"Who's Got my Knife?"
“..in that time, I saw your face, a reflection , a man in the mirror, as the fire swept through the house…” her voice broke off, “ that’s when I knew, you..you had killed her and taken all her money..well you can’t have this money for nothing (cough..cough)..” “ now you will get me too, but not before I get you!!!”….there was a loud crashing sound as the curtains came down!
The audience stood up and gave the play a standing ovation! Critics would call it a great play, packing substance and a strong storyline with creative execution, where at times young inexperienced actors could not fully deliver, but were excused. Rita and Max got ready for curtain call; they took their bow once the curtains went up and were joined by a few cast members on stage, the audience was going crazy. And the cast was ecstatic! There would be a celebration in the green room that evening, not to mention a party that would end only when everyone was just too exhausted to celebrate anymore!
The curtains came down and Rita and Max screamed! The whole cast started hugging each other excitedly! This was great; the cast was going to the after party in costume. Rita was dressed as a woman over her 40’s with blood stains on the front her blue dress, while Max had his hair all slick and combed back in what was considered business formals in the 70’s. The rest of the cast had on similar costumes, but they did not care. Tonight they would celebrate a fantastic first day, and it was all on the director. Manu Moneybags, they called him. He was just Manu, a brilliant writer and actor; he had only recently begun writing plays and was always on the look out for something to inspire a story in him. The ‘Moneybags’ part was joke, and was a name he insisted people call him. He was a little eccentric
Manu had said the inspiration for this story was his love for his new pet monkey! Nobody could figure out why, the monkey had absolutely no connection to the play or its premise or characters, but when he said it, everyone just laughed and agreed! Manu usually had very little money, but almost always took very big chances with it and always spent generously even when he had very little. His profession was yet to pay him the kind of money he deserved, yet he did not bother himself too much with it. He kept saying as long as he had a story on his mind, his notebook in his bag and his monkey (Monkey was his name) on his shoulder, everything in the world was ok.
And so Manu wrote this play, and Rita and Max met on the sets of this play.
The whole cast was having a great time. They had gone to a Thai food restaurant that served great food in a poorly lit setup. The upside was that Manu had studied in school with the owner of the place and so the first round of drinks was on the house, and the restaurant would be opened to select ‘outsiders’.
Manu made a toast to his monkey and lead actors and thanked each and every cast member for a stellar performance that day. He really was so happy, and he was happier he could tell his story the way he wanted to. Truth be told his story was not inspired by his monkey, except that he wanted his cast to be completely free and uninhibited like monkeys on stage, so in part that could have been true. It was a story he had partly dreamt about and partly made up while he was on a bus to his home town. The story was a murder mystery, the type that had just the right quantities of suspense, thrill and intrigue with a good turn of events leading to the good guy overcoming the bad guys. But he told the story in a way that changed everything. The script was heavily loaded with lines from popular movies and songs; this made the execution of serious dialogues so comical that while the lead character’s sister dies in a tragic fire, the audience is actually laughing at the clever use of words and movie dialogues! He added the element of comedy to a very serious storyline, and the audiences were eating it up! This concept was borrowed from a acting coach he had once studied under, but he still gave it his own twist!
….Rita and Max, exchanged smiles. They had an odd sort of chemistry these two. Rita found Max to be a sort of oddball, always joking, laughing loudly with little grunts and with his hair slicked back and him dressed so severely, it was all quite hilarious. Rita was a short, plump girl, with a great singing voice and a knack for delivering dialogues on stage. She was forceful and lovable and could pick up a fight with anybody! And these two were clearly discovering some feelings for each other...
Manu was sitting back in his seat, having had his fill of food for now. He actually never drank and so never had to worry about that part of a party. He was looking at the girl who had entered the restaurant. She was stunning. Dressed in a peacock blue silk top over a pair of dark jeans, she was casual and yet so appealing. She was nervous, he could tell from the way she kept adjusting her hair, and she was definitely waiting for someone. But he could not take his eyes of her.
Kirtana, was wondering if blue had been the right choice! She was thinking about how she had finally mustered up the courage to ask him out to dinner, and was now longing for the comfort of her couch and her pajamas. Why had she listened to Maliha?? What had she been thinking! She looked around at the odd crowd that had assembled there that evening. What were these guys on?? Why were they dressed in costumes, and did that girl have blood on her dress?
Her eyes met his. His long hair, curly hair, held back, some how defying gravity! He had been staring at her a while and she had sensed it! Was he that guy she had read about in the magazine at the salon? His photograph did not do him justice. “…upcoming playwright and director of ‘Who’s got my Knife?’, tell us a little about yourself ” . He had made a joke “ Well, I’m an aquarian foodie who loves long walks on the beach and the smell of jasmine”.. Until he burst out laughing...broke out of the girly character he was trying to play and gave them his real answer!
Manu began to walk up to her, and just then the door opened. False alarm, thought Kirtana, as her gaze fell back on Manu! by then he was already close to her, down on one knee.. “Be mine… dance in my next play!”, he said rather dramatically!
Kirtana, stared! Manu Laughed. Rita and Max started to argue over a bowl of noodles!
5 comments:
keep it up !!
Naaaiice :)
Okie when you planning to make this into a movie then cast me also.. will learn acting by then ;)hee hee
yeah.. some day feature film :) i will be rich n famous.. cough.. and on the cover of magazines.. siiiigghhhh :)
another nice one. you're keeping me hanging! very nice!
woman... i must say this.. u HAVE it in you...
will continue again tomorrow.
take care
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