The Love-addict - Chapter 5

                   Now she had completed 5 years in the industry and commanded awe and envy, wherever she went. Though she had all the material comforts that stardom could provide, she was lonely and depressed. Her empty bungalow mocked her when she reached home. It seemed to say scornfully, “So, was this what you wanted? An empty house and an empty life, bereft of warmth and love? Money can’t give you love, dearie!”

                   
                   Her parents had long ago, disowned her. Though her mother still longed to see her, she couldn’t go against her strict husband’s wishes, hence refrained from taking Saira’s telephonic calls. Her sister Amisha spoke to her, on the sly, sometimes.

                   
                   She had attempted vying for several co-stars’ attention, unsuccessfully, through these forlorn years. Each movie gave her hope and rejection! The movie succeeded, but she didn’t. None of her co-stars desired her, surprisingly, as she had a face and figure to die for!

                   
                   She still remembered the burning humiliation that she had faced, when after a love-scene in her third movie, she had clung wantonly to her co-star, even after the shot was cut. The hero had to extricate himself out of her warm and tight clasp, with great difficulty. The derisive, loud and raucous laughter of those on the set, then, still rang annoyingly fresh, in her ears. Those were the times that she cringed with shame. No one had been sensitive enough to deduce her isolation and need for companionship.

                   
                    Though she genuinely fell in love with her co-stars, they thought that she was a girl with loose morals. When they tried to seduce her, she told them off, in no uncertain terms, thereby again giving them the impression that she was just a tease and an attention-grabber. They just couldn’t fathom her actions.

               
                    Meanwhile, she became moody and irascible. A tantrum-queen, if ever there was one! All her movies’ directors tried to pander to her ego all the while, just to keep her in a good mood and ensure smooth filming. The heroes avoided her like the plague, once their shots were over.

               
                    In the lonely nights, she would invariably call up her, by now married elder sister, who lived in Delhi, and pour out her woes, into her willing ears. She was sympathetic but firm in her opinion that it was high time that Samaira got married and settled down. “You must return and get married, dear. I’m sure that by now, you must be disillusioned after seeing the fickle ways of those in the film-industry. I will try to convince Pitaji  to forgive you…” she would say.

               
                    “It’s too late, Didi, I can never return. I’m addicted to my work and to my life-style. Good-bye.” The finality and dejection in Samaira’s voice would send shivers down her sister’s spine. She only hoped and prayed that Samaira wouldn’t take any rash decision to end her miserable life. Hence she always spoke to her sympathetically and empathized with her situation. She knew that she was the only lifeline for her young, misguided sister.

        

To be continued...

The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.