A Princess
in love with a Bollywood Superstar
Saketh Rao aka SR, India's latest Bollywood heartthrob, has
bagged the role of a lifetime: to play Hari Varman, the doomed royal
scion.
When he arrives at Sravanapura Palace with his director
friend Rajeev Ratnam, little does he know that his life is about to change
forever!
Princess Kritika is overjoyed that Saketh Rao will play the
role of her ancestor. But when she comes face to face with the arrogant
superstar she is determined to scuttle the project.
Fate, however, has different plans for them. The feisty
couple is soon head over heels in love with each other.
As they uncover the secrets of Hari Varman's life, Saketh
makes a discovery that can rip them apart and their new-found love.
Will the secrets and lies of the past deny them a future
together? Or will they overcome the obstacles to true love?
Excerpt
Kritika checked the time. It was nearing seven thirty. She
was a bit late than usual. But she still had plenty of time to pamper herself
and get ready to meet the superstar, who seemed to have won hearts all over the
world if she were to believe the fan videos posted on YouTube and various
blogs. Yes, she had shamelessly checked the many YouTube videos about him to
know more about him. It seemed perfectly normal to stalk his Twitter and
Facebook page. He had come across as a friendly and warm person who retweeted
his fans often and replied to interesting comments on his FB Page.
She knew half of his persona online was created by his PR
team. His social media profiles might be maintained by dedicated teams who
would present only the best aspects about him to the public. The real Saketh
Rao might turn out to be a total jerk. Yet, she was looking forward to meeting
the star in person and decide for herself.
When she stepped on to the road that led to the residential
wing of the palace, she was surprised to hear the horn of a car. She whirled
around and watched as a silver Mercedes Benz came around a bend in the road and
raced towards her.
Vijay had renovated a number of unused rooms in the palace
and turned them into luxury hotel suites, thus creating one more gem in his
hotel business chain. The only snag in the entire setup was that guests often
sneaked into the palace’s residential areas, even though they were marked as no
entry zones and had to be turned away by the palace guards. And it irked her
very much. She wondered how this car had escaped the scrutiny of the guards.
She needed to talk with the head of security. But for now, she would tackle
this herself.
She gripped the straps of her backpack and stood in the
middle of the road facing the car that seemed to have no intention of slowing
down. It came to halt at a mere metre in front of her and she heard the driver
swear. She narrowed her eyes and continued to stare at the car, daring the
occupants to come out and face her. The passenger door of the car opened and a
handsome youth, who looked as though he was jet-lagged and badly in need of a
leisurely bath and sleep, got out. He seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't
place him immediately.
"Please, miss. May I know why you are blocking our
path?" he asked, his mellow tone bringing Kritika's anger a few notches
down.
"This road leads to the residential areas of the palace
and is not accessible for guests at the hotel. Kindly turn around and go
away."
"But miss-"
"Enough, no need to explain.” Kritika raised her right
hand to stop him from talking any further and snapped at him. The fact that he
was trying to justify his action, brought her anger back.
"But we are-"
"As I said, I don't want to hear any further
explanation. Instruct your driver to reverse the car and get the hell out of
here."
The driver of the car opened his door and got out. Kritika’s
jaw dropped and her mouth formed an O because she recognised the driver
instantly. Saketh Rao, clean shaven, casually attired in a t-shirt and jeans,
all six feet two inches of male glory. He removed his sunglasses and walked
towards her, his lips curved into his characteristic lopsided smile. He was
clearly enjoying her distress. And then the last piece of the puzzle fell into
place when she recognised the handsome youth with him as Rajeev Ratnam. Kritika
felt her heart racing. If Saketh came near her now, her excited heart would
undergo a heart attack.
"Who are you to block our path? We have the adequate
permission papers and we were let in by the guards. Move your heavy butt out of
our way and allow us to pass."
His arrogant talk snapped Kritika out of the trance she was
falling into. The arrogant snob.
And he had made a personal comment. About her butt!
"Mr! Watch your language."
"Are you going to get in? Why are you listening to this
annoying, attention seeking female?" Saketh was ignoring her outright and
addressing his friend.
"How dare you?" Kritika took a step forward and
slapped him. He stopped her hand in mid-air and in one swift move, yanked her
towards him, momentarily taking the wind out of her lungs.
When she attempted to
step back, he tightened his grip on her arm and held her other arm with his
right hand. His nearness was doing strange things to her composure. His touch
was making her heart stutter, sending electric impulses rushing through her
body.
If it was not for the revulsion he had evoked with his
arrogance, she certainly would have enjoyed the sensation of being held by him.
But now, she regretted the hours she had spent browsing the internet to know
more about him. As she had feared, he had turned out to be an outright jerk.
She didn't want to waste her energy arguing with him.
She pushed him with all her strength and then broke into a
run, determined to never to cross his path again. She heard him chuckle and it
enraged her further.
She wanted to see how they were going to make a film about
her ancestor. She would see to it that it got an early grave.
Interesting title.
ReplyDeleteThe story looks great!
Congrats Preethi!