meera ducks back towards the other
side of the row.
FAUJI
Ke hoya? Aawaaj ke thi?
Still crouched - Meera gets out of there and rushes towards the
kiln area - where the chimney is.
Meera reaches the kiln. Nothing much there to hide in. And heck,
only one entrance or exit.
Meera decides to turn back but seems like the two are coming
just in her direction.
MEERA
Bhaiyya... please help karo... wo...
wo log...
Fauji’s eyes are on the the hutment in the distance. The bulb
glowing outside it.
MEERA
...please kuchh help kijiye.
Just then -
SATBIR (O.S.)
O! Ahn Re!
His eyes travel to his wife. She seems to be pleading with her
eyes.
BIHARI MIGRANT
K...kaun? Kya hua?
SATBIR
O Bihari! Koi lugaayi aayi ke?
BIHARI MIGRANT
Koi nahi aaya hian toh. Bas aap du log
aaye hain.
FAUJI
Batti kaise on hui baahar ki?
BIHARI MIGRANT
Woh... pesaab ke liye gaye the.
Nothing in the room that can hide anyone. Except - the bed. The
bump under the blanket. Someone’s there for sure.
Fauji glares at him. The Migrant looks back with a funny mix of
confrontation and pleading.
BIHARI MIGRANT
Mehraru hai maalik.
71.
Fauji’s about to make a move but Satbir puts a hand over his
shoulder.
Fauji ignores him. Pushes the Migrant aside and walks up to the
chaarpaayi.
Silence again.
BIHARI MIGRANT
Pul ke us taraf thana hai.
MEERA
Police mili hui hai. Gaon mein koi...?
BIHARI MIGRANT
Sarpanch hoga. Unke paas jaaiye.
MEERA
Aap le chalenge?
Meera heads out. Turns back one last time to look at him.
BIHARI MIGRANT
Hum baahar waale hain, Madam.
Runs away.
No response.
MEERA
Beta. Suno. Mujhe sarpanch ji ke
ghar le chaloge?
The two boys - KAMLESH and PAPPU - look at each other. They
seem unsure as they finish up and turn to her.
MEERA
Please, beta.
PAPPU
Is ka ghar hai. Gaya to waapas na
aan denge.
MEERA
Tum... tum sarpanch ji ke...?
PAPPU
Pota hai unka.
MEERA
Please... please apne ghar le
chalo...
ON STAGE:
MAKHAULIYA
Wo dekh. Savitri ka naam sunte
Chaudhri khada hogya. Baith jaa
Tau.
(MORE)
74.
MAKHAULIYA (CONT'D)
Thaare khaatar koyi Savitri konya
bachi. Inghe to saare randwe
Satyavan hi sa.
Too much fun for the boys to miss. Pappu runs away from
there, shouting -
PAPPU
Makhauliya aa gya.
Kamlesh struggles to get out of her grip, but she won’t let
go. In the tussle, the boy’s eyes go to the watch on Meera’s
wrist.
Two pair of feet running. One without shoes. The other with
shoes that have flashing lights in them.
KAMLESH
Isme light nahi hai kya?
KAMLESH
(disappointed)
Mere to joote mein bhi light hai.
64A He resumes his run. Meera now finds it difficult to keep 64A
pace with him.
AMMAJI
Peti bandh kar ke side laga de.
BHUMIA, the timid dusky girl in her early 20s, does as told.
The damned things won’t come off so easily. But she seems
determined, almost obsessed.
BHUMIA
Koi aaya hai. Baahar.
AMMAJI
Mhaari machine dekh kathey rakhi
sa.
76.
The old matriarch slowly walks past it and opens the door.
Kamlesh there.
AMMAJI
Chhorey tanne manaa karya tha na
jaane se?
KAMLESH
(shouts)
Koi milne aaya hai.
AMMAJI
Kaun?
AMMAJI
Kaun sa?
Kamlesh shrugs.
KAMLESH
Boli thaare se kaam tha.
MEERA
Sarpanch ji?
KAMLESH
Arey yehi to hai Sarpanch ji.
MEERA
Mera husband... please woh...
Please...
- before the night finally takes its toll on her. She passes
out in a dead faint.
AMMAJI
Beti? Ke hoya?
AMMAJI
(shouts out)
Bhumia!
AMMAJI (O.S.)
Bhumia!
BHUMIA
(shouts back)
MIL GAYI, AMMAJI.
AMMAJI
Bechari daredi sa. (Poor thing
looks scared)
(to Kamlesh)
Jaa paani le kar aa.
KAMLESH
Bua kahin jaa rahi hai?
He makes a face. Dumps what he’s holding back into the carton
as he leaves.
AMMAJI
Beti tu theek sa? Ke baat ho gayi?
MEERA
Hum dilli se aa rahe the. Raaste
mein kuchh log ek ladka ladki ko...
Ammaji’s POV:
She just sees Meera’s mouth opening and closing. All that she
can hear is a faint, incoherent voice.
AMMAJI
Machine kathey sa mhaari?
She has heard. She knows. Only we notice - the hearing aid
that she discreetly hides in her fist.
AMMAJI
Machine?
BHUMIA
Huh? Mili nahi.
Bhumia falls down from the edge of the bed and onto the
ground.
79.
AMMAJI
Ek kaam na hota raand sa.
MEERA
Please Aunty... Mera husband
injured hai... Please mere saath
chaliye. Wo mar jaayega, Aunty...
MEERA
Aunty?
MEERA
Fuck.
80.
It’s unreachable.
AMMAJI
Omi. Satbir kathey sa?
AMMAJI
Chup kar jaa raand.
AMMAJI
Ghar aao saare. Ibbe ke ibbe.
THUD!
THUD!
Hurt. Spent.
81.
BHUMIA
Main toh khud aath saal mein nahi
nikal paayi.
MEERA
Tum yahan kaam karti ho?
BHUMIA
Bihayi hun. Pachchees hajaar mein
khareede. Bahot the mere baap ke
liye.
AMMAJI
Phone kyun na laag rya tha thaara?
SATBIR
Wo... paani ma bheej gya.
82.
AMMAJI
Aur jey yaa nikal jaati tey ke
karta?
SATBIR
Sab control ma sa Amma.
AMMAJI
Gaye cheh. Paachhe aaye chaar. Yo
control sa thaara?
AMMAJI
(screams)
Rrr chup karaao isne koi.
AMMAJI
Thaari lugaayi. Usne bhi le ke aa.
AMMAJI
Mhaare private matter ka tamasha
bana diya tune.
Kamlesh. Near the wall of the well. Watching all the action
with a kid’s curiosity.
Omi and Ramotar recover. Go after her. But freeze as they see
something.
MEERA
In ko bolo gaadi ki chaabi de.
BHUMIA
Chaabi.
(shouts)
Chaabi de.
He gives Bhumia the key. She slides them over the ground
towards Meera.
MEERA
Inko bolo kamre mein jaaye.
Nobody moves.
AMMAJI
(screams)
Chhore na chhod de.
MEERA
Andar jaao saare.
MEERA
Tum nahi.
MEERA
Darwaza band karo.
MEERA
(tentative)
Darwaze se door jaao.
Meera nods at her before picking the car keys and running
out.
Meera jumps into it. Fumbles with the keys. Damn, those shaky
hands!
74B ...past the school where the troupe sings a lilting Ragini...
74B
For a while, Meera remains seated like she was. Too afraid to
look back.
86.
Meera stares at the body for a long time before turning back
straight.
Moments pass.
Silent. Excruciating.
And then -
The lone car on the bridge. The silently flowing canal waters
below. And the scream of the horn.
Alright, she’s going to go away. Yup, that’s all she can do.
The car drives past the bridge and as soon as it reaches the
other side, it takes a vicious turn.
A U-turn.
The door’s being banged from inside. O.S. shouts and threats
being hurled from inside.
Omi and Fauji jump out, followed by the rest. They head out
into the lane.
Satbir kicks her straight in the chest. She falls back. Her
forehead hits the ground. Hard.
AMMAJI
Isne main dekh lyungi. Tu jaa
dhoondh usne.
SATBIR
Fauji, Girdhari ki motorcycle le
kar aa...
SATBIR
(to Omi)
Nikal, nikal.
(shouts)
FAUJI! Chal.
The men realize her intention. At the last moment, they jump
back.
They run.
Feet. Tires.
More chase. The lanes are getting even narrower and the car
scrapes against the walls a few times as it swerves around
those curves.
Omi runs again. Only till the wall ahead will let him.
A moment between the two as they look into each other’s eyes.
Into Omi.
CRASH!
Blood splattered all over the wall. Omi splattered all over
the bonnet.
Just when she feels it is real close, Meera swings her rod.
Meera on the ground. The iron rod lies a few feet away from
her.
90.
She gets up with some effort. Drags herself to the rod. Picks
it up.
Meera looks at him. He doesn’t seem all that macho any more.
Satbir lies on the ground, watching this with shock and horror
in his eyes. He tries to get up and collapses back. Something
fractured there for sure.
Meera reaches out for it. Lights one with shaking hands. She
takes a deep drag and then struggles to stand up.
78B She follows Satbir down the lane. Limping, the rod dragging
78B
behind her. The cigarette hanging from her lips.
He looks up.
AMMAJI
Satbir?
AMMAJI
Fauji?
Ammaji freezes.
Then rushes back inside the house. Tries to shut the doors.
The door flies open, sending the matriarch tumbling down with
the impact.
AMMAJI
Beti thi wo mhaari. Par jo karna hai
so karna hai.
MEERA
Jo karna hai so karna hai.
Silence.
Until the iron rod drops from Meera’s hand and hits the
ground.
THE WELL:
A bus appears.
Men. From the hinterland. Their eyes on her. She walks past the
stares and takes the seat right at the back.
93.
Stoic.
The sunlight on her face. The orange. The wind in her hair. It’s
good to be alive.
The old woman gently pulls up her shawl to cover the both of
them.
FADE OUT.
THE END