Disclaimer - This is a work of fiction.
Continued from Part 1, Part 2.
I decided that Neela should die.
Before I left for my home at Adyar , I called Manikam , a popular rowdy in Madras city known for his atrocities
and crime. I asked him to kill Neela on Thursday 17th October , one day before
my birthday. I paid him a lump sum to
get Neela killed.
It was 18th October. 1998 ,the year I turned Fifty, it was
celebrated as a major festival in Tamil Nadu.The same day my 300th Tamil movie
was to be released. I came out of the
Cinema hall which was festooned with lights and balloon. My red carpet entry
graced the Premier of
"Morradan,". It was a big day for me as my other film "Veera Kaalai" was
declared as a blockbuster hit. I was jubilant after I got the good news. My
wife Rajatha and daughter Hema accompanied me for the premier show.
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Image taken from Google Images |
Hours later when I stepped out
of the Cinema Hall ,I observed a large group of people crowded outside Cinemax
to greet and wish me on account of my 50th birth anniversary. Little did I know
that a major shock awaited me the same day. A senior Police Inspector flashed a
warrant issued against me for the murder of Model Neela. The police arrested me
in front of 10000 people who gathered to wish me. I helplessly saw my wife and
daughter who had no inkling of what happened. The police said that I was found
guilty of murdering model Neela who was found dead in my Mylapore Bungalow on
15th October.I paid Manikam for killing Neela on 17th October. I was worried
for once and all the witnesses were against me. They found my Rollex wrist
watch at the murder sight and they announced me as the culprit. Even my lawyers
could not be of much help. I was sentenced to life term as per IPC 302.
The fame which I accumulated
all these 25 years came to a downfall. I served the jail term. I met the fellow
prisoners who were kind to me. It was just once that I met my wife during those
14 years in jail. My daughter Hema used to visit me quite often and during one
such visit she told me about Rajatha's death. The next time Hema came to visit me with her husband whom she
loved since college days. My life in prison has been a learning experience
where I learned what life was all about. I urged Manikam not to kill her before 17th October but I never knew what went
wrong. He proved his innocence in front of the court by briefing the judges
about our conversation which took place that night. He claimed that he never
killed model Neela. The one question which perturbed me was the mysterious
death of Neela.He returned the lump sum amount which I gave him just making the
case critical. All that I knew was that I didn’t kill her. It was the mask which I wore, the
artificial mask of fame and name which tempted me. But I am still not sure who
killed Neela. Fourteen years later when I came out of the Prison, I started
looking the world from a different point of view. I had nothing to lose ..no
fame ,name and love from people. People
who looked upon me as an idol and worshipped me as God once started mocking me.
A tear drop rolled down my cheeks as I introspected my past days of my life
where I embraced melancholy .The clock struck 8 and I went inside the bathroom
to wash my face.
"Appa...what
happened..didn't you sleep whole night," Hema came to call me for
breakfast.
"No
dear..just tired and upset, you guys carry on," I said to her as I
concealed the tears from my eyes.
"And
did Akhila woke up?,"
I curiously asked her. I promised her to tell her the entire story but poor
thing slept.
"Hey
dada...you liar, you never told me the complete story ," My granddaughter
Akhila pulled my cheeks from behind.
"You
took her name and there comes the devil..," Hema smiled and left for the
kitchen.
"Dada ...you know we all
are going to our Mylapore Bungalow today. Its all messed up," Little
Akhila smiled.I had to smile back at her too. I knew everything about the Mylapore Bungalow, the place which sheltered
my beautiful model and the same place where she breath her last breath.
“No
dear,I’m not coming,” I said to my little princess Akhila.
“Come Dada , please come with us no…,” She insisted.
“No
dear.. your dada is old now.. shouldn’t he rest?,” I told her.
“If
you don’t come then I won’t talk to you from now one,” She grimaced. “Ohh..blackmailing dada huh,” I laughed.
“Ok
lets go ,”
I said and we left for Mylapore. The Mylapore bungalow was located at the outskirts of Madras. I
could feel the same old memories of Neela as I stepped inside the bungalow. I
felt a sudden brisk air that kissed my hair.
I felt nostalgic and energetic as I
entered the bungalow. The world thinks I was the main culprit who killed
Neela and that’s what my family
believed. Rajatha loved me a lot but it was the womanizer in me who changed her
feelings towards me. She might be not here with us but I always loved her. “Dada…Dada…look
what I found here,” Little Akhila handed me a diary which was dirty. I cleaned
the diary to remove all the dust. It
was Neela’s diary , a diary which contained all her musings,feelings and her
stories.
“Where
did you find this? ,”
I curiously asked her.
“I
found it inside the cupboard in between the clothes,” She smiled. I
turned to the last page to check her last diary entry. The page some had unusual
color which I believed to be blood stains.
![]() |
Image taken from Google image |
“15th
October 1998,
Dear
Superstar,
I have
no words to describe what I feel for you.I failed to do my job. You stole my heart with
your charisma and charm. There is someone who doesn’t want you to live. I was hired
to kill you but you gave me your love which blindfolded me and my heart. Yes, I
fell for you. Today I write this last letter just for you to know how much I love you. Yes, you know the
one who tipped me to kill you. That person doesn’t want us together. She slit
my throat with a knife. Love you…Love you dear Superstar..”
I was shocked to read this
diary entry. Neela was hired to kill me
but sadly she fell in love with me. But still I failed to learn who the actual
murderer was. I turned back the pages to read her previous diary entries.
“13th
October 1998,
Superstar
kissed me and we both made love . I played a big prank on him. I lied to him
that I will reveal everyone about our relationship. How foolish of him to take
that seriously. I would not even dream to cause hurt to my dear Superstar, my
first love”
“7th
December 1997,
Today
Mrs Rajatha, the wife of our beloved Superstar approached me with a lump sum to
seduce Superstar Ravikant and kill him. However I fail to know why she chose
me? .There are many others who could do so. She said that after seeing the Levo
ad , she decided to contact me. I refused but she convinced me. I had no
options left …She cajoled me for she wanted to kill the womanizer with a
Superstar mask.All that I wanted was money … Life is all about money , honey!! ”
A tear drop rolled down my cheeks as I read her
entry made on 7th December .It was a plan.It was indeed a trap which
was set for me by my wife and Neela
realized that I was not the one who killed Neela. For that I had even
served a jail term of 14 years only to know later that I was innocent.
----The End----
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Never thought his wife would be the killer!!! Great piece :) I liked the flow of the story particularly.
ReplyDeleteHahaha...the thought process went for a toss when I wrote this...lots of confusions and finally I came up with something good
DeleteGood One!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jaish!
DeleteNice writing Ste:) I read them all in one go!
ReplyDeleteThank you Rahul Sir :)
Delete