Sapno Ka Shaher

45. Realizing Self Worth

Sameer shook his legs in anxiety, waiting impatiently. It was 7:30pm already and he hadn't been called yet for the meeting. He was so sure about the outcome of this meeting. All the process right from the first audition, to next rounds and to the look test, he was quite confident about getting this one. All the coordinators in between also showed good signs. But this odd time of the meeting and now this delay was taking the test of his patience.

He had hardly one and a half hours in hand now to go home and catch the telecast of his Zee TV show. He didn't want to miss it. Naina and him had waited for this moment for so long.

How different would it have been if the situation between him and Naina was just normal?

He was dying to talk to her in the morning, wanting to resolve their fight. But for the first time this week, he had slept so peacefully that he woke up directly at 7:30 in the morning. He was so upset with himself, and with Naina too that she didn't wake him up. He had no time in hand as Naina was already occupied with routine chores. In addition to that, when he was serving breakfast to her, the call from Sulekha Ma'am triggered his anger again for no reason.

No, there was a reason. But what?

"Mr. Maheshwari? Sir is calling you," the receptionist informed him.

Sameer stood up and fixed his hair, also checking if his shirt was neatly tucked in. This was the first time he was meeting the co-producer, as all the other processes were supervised by other people from the production house.

"Sameer... aao..." the person called him in the cabin.

Sameer greeted the man―who looked to be in his 50s―showing respect in his body language. Sameer took his seat and recalled that the person was present during his look test, but he was observing everything from a distance.

"Maine tumhare pehle audition se lekar sab kuchh dekha..." the producer, Mr. Sudhir, started, "you did quite well.... aur tum dikhne me bhi bahot achhe ho."

Sameer maintained a genuine smile on his face. He didn't want to reflect his hyper-excitement on his face after listening to the praise. But how couldn't he? This was for the lead role for god's sake.

"Humne do ladke shortlist kiye hai, jisme ek tum ho..." Mr. Sudhir continued, as he leaned back on his chair. He went on telling the unnecessary details like how they had 5-6 photos in hand and how they all had a long meeting and came to shortlist only two.

...and here Sameer was becoming impatient. Couldn't he just reveal the suspense?

"Lekin maine tumhe select karne ka faisla kiya hai," the man finally uttered and Sameer gasped, widening his eyes. His legs started shaking nervously again. "Your charming personality will bring a different value to the show," the producer added, smiling.

"Really Sir?" Sameer couldn't control confirming once again.

"Yes! Tum select ho chuke ho."

Sameer's happiness didn't know the bounds. After one year, finally... finally he was getting something substantial in his career. He got the main role. the lead role... The producer went on to tell the details like when they are planning to start shooting and also how some of the other roles were still not finalized yet.

But Sameer found it sheer difficult to pay attention to him. He just needed his Naina with him right here, so that he could grab her in a bone-crushing hug, see her radiant and glowing face after listening to the news, lift her in his arms and twirl in happiness. He just needed her....