Ep 2
[Setting: Haldi Function – Malhotra Mansion Courtyard, Jaipur]
Morning light spills over mango trees. Yellow drapes flutter in the breeze. Brass pots filled with haldi paste gleam. Dhol beats echo in the background as family members mill around, laughing, gossiping, applying haldi on cheeks and hearts alike…
In a courtyard drenched in gold, two hearts beat out of sync—one trapped in a ritual she didn’t want, and another holding a camera instead of confession.
Sunita Malhotra (FL Mother)
(beaming):
Ira beta, sit down na! Pandit ji said muhurat ka samay shubh hai!
Ira Malhotra (FL)
(dryly):
Yeah. Wouldn’t want to miss the “apply yellow paste to the unwilling bride” ceremony.
Meera (FL BFF)
(whispers):
Smile. Or aunty’s gonna make haldi ki sabzi out of your face.
Ira Malhotra (FL)
I should’ve run away last night.
Meera (FL BFF)
Girl… you say that at every ritual. When are you actually gonna do it?
Ira Malhotra (FL)
(sighs):
When I figure out where I’d run to.
[Meanwhile – Behind the camera setup]
Rishi Rathore (ML BFF)
Dude… there’s literally haldi in your hair. Why are you here?
Aarush Rathore (ML)
(focused):
One more shot. Just need to catch that moment where her eyes betray her smile.
Rishi Rathore (ML BFF)
Or maybe you’re just hopelessly crushing on a soon-to-be-married girl.
Aarush Rathore (ML)
She doesn’t want this. I can see it.
Rishi Rathore (ML BFF)
Bro, we’re photographers, not knights in shining sherwanis.
[Haldi begins. Family members laugh as they smear haldi on Ira’s cheeks.]
Ranveer Mehta (FL Fiancé)
(playfully):
Let me apply it first, darling. It’s my right, after all.
Ira Malhotra (FL)
(recoils slightly):
Don’t touch my hair.
Ranveer Mehta (FL Fiancé)
(fake smile):
Of course. Wouldn’t want the bride looking messy… not yet.
[Aarush zooms in from afar]
Click. Her eyes shifted from fear to fury in a second. Click. Her fingers clenched on her saree pleats. Click. A smudge of haldi, like a scar on porcelain.
[Later – guests dispersing, Ira walks toward the garden alone]
Aarush Rathore (ML)
(quietly):
You hate him, don’t you?
Ira Malhotra (FL)
(startled):
How long have you been lurking?
Aarush Rathore (ML)
(lightly):
Lurking? Ouch. I prefer the term ‘observing.’
Ira Malhotra (FL)
What do you want, photographer?
Aarush Rathore (ML)
Your truth. Just once. Say it out loud.
Ira Malhotra (FL)
(bitterly):
My truth?
Fine.
I don’t love him.
I never did.
This wedding is a deal between two business families.
I’m just the ribbon on the gift box.
Aarush Rathore (ML)
(softly):
Then untie yourself.
[Sudden commotion from the main entrance]
Devendra Malhotra (FL Father)
(loudly):
Who allowed press into this event!?
Sunita Malhotra (FL Mother)
Ranveer called them, Dev. He said it's good PR for both families!
Devendra Malhotra (FL Father)
(to Ranveer):
Stay in your limits, Ranveer. You may be the groom, but this house is mine.❄️
Ira watches silently. Aarush notices the tension brewing like storm clouds in May.
[Scene shift – Ira’s room, evening. She opens her drawer, pulls out an old letter.]
It was the last thing she had from her freedom. A university acceptance letter to study photography abroad. The dream she buried beneath wedding cards and turmeric.
Meera (FL BFF)
(entering quietly):
You still have it?
Ira Malhotra (FL)
I didn’t tear it. But I tore myself away from it.
Meera (FL BFF)
It’s not too late, babe.
Ira Malhotra (FL)
My father would disown me.
Meera (FL BFF)
And your heart’s already halfway gone. What’s left to lose?
[Meanwhile – Aarush receives a call]
Arjun Rathore (ML Brother)
(on call):
Bhai… you're still at that wedding?
Aarush Rathore (ML)
Yeah. It’s complicated.
Arjun Rathore (ML Brother)
You sound like a man ready to risk it all.
Aarush Rathore (ML)
Maybe I am. Maybe someone needs to.
[Scene: Late night – Ira standing on balcony. Aarush below, packing equipment.]
Ira Malhotra (FL)
(softly):
You’re leaving?
Aarush Rathore (ML)
Tomorrow morning. Our work here is done.
Ira Malhotra (FL)
You think I’m weak, don’t you?
Aarush Rathore (ML)
(gazes up):
No. I think you’re brave for not crying where everyone can see.
Ira Malhotra (FL)
(voice cracking):
Do you believe in destiny?
Aarush Rathore (ML)
Only when it leads me to people who look like they’ve forgotten how to hope.
Somewhere between a shutter click and a silent tear, destiny was indeed clicking into place. But fate… wasn’t done with them yet.
Because the next day, something would happen that would turn everything upside down.
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Comments
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prajakta 😄
2025-06-08
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