Pari --- Part II

Time flew away like wind. I had finally completed my acting course. Mr. Reddy, a famous filmmaker, was invited as a chief guest for the certificate distribution function. I was thrilled to see his name printed on the invitation card.

“Now, I would request Mr. Reddy to say a few words and guide our students.” said Mr. Bhatt, director of our institute.

“Friends, I do not want to give long speeches or lecture about acting. Acting is like a river. It flows in the manner it wants. In order to succeed, you need to flow in that river. Acting is itself a small world where you can be your own without any restrictions.”

All of us were intently listening to him. I had put on the voice recorder in my phone. I wanted to capture this moment. But video recording was not possible, so voice recorder. These words by Mr. Reddy would serve as an inspiration to me in future was my belief.

“Why are all of you so serious?” Mr. Reddy asked. “Let us have a quick acting session. I shall judge you all and award you points.”

We were surprised to see Mr. Reddy talk like this to us. No doubt, he was down to earth. He was not proud. Today I understood the reason why actors praise him and love to work with him. He made us feel very comfortable.

“Okay Sir.” said everybody in unison.

Mr. Reddy started giving scenes to everybody. Yes, Different scenes and everybody acted well. We were allowed to choose our own dialogs. My heart had started to beat fast and faster. I felt like it had changed its place and had risen up to my throat. I felt like it could come out of my mouth any moment. I felt butterflies in my stomach. I got goose bumps all over my body. I was hell nervous. With every passing second, I felt giddy. This had never happened before. I was very much cool when it came to acting and today I was just the opposite. It was because of Mr. Reddy. Yeah! His presence! Such a great personality he was after all. I felt like an ant before mountain.

“Relax Mia. Everything is going to be fine.” I said to myself.

I took a few deep breaths until I heard someone call out my name. I stood up and marched towards the stage. I was shivering out of fear. Mr. Reddy greeted me with a smile. I knew he had understood my situation. He thought for a while and said “Mia, your boyfriend has ended up his relationship with you. He has told you about it just now. Enact the scene.”

I closed my eyes and prayed to God before starting acting. I arched my eyebrows in shock and sat down on the chair with a thud. I looked helplessly at the floor and then said “I won’t ask you why. I do not want any explanation or reasons.” I had tears in my eyes. “I just want to thank you for everything that you gave me. You are walking away from me, from my life but your memories wont. I will always cherish them. Also remember, I will always love you.” I smiled through my tears and turned to walk away.

I heard everybody clapping.

“Awesome! Does anybody know why I labeled her performance as awesome? Well, she did not create any drama something like ‘You cannot leave me alone like this’ or ‘Please don’t do this to me’. She acted matured and practical. Good work Mia.” remarked Mr. Reddy.

All the remaining students performed and the certificate distribution program started. I walked to the stage to receive mine. Mr. Reddy had a wide smile on his face. He congratulated me and said “Mia, you are extremely talented. Don’t let this talent go waste.”

I nodded and returned back to my seat. I was astonished to see Mr. Reddy’s visiting card along with my certificate. The visiting card had a message written. It read:

“Come to my office on 18^th March for the audition.”

My happiness knew no bounds. I was on cloud 9. I thanked Mr. Reddy after the function and returned home to share this good news with my parents and of course Pari!

Pari was very happy to hear the news.

“You will surely be selected for the role. Don’t worry.” She said.

“I hope so.”

“If you are then I want a treat from you!”

“We shall party.” I declared.

Exactly one week was left for my audition. I started brushing up my acting skills. “If I succeed in this, I have conquered 10% of the battle. I don’t want to fail. I am going to try my best.” I decided.

I was auditioned for the lead role. The news of the selection was to be notified within a week.

(To be continued)

Link to Part I - Part I