Mission Anashku

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Prabhas as Vihaan
Anushka Shetty as Sandhya
Nivetha Thomas as Janani

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Huff puff huff puff huff puff..
Creaaaaaaak.....

A middle aged man, lean in appearance, black framed glasses covering nearly half his small face, dressed precisely in a full armed, red formal shirt and black pant hopped on the gate of a house. His stomach rested on top a flat edge of the gate which luckily had no elements that would hurt him. It swung as he held onto the bars, his body still upside down until he was whacked to sense.

"Pandu! Have you gone nuts? Are we in a marathon and why the heck are you upside down on the gate?" Janani stormed.

He turned his head eyeing a white, little, chihuahua staring at them at a distance.

"Ugh! You must me kidding. What can that dog possibly do, idiot? Come, let's go inside." She slapped her forehead as they entered the lawn at the front yard of a house.

"Jenny, I'm not talking to this man. Whatever I tell seems to get on his nerves! If he comes to know that we're lying about making a movie, he'll bury us alive and build a tombstone on our heads."

"He's not that bad Pandu. If you're afraid to speak to him, just imagine he's not wearing any clothes."

"Gross! Why would I do that?"

"Listen you nerd. A jackfruit looks spiky from outside, but only when you peel its outer skin, you get to see the tender fruit it encloses within, right? So if you imagine him without clothes, what will you see? "

"A tender fruit?"

He couldve sworn he felt a blow on his cheek making his glasses fall off.
"A tender heart, goofball!"

"You sucked the explanation part. I--"

"Janani Prasad! You made it all the way to my house now? How many times do I have to tell you that I can't give any information!"
Mr. Shyam, the senior editor of the company they were working in, settled on the seat opposite to the two, visibly annoyed.

"Sir please. He is such a great author! His fans would be enthralled to see his story on screen. See, he is the director" she said placing her hand on Pandu, "and is very keen about making a movie on--"

"Anashku does not like to be recognized. Nobody even knows if that person's a man or woman. Forget about others, I myself have not seen him from the last five years! He sends all his articles and stories through post and I only publish it. "

"That's it! You can give us his post box number! We'll talk to him " she tried pleading the stubborn, old man.

"The post box number is not personal, rather one from a post office in Ooty..." he coldly replied while Janani observed his eyes lowering to an envelope peeking out between other letters and postcards on the teatable in front of them.

"Alright Sir. Maybe next time." they stood up. She pushed Pandu at Mr. Shyam's feet.

"Move away you knuckle head! What are you doing?"

"Sir, this is my debut as a director, so I want blessings from a wise man like you." Pandu answered keeping him busy while Janani sneakily picked the envelope hiding it behind her huge vanity bag.

Post box no:79
Kundan Hill Road, Fern Hill
Ooty-04.

A smile plastered wide on her face as she proudly read the address, striding towards the exit followed by Pandu who threw one final, disgusted look at the old man who disappeared into his room once again.
_ _ _ _ _

The morning mist had hardly cleared. Tall eucalyptus trees seemed to be scattered here and there between the enormous tea and coffee estates, their sturdy roots clinging onto the steep, green hills. Women folks had indulged into their work of harvesting the coffee berries and fresh tea leaves.
Vihaan hummed the tune of his favorite song that was playing on his cellphone, his earphones blocking any other external sound source as he jogged past the mesmerizing sight. He hi-fied a kid who was walking to her school and waved to her friends who excitedly returned the gesture. He wiped the sweat off his face making himself comfortable on a log situated at the edge of a lake. He rubbed his hands and watched the tiny ripples which formed on the surface, owing to the cool early morning breeze and inhaled deeply.
- - - - -

Sandhya rose from her yoga mat, exhaling. Rolling it up, she placed the mat in a cupboard and pulled a book from between a stack. After decorating its pages with words of royal blue ink, she moved to the dining area. Dipping the smooth end of a brush into the straw-yellow oil paint on her pastel, she traced the outline of her masterpiece. Her lips rolled in while she admired her work. The old clock chimed as the minute hand struck twelve and she grumbled seeing that it was eight o'clock already. It was in no time that she moaned louder.

Her husband embraced her from behind and had already started showering her neck and shoulders with infinite kisses. His arms snaked around her waist while his hand caressed her considerably large baby bump.

"Vihaan! Disgusting! Leave me, now!" She chided, nudging him lightly, trying to wipe his perspiration from her neck, while he dug his pointy nose deeper into her hair, least bothered about her ranting. With much effort she managed to escape his hold and stood with hands on her hip.

"I had just bathed and look at you drenched like a melting glacier!"

"I was feeling cold."

"You know I don't like that!"

"Sandhya darling, I was missing you!" he husked coming near her but to her relief, moved away picking an apple.

"Washing your hands would made it healthier!"

"Lions and tigers don't wash their hands."

"Neither do monkeys!"

He chuckled tossing the apple in the air after taking a bite.
"What now?"

"It's eight o'clock. Go freshen up husband-man. Junior is waiting for daddy to join him for breakfast."

He smiled thinking of his baby.

"Oh yeah before that, I have a surprise! Come on."

They headed to the corner of the room. He dreamily gazed at her while she flipped the paper of the canvas revealing the painting.

"Presenting to you, DANCING FLAMES! I just finished this for the cover page of your new book. How is it?"

His vision wandered over the magnificently bright, tangerine orange tounges of the fire, yellow shades blended lightening the tips and in addition was the dark black background. It made the picture come alive.

"You have no idea what is and isn't you, until what isn't you is burnt away entirely by the DANCING FLAMES of your expanding consciousness and the inevitable changes that follow."

"OK now! By the time I try understanding those poetic words you used to describe the 'hidden' meaning of this 'simple' painting, you go take a bath!"
Sandhya snapped him out of his trance. He shook his head reaching for the table where he placed the half- eaten apple. Next to it was a brown, leather bound book.

"H A R I N I.. Sandhya, do you have any idea who this is?"

"That.. Umm.. That's our neighbour's daughter. She had come over early today to return a few of my paintbrushes. Must've left her dairy behind. Give it to me."

"Oh. Shall we learn a few things about the people around us, then?" he said opening the book, quickly snatched by Sandhya.

"Bad manners! You shouldn't read someone's personal dairy like that! Get going husband-man, I'm starving! "

"But I have one thing to ask."

She frowned at his yet-so-ever questive nature. It was something she actually admired in him. However, this wasn't exactly the right time.

"Will you eat before or after we take a bath?"
Pulling her close, he hugged her tightly.

"Vihaan!!!!!!!! "
He silenced her sealing eachother's lips.
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Comments are appreciable. ๐Ÿ˜ƒ
- Sri
Here's the teaser for those who haven't seen it.

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