EXT.
STREET - DAY
Raman(21), is standing on the footpath, waiting for an e-
rickshaw. He has a cheap air pods in his ears, listening to
an upbeat English song. All this while his body parts are
slightly moving, to sync with the beats. After a few beats,
he misses a beat, and gets frustrated. He shakes his head in
disappointment, and plays the music from the beginning.
Just after 2 more beats, he sees an e-rickshaw at a distance,
and waves for it to stop.
INT. DANCE CLASS - DAY
Inside a dimly lit room, a small stage is set for 15 people
to practice a group dance performance, all are engaged in
rehearsals. 3 of them are the main dancers, dancing in the
front.
The Teacher enters the room.
TEACHER
Chalo-chalo, first group take the
position.
The 3 remains there, while 4 out of the 12 comes and joins
them in the back. They start their performance, on the same
song which Raman was listening to. Teacher looks like he is
enjoying the performance, only sometimes he’d clench his
cheeks in disappointment.
The performance ends.
TEACHER (CONT'D)
Chalo theek hai, kal tak ho jaega.
Next.
Another group of 4 joins the main 3. Raman is in this group.
They all start to dance. After 10-12 beats, Raman loses the
sync.
TEACHER (CONT'D)
(disapponited)
Stop-stop. Aise jaoge nationals?
Raman?
Raman gets frightened, and starts to stare at the floor.
TEACHER (CONT'D)
Sar jhukane se kuchh nahi hoga. Kal
aakhiri din hai. Kal tak ho jaega?
Raman stays quiet.
2.
TEACHER (CONT'D)
Next.
CUT TO:
EXT. OUTSIDE THE DANCE CLASS - DUSK
Raman is waiting for someone. Krish(22) runs up to him.
KRISH
Koi na yaar, confidence rakha kar.
tujhe khud lagne lagta hai ki
tujhse galti hogi. Saala galat
manifestation mein chala gaya hai
tu.
RAMAN
(sad smile)
Nhi-nhi wo yaad nahi reh paa raha
hai, to steps overlap kar rahe hain
dimaag mein.
KRISH
Bas kal overlap mat hone diyo yaar.
RAMAN
Kal hona afford bhi nahi kar paunga
main.
KRISH
Ek baar kal selection ho gaya na,
phir papa bhi maan jaenge tere,
chinta mat kar. Tujhe dekh kar
kabhi-kabhi lagta hai thik hi hua
main sabse bada beta nahi tha ghar
ka, warna to apne chhotepan ke
bohot zulm sahe hain. Kabhi paani
le aao, kabhi dukan se kuchh, din
bhar daudte hi rehta hoon.
RAMAN
Chal thik hai, main nikalta hoon.
Late ho jaunga warna.
KRISH
Samose khaane nahi chal raha?
RAMAN
Nhi-nhi jaa tu.
Raman waves his hand to stop an e-rickshaw. The rickshaw
starts to move.
3.
KRISH
Oye, practice kar liyo.
INT. RAMAN’S HOUSE - DUSK
Maa(42), is sitting on the couch in the living room, talking
to Papa(44) on the phone.
MAA
Haan to jaa kar thode der aur so
lijiye, warna phir raat mein dikkat
hogi.
PAPA
Ek baar yaad dila dena usko-
Raman enters the house.
MAA
Lo, aa hi gaya, aap khud dila do
yaad. Le beta, papa baat karenge.
RAMAN
Thodi der mein kar loonga Maa baat.
MAA
Sone jaa rahe hain wo, uske baad
duty shuru ho jaegi unki. Kar le
baat.
Raman walks into his room, ignoring her.
MAA (CONT'D)
(to Papa)
Thhak gaya hai wo, main kar lungi
baat. Dila dungi usse yaad, thik
hai?
PAPA
Kal aakhiri din hai. Ab last din ke
chakkar mein phir server down hua
na, to phir se ek saal waste karega
ye. Aur ye to chaahta hi hai-
MAA
Achha thik hai, main bolti hoon
usko. Jao aap ab. Bye.
PAPA
Hmm thik hai, bye.
Maa walks up to Raman’s room’s door.
4.
MAA
Form nahi bhara tune?
RAMAN
Bhar doonga main, bas kal tak
pareshan mat karo mujhe.
MAA
Kal hi akhiri din hai. Aur beta
agar server down hua to ek aur saal
barbaad ho jaega. Aur iss baar papa
se main nahi bachaungi.
RAMAN
Kar lunga Maa, jao tum.
Maa waits for few seconds. But eventually leaves Raman alone.
Raman unlocks his phone and opens WhatsApp. We see Papa’s
chat with an unread message, which is a link for the
registration form. He looks at it for sometime, but refuses
to open it. He opens Instagram, and starts scrolling through
reels, which are mostly related to dance.
The song of performance starts in the background, which
initiates a montage of Raman practicing his dance in his
room, then on the streets next day. The song merges with the
next scene.
INT. DANCE CLASS - DAY
Raman is in backstage, preparing for the final selections.
It’s Krish’s turn, and Raman hand gestures him good luck, and
once again focuses on his steps.
Krish returns happily. He looks at Raman and smiles.
TEACHER (OFF)
(shouts)
Next.
Raman touches the floor with respect and enters the stage. We
hear the song playing. Krish is standing, looking at the
performance. As the song progresses, we can see Krish happily
nodding every now and then. But after a minute, he gasps, and
holds his forehead in disappointment. After another minute,
the song stops and we see Raman quickly walking past Krish
without meeting his eyes.
5.
EXT. OUTSIDE THE DANCE CLASS - DAY
Raman walks up to a rickshaw and gets inside. The rickshaw
takes off. We see Krish coming out of the building, trying to
look for Raman.
INT. RAMAN'S HOUSE - DAY
Maa is sitting on the couch, scrolling through Facebook,
while wear reading glasses. Raman slams open the door and
enters the house with loud noise. He quickly gets inside his
room.
MAA
Beta, form-
Raman slams the door of his room, behind his back.
Inside the room, he dives into the bed. We see his eyes full
of tears.
After few hours, he wakes up. He looks at the fan for few
seconds, then unlocks his phone. He opens Papa’s chat and
clicks on the link.
It says, registration for MBA'S degree. But as Raman taps on
the Register button, it says ‘Server Down. Please try again
in sometime.’ Raman is shocked. He sits up straight and tries
again and again, only to find the server down everytime.
Maa, comes to the door, and knocks it.
MAA (CONT'D)
Beta!
Raman is nervous. He is out of thoughts.
