"May I know the problem sir?" Shubha asked the officer.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"I am from the production team. I am sorry to have sent the director to talk to you. I should have come earlier." She said. 

Vikram didn't know where she was going with that. But he decided to play along. "Thank God, you are here on time."

"It's okay Mr. Vikram." She turned towards the officer. "I am sorry I didn't explain how you will be benefited with this shooting clearly." She spoke in an authoritative no-nonsense kind of tone which made the officer believe that she was someone important as opposed to Vikram, who looked naive.

"What benefits?" 

"Publicity" She answered.

"Could you please explain in detail?" He requested.

"Sure. I can see that several herbal products are being manufactured from the herbs and plants of this forest under government supervision. I am also aware that the government is planning to expand this. What you need right now is publicity. That's exactly what we can provide you." She paused at this point to see the effect. It was working. The man looked interested.

"How exactly are you going to do this ma'am?" He asked. He ordered his assistant to get some coffee for the guests.

"These men you are looking at, they are celebrities. Popular all over the world. The film they are making is one of the most expensive films of our country. Wait. I will show it to you." She googled Vikram's name and showed it to him. He finally understood that Vikram was famous all over the world. 

"Now, let me get to the point. Mr. Vikram is going to advertise for your products in his social media accounts. Not just normal posts. He will make a video describing the greatness of these products. He will also explain his amazing experience of shooting at this place urging his fans to visit the shops when they come here. Once the filming is finished, we will conduct quiz contests and the gifts for the winners will be these herbal products. We just ask for one thing in return." She paused again.

"I need to talk to my supervisor for this. Excuse me." He stood up and went outside to make a call. 

Vikram and Naresh stood beside the door and listened to the conversation. The man returned after a few minutes. "My supervisor agreed. You can shoot here as long as you don't go beyond the permissible area. Thank you so much for your offer ma'am." He sounded a lot friendlier.

"So can we have your signature and stamp here?" She asked. "Only for seven days."

"Sure. If you need our help please don't hesitate to ask." He signed the papers. 

"Thank you sir." They thanked him and left for the hotel.

"How can you be so smart, Subbu?" Vikram looked at her in awe as they sat in the car.

"Because I am a woman." She winked at him. He gasped.

---***---

"Okay. This is the scene where you meet Dhwani for the first time. Like I said, in the film she is fierce, intelligent and noble while you are, well, you are just you." Vikram described the scene.

Dhwani giggled. Shubha glared at him. "Very lame joke. Continue."

"You demand her to return your brother to you. You say you don't want any quarrel. To which she replies, an ant has not quarrel with a boot."

"Wait. Why don't I get such intense dialogues?" Shubha complained.

Vikram was about to say something in reply when Dhwani stopped him. "Shubha, you don't need intense dialogues. You have the talent of making any dialogue sound intense."

Shubha felt happy. "See. Unlike you, Dhwani garu is so sweet. Another reason why you should not mar-- irritate her."

"Okay. Now please take your positions. I want this over before it rains." Vikram went away to talk to Director of Photography. After making sure that everything was fine, he yelled "Action!"

"I don't know who you are. Nor do I intend to know. Tell me where my brother is. I have to--" Shubha stopped midway and sneezed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Vikram waited for her to go and wipe her nose.

They resumed shooting again. She sneezed again. Vikram approached her. He observed that her eyes were red. "You are ill. Why didn't you tell me?"

"No. I am fine. I guess it's because of the rains." She started rubbing her nose very harshly. 

"Hey! What are you doing?" He held her hand.

"My nose feels itchy." She complained.

"Your nose is already so red. As if someone attached a mini-sized tomato to it. Do you want to peel the skin off or what? Take medicines." He took her to the medical team who gave her medicines. "You can rest for a while if you are not feeling well."

"No. I am fine." She insisted. 

They started shooting again. "An ant has no quarrel with a--" Dhwani stopped speaking and sneezed. "I think I have cold too."

Vikram waited for the medical team to attend to her. "How did you two catch cold?"

"We may or may not have went out when it drizzled last night." Dhwani answered.

Vikram gaped at them. "Are you girls serious?" He was angry.

"Are we fired?" asked Shubha. The girls exchanged high-five and started laughing.

"No. Not yet. But I wish I could do that." He said angrily.

"Poor Vicky boy is stuck with us till the end of the film" said Dhwani.

"Wow! I never realized this!" Shubha exclaimed. "Once the filming starts the director and producer are stuck with the actors. Vikram sir is bound to fulfill all our demands." She grinned evilly. The girls exchanged high-five again.

"I miss those days when actresses working in the same film used to feel jealous and fought with each other. You two have no ego and no rivalry. Instead, you team up and irritate others." He ranted.

"We are the women of twenty-first century." They smirked. 

"Alright. Let's disperse for lunch. It's a good thing that we have permission till tomorrow" said Vikram.

"Shubha, I will join you in five minutes." Dhwani sent her away and turned towards Vikram. "Vicky, I need to tell you something. Yesterday I was looking at pictures in Pragathi's phone and I found something. I took screenshots and saved it in my phone." 

She showed it to Vikram. He read it. "What the hell? I should talk to her. But what will I tell her? Will she believe me?"

"Looks like she is serious about this. We have to stop her. I am not sure if she will listen to us" said Dhwani.

"I will talk to Chris. He is the only one who can convince her." Vikram was worried. He desperately hoped Pragathi would understand.

No sooner had they finished eating than it started raining. The shooting was halted. "You know what annoys me?" Vikram asked Shubha.

"Me?" Shubha replied.

He chuckled. "I meant something little less annoying than you." 

"What is it?"

"We shot here for five days. Everyday I was worried that it would rain. Fortunately it didn't. Only this morning, when I looked at the clear sky, I thanked God for the support." He sighed. "Somewhere in the skies, he must be laughing, looking at me."

"Vikram sir, look at the brighter side. We finished shooting one day earlier. We are about to have a break until the next schedule. We are one shot away from pack up. We have come this far. We will finish it today itself. I promise." She smiled at him encouragingly.

"Thank you Subbu. It's just that I don't feel good leaving mom alone. Sure she has the domestic staff to keep her company. But I want to get back quickly." He told her the real reason.

Shubha looked at him. There was no doubt that he loved his mother immensely. Yet she detected guilt in his eyes few times. She even saw him breaking eye contact and look away whenever Latha mentioned certain people. She knew it wasn't her place to ask him. "She will be fine sir."

"I now understand what it takes to be a great director. As an actor I wasn't required to look into the issues faced by the production team. Now I am responsible for everything. I wonder how dad used to handle it. He never raised his voice. My respect for him increased a lot in the past few months. I need to be like him." Vikram spoke fondly about his father.

She held his hand. "You are more like him than you know. You didn't realize it yet. For me you are already a great director."

He tightened his grip on her hand. Until then, he denied that he ever felt anything other than friendship for her. That moment, he admitted to himself that she was more than just a friend. He finally understood that he liked her.

---***---

"Pack your bags quickly. We'll be late. Have to reach Alleppey by noon" said Naveen.

"Everyone else's luggage is already in the vehicle. Except you" said Chris.

"Not everyone's luggage. Where is Shubha? I didn't see her since morning." Naveen asked Pragathi.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you. She won't be coming. She is not feeling well." Pragathi answered.

"How can she live in a hotel room alone if she is not feeling well? Who is going to look after her?" The boys asked her.

"I offered to stay. But Vicky said he has to some unfinished work here. He and Naresh agreed to stay with her. Nothing to worry about. She is fine." Pragathi assured them. "They will leave for Hyderabad tomorrow."

Chris's face broke into a smile. The previous night Vikram, owing to his promise, told him what he felt for Shubha. "I don't know how far it goes. But one thing is for sure. I like her." Vikram admitted, blushing.

"Chris, stop dreaming and get inside." 

"Okay. I am coming." He got inside.

---***---

"I didn't order soup" said Shubha. "You must be mistaken. I didn't call for room service at all." She told the guy.

"I did." Vikram entered her room. "Please give it to me. I will serve it to madam." He took the soup and placed it on the table.

"Vikram sir? What are you doing here? I thought you had some important work to take care of."

"I finished it. I returned to my room. Listen. Can I just sit here for a while? My room is scary." He said, examining her medicines.

Shubha understood. "Sir. You don't have to lie. I can see that you are worried about my health. I assure you I am fine. I will be normal in a few hours."

"Okay. Come and have soup before it gets cold." 

She stood up. She took a few steps towards him. She felt her head spinning. She tried to grab the nearest thing available. Unfortunately there was nothing she could lean against. She was about to hit the floor when she felt someone hold her tightly, preventing her from falling down. She opened her eyes. She saw Vikram trying to lift her up. The last thing she remembered was Vikram's worried face before fainting.

---***---

I don't feel so good. (Sorry for using Avengers dialogue again.) I feel my bad mood is affecting this story. Did you too feel the quality going down? If yes, then I am really very sorry.