Simran Movie - Script

SIMRAN THE LIPSTICK BANDIT FINAL DRAFT 7th Sept 2016 Written by Apurva M Asrani

1301. Shishira, Off New link Rd, Andheri W, Mumbai 400053. [email protected]

EXT. TRAIN STATION. ATLANTA. DAY Train station. A petite Indian woman, Praful, 31, runs towards the platform. Hearing an announcement she takes off her shoes, holds them in her hand, and bolts towards a train. INT. TRAIN STATION. ATLANTA. DAY TITLES BEGIN. The train doors are closing. Praful runs, sticks her foot in the closing door & enters by the skin of her teeth. INT. TRAIN. ATLANTA. DAY A relieved Praful puts on her shoes. An elderly woman gives her a weird look. Praful sees ads of luxury living inside. EXT. BUS STOP. ATLANTA SUBURB. DAY Praful sprints towards a hotel- The Courtyard Marriot. She is juggling a bag, her sandwich and her wallet, all in her hand. INT. COURTYARD MARRIOT. ATLANTA SUBURB. DAY Praful enters from the staff entrance, an African-American woman gives her a bored look. STAFFER 1 You’re seven minutes late.. PRAFUL (smiles) I’ll make sure I work seven minutes extra. Praful drops her wallet while trying to sign. She picks it up and punches in her attendance. INT. STAFF ROOM. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Praful opens her locker and takes out her cleaning uniform. She starts to change. We see two other women also changing. INT. GUEST ROOM. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Praful in her work uniform, is vacuum cleaning a room. CUT TO:

2. She puts all the toiletries, towels in their place. CUT TO: Praful cleans the toilet bowl meticulously. CUT TO: Praful makes the bed to perfection and puts up a ‘made’ sign on it. TITLES END. INT. STAFF ROOM. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Praful sits with her colleagues Salma and Noella and they eat packed lunches. Praful takes out some thepla’s. The women take it happily and eat. SALMA Flat ka mortgage mil gaya? PRAFUL Pre-approval ho gaya. Infact aaj Maa ko dikha rahi hu. NOELLA Really? Where? PRAFUL Uptown Atlanta. Near that Italian joint, Frederico’s. NOELLA Whoa! Posh! SALMA Mehnga hoga? PRAFUL Market cost $700,000 hain...but mujhe $400,000 mein padega. Kaise?

SALMA

PRAFUL Minority Housing zindabad! SALMA Kaha se aaye itne paise? PRAFUL Jamma kiya hain maine. I worked 7 years for it!

3. NOELLA No wonder you never came to any parties with me, you sly fox! PRAFUL Let me buy the flat Noella, phir party hee party! A short, impeccably dressed man with big attitude enters the staff room. He is MIKE MEHNDI, 45, the Housekeeping manager. There is uncomfortable energy between him and Praful. MIKE Why isn’t 503 cleaned??? PRAFUL Door pe ‘Do Not Disturb’ ka sign tha. MIKE Wahi se aa raha hu. Koi sign nahi dikha! He looks at Noella and smiles, she blushes and touches her pendent. Praful notices . PRAFUL Shayad guest ne nikal diya hoga. Hum log lunch kar rahe the.. MIKE Tumhara break dus minute pehle khatam ho gaya. Praful, yeh housekeeping hain, koi kitty party club nahin. The women start packing their lunch. Praful continues to eat the sandwich. MIKE (CONT’D) Noella, come to the linen room in 5. I need to take stock of the towels. Praful, I want 503 cleaned now. He walks away. PRAFUL Ok Milkhaji. SALMA (laughs) Milkha kyon?

4. PRAFUL Har kaam jaldi mein karta hain. Haina Noella? Noella ignores. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Sexy pendent Noella. Thanks.

NOELLA

SALMA (winks) Guess kisne gift kiya? Praful makes a mocking face, as Noella blushes. Jealous?

NOELLA

PRAFUL (laughs) Relieved. Milkha zabardasti ek gift thama deta hain, aur baar baar return gift maangta hain. Salma laughs NOELLA This time its serious. SALMA (chuckles) Isko bola ki yeh pendent uski Maa ki aakhri nishani hain! PRAFUL (laughs) Dekh le, har floor pe kisi ladki ke galle mein uski maa ki aakhri nishani hogi! They both laugh. Noella isn’t amused. INT. EMPTY APARTMENT BUILDING. UPTOWN ATLANTA. DAY A bright, empty apartment. The door opens and a male agentSTEVEN, 38, enters. He is followed by Praful and her mother KUMUD, 53.

5. STEVEN Lots of sunlight! There’s a park upfront, so no chance of a building coming up. Kumud looks in awe, Praful beams. PRAFUL ‘Be’ bedroom chhe maa. Dono mein attached bathroom. Yeh wala aapke liye, jab aap rehne aaogi. Praful shows Kumud the quieter of the two rooms. Kumud nods proudly to Steven. KUMUD Big ‘hole’. STEVEN (concerned) Hole? Praful points to the living area. STEVEN (CONT’D) Yeah. The living area is big! PRAFUL Maa, aa jo, yaha pooja room banega. KUMUD (inspects) Bhattji ko bulake vaastu dekhna padega. Steven wonders what they are talking about. PRAFUL (points) Prayer room. STEVEN She’s religious? There’s an Indian temple round the block. PRAFUL Thats a Gurudwara--for Sikh’s. We are Hindu’s. STEVEN Oh, there’s an Indian kebab joint two blocks away. Best lamb kebabs in Atlanta.

6. PRAFUL Vegetarian. Beat STEVEN I’ll wait outside. Steven exits the room. Kumud stands at the window and a tear streams down her face. PRAFUL Maa? Aa shu? Aansu?? Kumud laughs at Praful’s joke. She blesses her. KUMUD Pehli baar khushi ke hain. Rone de na. PRAFUL Toh teri taraf se haan hain? KUMUD Mere haan se kya hota hain? Tujhe rehna hain yaha! PRAFUL Tu nahi rahegi mere saath? KUMUD Main kab tak rahungi? Shaadi karke pati ke saath rehle... PRAFUL (irritated) Maa! KUMUD Zindagi bhar akeli rahegi? PRAFUL Maine kab kaha akeli rahungi? Beat. KUMUD Jaise bhi kar. Koi dhoondh le Praful. Praful holds her mother.

7. KUMUD (CONT’D) Pata hain Praful, mein Ahemdabad mein sapna dekhti thi...ki ek din hum teeno saath rahenge, khush. Lekin yaha aakar... Kumud begins to cry. Praful controls her emotions. PRAFUL Maa, Purani baaten chhod na. Yeh bata rasoi kaise banayegi. I’m thinking of a 4 burner stove.. KUMUD Jaise bhi bana. No Non-Veg! PRAFUL Haan, haan, ghar mein no non-veg! EXT. UPTOWN ATLANTA STREET. DAY Praful, Kumud and Steven walk to Praful’s car. Kumud watches the upmarket locality in awe. STEVEN This apartment is a steal! Just yesterday we sold a place for $800,000! PRAFUL I know. I think my mortgage should come through soon. STEVEN I’ll draw up the paperwork. How about we meet Monday in my office? PRAFUL (smiles) I’ll be there. Thank you Steven! The women walk towards a Green Nissan and get in. INT. CAR. ATLANTA ROADS. ATLANTA. DAY Praful drives slowly. She is not a very good driver. KUMUD Itne paise kaha se arrange karegi?

8. PRAFUL Kuch jamma kiye hain, baaki personal loan ke liye apply kar rahi hu. KUMUD Tch. Kitna bola tha tujhe, jama kar paise.. A car honks at Praful, she is in the wrong lane. She swerves off. PRAFUL Mamma, lecture mat de. Ho jayega... KUMUD Apne Pappa se baat kar. PRAFUL Hazaar baatein sunayenge. Bank bhi itne sawaal nahi puchte. KUMUD Red light hain. Praful continues to drive KUMUD (CONT’D) (shouts) Red light hain, Praful ruk! Praful suddenly stops, ahead of the light. She reverses over the zebra crossing. Irritated walkers give her a dirty look. INT. ATLANTA BANK. DAY Kumud sits in the waiting area of a busy bank. Praful is by the water cooler. She looks around at the various transactions taking place. The bank has an air of importance and the employees all seem pre-occupied. Praful fills water in the plastic cup and drinks peculiarly without touching her lips. Ms Patel!

CYNTHIA

Praful is started by the sound and spills some water. She turns to see Cynthia. CYNTHIA (CONT’D) The cups are sterilized.

9. PRAFUL (sheepish) Old habit. INT. BANK. ATLANTA. DAY Praful sits with Cynthia, who with an air of self-importance, goes through some papers. PRAFUL Actually, I was hoping you could process the loan quickly, I have two weeks to.. Cynthia reads some papers. CYNTHIA Its good to know that you got a preapproval on the mortgage... PRAFUL Yes. That makes things easy? CYNTHIA Shouldn’t be a problem. I just need to check your credit scores and we should be good! Please sign this. Cynthia pushes a paper to Praful. CYNTHIA (CONT’D) And this, and this.. Praful begins signing the papers. CYNTHIA (CONT’D) I’ll call you on Monday. PRAFUL Ok. If you can call me any earlier, I’ll be grateful Cynthia smiles. EXT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. NIGHT Praful drives with Kumud into a quiet driveway of her house. She tries to park the car in the spot, but swerves towards the garden. KUMUD Praful sambhal. Mohan ka garden...

10. It is too late. Praful drives on the garden patch, crushing some shrubs. The door opens and a tall Gujarati man, Mohan, 62, walks out. MOHAN Praful, mere chrysanthemums! PRAFUL Sorry Pappa. Drive-way miss ho gayi. MOHAN Phir se driving school kyon nahin jaati?? Kam se kam parking toh seekh le. PRAFUL I’m getting better, dad. Pichle hafte gaadi mailbox pe chadha dee thee! Mohan removes the dead flowers. MOHAN Itna late kaha se aa rahi hain? Bank se.

KUMUD

Mohan is uncomfortable. INT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. NIGHT Mohan and Praful sit at the dining table. Kumud stands and serves. Praful watches her mother fuss over her father. MOHAN Rotli naram thayi gayi! KUMUD Aadhe ghante se bula rahi hu. Tum TV se uth-te nahi! La garam karke laati hu. MOHAN (makes a face) Sab naram naram kyon khilati hain. Kuch crispy nahi hain kya? KUMUD Farsan lau?

11. MOHAN Kumud, joh bechte hain, usse khaate nahi! Aur kuch idea nahi soojta tujhe? KUMUD Nahi. Anpad aurat hu, ideas nahi aate. Papad lekar aati hu. PRAFUL Tu baith Maa. Main karti hu. KUMUD Tu kaam se thaki hogi, kha le pehle. Hum log toh ghar mein baithe rehte hain... MOHAN Main ghar mein baitha rehta hu? Tees saal se tum dono ko khila raha hu, aur aaj beti kama rahi hain, toh meri aukad nahi? Aye Praful, teri kamai ka khata hu kya?? Kumud ignores him and goes to the kitchen. Praful eats. MOHAN (CONT’D) 6 mahine se mera business down hain. Tere kamayi ke paise mere paas aate hain kya? PRAFUL Pehle toh deti thi na? Ab makaan ke liye jama kar rahi hu. MOHAN Achanak flat ki kya zarurat pad gayi? Yeh tera ghar nahi hain kya? PRAFUL Yeh aapka ghar hain Pappa. Main apna space chahti hu. MOHAN Toh shaadi kyon nahin kar leti? PRAFUL Ek baar kar chuki hu. MOHAN (bitingly) Dobara wahi galtiya mat daurana...

12. PRAFUL Galti meri nahin thi. MOHAN Waise kab hoti hain teri galti? Kumud enters and sees the tension. KUMUD Pankha chalu karu? Beat. PRAFUL Pappa please, lecture mat dijiye. Kar lungi main. MOHAN Property khareedna koi mazaak nahin hain Praful. Kam se kam mujhse salamashwara kar leti? PRAFUL Pappa, aapke help ke bina mujhe mortgage par pre-approval mil gaya na? Mohan makes a face. KUMUD Kyon rok rahe ho isko? Investment karna chahti hain. Meri tarah kamzor rehne se accha hain! MOHAN (shouts) Tu iska dimaag kharaab mat kar! Paise hain iske paas toh mere business mein invest kar leti. Property ke bare mein kya jaanti hain yeh? PRAFUL Koi investment-vinvestment nahin karna chahti hu. Bas independent rehna chahti hu.. MOHAN Kyon? Taaki ghar boyfriends laa sako?? PRAFUL Sure. Why not?

13. Mohan throws his plate and it crashes violently on the floor. The women are shaken. Mohan!

KUMUD

Praful gets up from the table. MOHAN (angry) Baith jao! Praful stares in anger. KUMUD Praful. Baith ja. Khana khatam kar. Praful doesn’t sit. MOHAN Kumud ek baar ladki haath se gayi na, toh wapas nahi aane waali. PRAFUL Excuse me, main ladki hu, koi ghodi ya bakri nahi! KUMUD Aap kyon iske plan mein rokk laga rahe hain. Khareedne do isse flat! MOHAN Kumud, ghalat salah mat de, warna tu hee pachtayegi. KUMUD Jaise kam pachta rahi hu ab. Ahemdabad mein hee khush the hum dono. Dhoke se bula-liya... MOHAN Praful, is aurat ne tere dimaag mein zehar bhar diya hain. Main tere bhalayi ke liye keh raha hu! Baith jaa. Praful doesn’t move. Kumud looks at her and nods. Praful reluctantly sits. MOHAN (CONT’D) Ek baap ki pareshani ko samajh Praful. Divorcee ki shaadi karana kitna mushkil hain jaanti hain? (MORE)

14. MOHAN (CONT’D) Agar kisi ladke ke chakkar mein pad gayi toh..? PRAFUL Yeh kya divorcee, divorcee laga rakha hain tumlogo ne? Meri aur koi pehchaan nahin hain kya?? Aur main dobara shaadi nahin karne wali. Yeh baat aap samajh jaiye. Beat. MOHAN Then you will have to get out of my house! PRAFUL Why do you think ki main yeh flat khareed rahi hu? Mohan glares at her, the gets up and walks out of the backdoor, slamming it behind him. Praful makes a face. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Wow! Mujhe table chhodna allowed nahin hain, magar yeh toh ghar se hee chale gaye. Kha le.

KUMUD

Praful continues eating. Aur lau?

KUMUD (CONT’D)

Praful nods to say no. She suddenly remembers. PRAFUL Maa, sun. Weekend ko mein Vegas jaa rahi hu, yaad hain na? KUMUD Par tujhe toh down payment karna hain? PRAFUL I have to go Mamma. Amber ka bachelorette hain. KUMUD Praful, tere paas joh $30,000 jama hain, usse choona mat!

15. PRAFUL Naresh uncle saara kharcha utha rahe hain. Kumud nods. Praful finishes eating. KUMUD Saaru hattu? Tip-top!

PRAFUL

EXT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. NIGHT Mohan is smoking a cigarette and looking at the street. Praful comes out. PRAFUL Pappa, aake khaana kha lijiye! Mohan gives her a sad look. Praful makes a face, pulls the cigarette from his hand and stubs it. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Kitni gandi smell aati hain. MOHAN Tu mujhe trust kyon nahi karti? Dushman hu tera? PRAFUL Of course not. Ab aa jao andar. Maa bhi nahi khaa rahi. MOHAN Is ghar mein kaunsi problem hain tujhe Praful? San accha chal raha tha. Jabse tune tankwha dena band kiya hain, saara pressure mujhi par hain. PRAFUL Pappa, saari zindagi aise nahi reh sakti main. Ek baar flat le lu, main phir se conribute karne lagungi. MOHAN (smirks) Ek baar ghar se gayi, toh gayi. PRAFUL Aap kaha mujhe trust karte hain?

16. Beat. MOHAN Theek hain. Agar yaha nahi rehna chahti, to kam se kam ladka dekh le apne liye. Beat. PRAFUL Sochungi. Ab khana kha lo, please. Praful and Mohan enter the house. They shut the door. INT. AIRPORT. LAS VEGAS. DAY Praful, Amber, 25 and Vandana, 27 exit into Las Vegas airport. Praful is wide-eyed when she sees the slot machines. INT. SLOT AREA. VEGAS AIRPORT. DAY Praful puts in a dollar and presses the button. She loses. She puts another dollar. She loses. Amber brings her bags. Praful decides to play one last round. She gets a line of 3 & wins double. She smiles. Music starts. EXT. AIRPORT. LAS VEGAS. DAY The girls squeal as they see a hired Limo waiting for them. INT. LIMO. LAS VEGAS. DAY Champagne in the limo. They watch in awe at the glimmering Vegas strip with fancy stores, bars and good-looking people. A TV screen inside the limo plays ads for the best casinos. EXT. CAESARS PALACE HOTEL. LAS VEGAS. DAY The limo stops outside the imposing Caesars Palace hotel. The girls get out. INT. SUITE. CAESERS PALACE HOTEL. DAY Their room has two Jacuzzi’s and a great view. More champagne awaits them on ice. They click glasses overlooking the Vegas skyline.

17. INT. SHOPPING MALL. LAS VEGAS. DAY The girls go shopping. Amber shops up a storm. Praful tries a gorgeous dress that she likes on Amber’s insistence, but cant afford the $1200 price tag. Praful buys a belt instead, and puts it on her credit card. The card is declined. The cashier makes a face. Praful gives another card and waits anxiously. It goes through. INT. SUITE. CAESERS PALACE HOTEL. NIGHT The girls are getting dressed in the room. Vandana does Amber’s hair in rollers, while Amber painstakingly puts on eye-shadow. Praful steps out of the bathroom. She is wearing a long skirt with big boots and a mismatched top. She puts on the new belt and poses awkwardly in front of the mirror. AMBER Sweetie, yeh kya hain? PRAFUL Accha hain na? VANDANA Haan. Unees-sau nabbe ke hooker ke liye. Praful looks at Vandana in horror. PRAFUL Boots kuch zyada ho gaye? AMBER Baby, sabkuch zyada ho gaya. Aur kya layi hain tu? Praful opens her bag and takes out denims and corduroys. The women make faces. AMBER (CONT’D) Praf, sweetie, in denims aur corduroys ko na, tu jala de. Kyonki charity mein bhi koi nahi lene wala. Amber goes to her cupboard and scans through dresses. She finds a short off shoulder dress and holds it on Praful.

18. PRAFUL Bahut tight lag raha hain. AMBER Tu na, saas rok-ke aur arse tok se chal, sab theek hojayega. INT. HOTEL LOBBY. CAESERS PALACE HOTEL. NIGHT Praful exits the elevator in her tight dress, hair tied up. She wobbles uncomfortably in stilettos, holding the wall for support. She sees the casino and wanders inside. INT. CASINO. CAESERS PALACE HOTEL. NIGHT Praful sees the slot machines. She sits down to play. She wins a small amount! She looks towards two old ladies playing next to her. The women smile. She plays again. She wins. A waitress approaches her. Wine?

WAITRESS

PRAFUL Can I have a beer? She hand her a beer. Praful hits the button. She wins again. WAITRESS You should cash in on your luck! Meaning?

PRAFUL

WAITRESS To make real money, you should play Baccarat. Baccarat?

PRAFUL

WAITRESS It’s the game James Bond plays! Very simple and quick returns. Its over there... Praful looks at the other section.

19. INT. CASINO. CAESERS PALACE HOTEL. NIGHT Praful walks to am empty Baccarat table. The dealer on the table is a South Indian guy-MURTHY. PRAFUL Kaise khelte hain? Baithon.

MURTHY

Praful sits. MURTHY (CONT’D) Main do haath baatunga. Ek PLAYER ko, ek BANKER ko. Tumhe dono mein se ek pe bet lagana hain. Jis haath ka total ‘9’ ke sabse kareeb hoga, wahi jeetega. Baccarat is all about the number ‘9’. Just then an old man sits on the vacant chair next to her. He takes out his chips to play. MURTHY (CONT’D) (to Praful) Want to play? Praful nods. She takes out the ticket she won at the slots and hands it to the dealer. Murthy gives her $300 worth of chips in exchange. MURTHY (CONT’D) (Nods at her) Place your bets!! Praful places $50 on PLAYER. Murthy deals two hands. They look at it. MURTHY (CONT’D) PLAYER total 7. BANK total 5. PLAYER wins. Murthy moves the chips towards Praful. She has won $100. She smiles wide. An older woman comes and sits on the table. Praful notices her gorgeous dress. MURTHY (CONT’D) Place your bets! Praful places $50 on BANK.

20. The cards are dealt. MURTHY (CONT’D) BANK’s total is 7. PLAYER gets two Kings. Making the total 0. Murthy deals a third card to PLAYER, it is a 9. DEALER Number 9. PLAYER beats BANK. Praful loses her bet. Her chips are taken away. The lady wins, the old man loses. MURTHY Place your bets please. Praful takes out more counters and bets $100 on BANK. The cards open. MURTHY (CONT’D) PLAYER has a total of 7, BANK gets an 8. Praful wins $200!! Praful’s heart starts beating faster and the surrounding sounds tune out. She is feeling a rush of adrenaline. A series of jump-cuts. Praful wins several more times. She is getting more confident. Praful puts all her counters on PLAYER. The cards are dealt, Praful’s phone rings. She jumps a little with the sudden interruption. She answers. PRAFUL Haan Vandana? Kaha ho tumlog? She looks at the PLAYERS cards. A natural nine. She squeals in excitement. VANDANA Meet us in the Lobby in ten minutes. Limo wait kar raha hain! Main aayi.

PRAFUL

Murthy pushes her winning counters towards her. Praful counts and is elated. She looks at the older woman. PRAFUL (CONT’D) $2000! I just won $2000!!

21. The older woman shows no excitement. Murthy smiles. INT. SHOPPING MALL. LAS VEGAS. DAY Praful rushes the same shop where Amber had shopped earlier. She buys the dress with the $1200 price tag and wears it. INT. NIGHTCLUB. LAS VEGAS. NIGHT The girls at the bar at a heaving party. Praful is looking hot. AMBER I told you yeh dress tujhe suit karega. VANDANA Praf, sexy! But yeh shoes?? We see the Praful is wearing mismatched shoes. PRAFUL Sab kuch perfect nahin hona chahiye. Its boring! The girls giggle. The cute bartender approaches them. BARTENDER What will you pretty ladies have? AMBER We’ll have you! The girls laugh. BARTENDER Any drinks on the side? AMBER Jagermeister shots please! BARTENDER You got it! He serves them the shots. The girls down it. Amber goes to pay. Praful stops her and puts some fresh notes out to the bartender. PRAFUL Drinks on me!

22. AMBER Are you sure baby? The bartender returns with the change. PRAFUL Keep the change. The bartender winks at her. CUT TO: The girls dance. A group of boys hits on the girls. Amber is charmed by a handsome white boy. Vandana is close dancing with a Black girl. A stocky boy tries close dancing with Praful. Praful cant match steps, she starts doing her own strange moves. He tries to hit on her, but her mind is elsewhere. Praful tries to get Amber’s attention, but she is too busy kissing the white boy.. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Amber, I’m bored! AMBER (pulls away) Kya main bored lag rahi hu?? PRAFUL Main Hotel jaau? AMBER Shayad mein isko bhi saath leaungi. Room andar se lock mat karna. Oh god!

PRAFUL

The White boy pulls Amber away. Praful exits. INT. CASINO. CAESERS PALACE HOTEL. DAY Praful walks into the hotel and heads straight for the Casino. Her face begins to light up again. She sees the Baccarat table and takes out her CREDIT CARD to buy some chips. Praful sits. An older Pakistani man, playing at the table, smiles at her.

23. DEALER Place your bets please. She places $50 on BANK. The dealer deals. Praful looks at her cards. DEALER (CONT’D) PLAYER gets a natural 9. BANK gets a 7. PLAYER wins. Praful loses the bet. The Pakistani Man wins. She bets $50 on PLAYER. The dealer deals and Praful looks at her cards. DEALER (CONT’D) The BANK gets a total of 8, PLAYER gets a 7. Bank wins. Praful loses again. The Pakistani man wins. He watches as Praful shakes her head and gets up to get a drink. CUT TO: Praful is at the bar drinking a beer. The Pakistani man approaches the bartender. KHAN I’ll have a whisky soda. He sits next to Praful and smiles. KHAN (CONT’D) Hi, I’m Khan. Lahore se. PRAFUL I’m Praful, from Atlanta. KHAN American? Tumhara accent toh Indian hain... PRAFUL India mein badi hui. 17 saal ki thi jaba yaha aayi. KHAN Hmmm. Uss umr mein mushkil raha hoga, adjust karna? PRAFUL Thoda sa. Phir samajhne lagi ki yaha American koi nahi. Har koi baahar se aaya hain...

24. Khan smiles. He seems to like Praful. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Kaafi jeet rahe the aap. Mere liye koi tip? KHAN (laughs) Tip? Baccarat mein jeetna mushkil nahi. PRAFUL (makes a face) Main toh haar ke uthi hu. KHAN Do round haar ke agar uth gayi, toh iss game ko samjhi nahi tum. Praful doesn’t understand. KHAN (CONT’D) Baccarat is a very fast game. Minto mein aadmi malamal ho sakta hain. Magar sabr zaruri hain... Praful pays attention. KHAN (CONT’D) ...yaani accha bankroll hona zaruri hain. Agar tumhare paas itne paise ho ke 5-6 bets haar sako, toh uske baad jeetna almost guaranteed hain. Trick is to stay in the game. Bas! PRAFUL 5-6 round kyon? KHAN Law of averages. Research batati hain ke 5-6 round mein ek baar jeetna almost sure hain. PRAFUL (excited) Really? Khan nods. The bartender hands him a bill.. PRAFUL (CONT’D (CONT’D) Let me get this. No please.

KHAN

25. Praful grabs the bill. PRAFUL Main aapka tip free mein nahin le sakti. Khan laughs. Praful takes out her wallet. Chooses which card to put. They click glasses. CUT TO: Praful walks to an ATM. She looks at her balance of $32,000. She punches in $1000. She then changes her mind and makes it $2000. She takes the money. CUT TO: Back at the Baccarat table, Praful sits and checks her money. An elegant lady is already playing. Praful bets $50 on PLAYER. DEALER PLAYER gets a total of 6, BANK gets an 8. Bank wins. Praful loses. The elegant lady wins. Praful counts ‘one’. Praful bets $100 on BANK. DEALER (CONT’D) PLAYER gets a total of 8, BANK has a total of 7. PLAYER wins. Praful loses the bet again. Praful counts ‘two’. Praful bets $200 on PLAYER. Dealer deals. Bank wins.

DEALER (CONT’D)

Praful loses her bet. She counts ‘three’. Praful nervously bets 400$ on BANK. Dealer deals. DEALER (CONT’D) The BANK’s 8 beats the PLAYER’s 6. Praful finally wins. $800. She smiles as she counts ‘four’ on her fingers. Praful goes to bet the entire $1600 on PLAYER. Her phone rings.

26. PRAFUL Haan Vandana. VANDANA Amber ne kuch zyada pee li.. DEALER PLAYER gets a 9, which beats the BANK’s 8. Praful wins $3200. She screams with joy! Praful??

VANDANA

PRAFUL Sorry. Kaha ho tumlog. VANDANA Kamre mein.. PRAFUL Ok. Main aayi. INT. CAESARS PALACE HOTEL. LAS VEGAS. DAY Praful is at the cashier, haphazardly holding all her chips in her hand. She even drops a few, but smiles sweetly. The cashier counts some money. CASHIER (smiles) That’s $3200. Praful whistles. INT. CAESARS PALACE HOTEL. LAS VEGAS. DAY Praful enters the room to see Amber throwing up in the toilet. Vandana is helping her. Kya hua?

PRAFUL

VANDANA 17 shots pee gayi. Jab gore ne kiss karne ki koshish ki toh... Vandana giggles. Praful makes a face and gestures to Vandana that she’ll take over.

27. PRAFUL Tu theek hain Amber? AMBER Praf. Sab khatam hone wala hain yaar. PRAFUL Nonsense. Tu kitni excited hain shaadi ko leke. AMBER Sab dikhawa hain. Actually I’m really scared. PRAFUL Phir kyon kar rahi hain? AMBER Main teri tarah independent nahin hu yaar. Mere paas koi ‘plan B’ nahin hain. PRAFUL Itni senti mat ho Amber. AMBER I envy you Praf. Tu wahi karti hain joh tu chahti hain, kaash main... Amber throws up again. Praful rubs her back. PRAFUL Its ok...its ok... AMBER (recovers) Praf, pata hain, jab tu nayi nayi aayi thi US, toh sab tere accent ka, tere kapdon ka, mazaak udaate the... Pata hain.

PRAFUL

AMBER Main bhi thoda embarrassed thi. Praful nods. AMBER (CONT’D) Lekin Maa ne mujhe force kiya, ki tera khayal rakhu.

28. PRAFUL Aur rakha bhi Ammu. You are my best friend. Praful starts helping Amber up. AMBER I love you Praf. I’m sorry, tujhe samajhne mein time lag gaya. Praful tucks her in bed. PRAFUL Mujhe kabhi bura nahi laga. CUT TO: Amber snores. We see Praful wide awake in bed. She looks out of the window where she sees the world finest casino’s lit up for a nights play. Praful’s eyes glisten. EXT. CAESARS PALACE HOTEL. LAS VEGAS. DAY The girls wheel their bags out towards a waiting cab. We see that Amber and Vandana are going, not Praful AMBER You sure tu nahi aana chahti? PRAFUL Kamra ek aur din ke liye book hain. Kal aa jaungi. AMBER Sorry babe, maine ek raat mein poore trip ki pee lee. Ab party nahin hota mujhse. PRAFUL Toh mere saath casino mein chal. You know how much I made yesterday? AMBER Beginners luck tha Praf. Tu is gambling-wambling ke chakkar mein matt pad! PRAFUL Safe khelungi. Promise!

29. Amber gives Praful a kiss and they leave in the cab. Praful walks inside and caresses the money she won last night. CUT TO: Praful walks to an ATM and checks her balance. It is $30,000. She punches in $5000. PRAFUL (CONT’D) (to herself) Jeeti toh, flat ka saara down payment haath mein aajayega. Uske liye kam-se-kam chhe round ka bankroll chahiye... Praful changes the amount to $15000. She withdraws the money and walks to the tale. CUT TO: Back at the Baccarat table, Praful sits and checks her money. She seems to have a decent bankroll. DEALER This is a minimum $500 table. Praful is about to get up when she sees an Arab man smirk at her. She sits back down and bets $500 on BANK. DEALER (CONT’D) PLAYER gets a total of 6, BANK gets an 8. Bank wins. Praful wins. The Arab man loses. Praful gives him a dirty look. DEALER (CONT’D) Place your bets! The Arab man bets $2000 on Player. Praful bets $1000 on BANK. DEALER (CONT’D) PLAYER gets a total of 8, BANK has a total of 7. PLAYER wins. Praful loses the bet again. The Arab man wins and gives Praful a dirty look. He bets $2000 on BANK. Praful bets $2000 on PLAYER. Dealer deals. Praful taps her foot nervously. Bank wins.

DEALER (CONT’D)

30. Praful loses the bet. The Arab man wins. Montage shots of Praful losing. Her face starts to look tired as her chips deplete. Praful nervously bets her last $8000 on BANK. Dealer deals. Praful bites her lip. DEALER (CONT’D) PLAYER gets a 9, which beats the BANK’s 8. Praful loses. The Arab wins. Praful has lost half her savings. As she gets up, she sees the Arab smirk ARAB PLAYER Try the $50 table. Praful glares at him and walks off angrily. INT. TAXI. VEGAS AIRPORT. NIGHT Praful sleeps in the back of a cab, and the Vegas lights pass her by. The taxi stops at the airport and she awakens. EXT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY Praful steps out of a cab and rings the doorbell of her house. No one answers. She rings again. Again no answer. Praful dials her mother. PRAFUL Maa? Darwaza khol ne? KUMUD VO Praful, mujhe kholne nahi de rahe hain.. Praful hears her parents fight. The line gets cut. Maa?

PRAFUL

The fighting reaches the door. MOHAN VO Kal raat kaha thi? Aa Patel motel chhe kya??

31. PRAFUL Flight miss ho gaya.. MOHAN VO Toh Amber kaise aa gayi time pe?? PRAFUL I dont know. Security jaldi clear kar gayi..uske hand luggage mein shampoo nahi tha.. KUMUD VO Ae Mohan, jo bolna hain na, andar bol. Beech raat ko, jawan ladki ghar ke baahar khadi hain! PRAFUL Pappa, darwaza kholo please. A livid Mohan opens the door and Praful enters. MOHAN Itni badi ho gayi hain ke ek phone nahi kar sakti? Mere kitne calls kaate hain tune? PRAFUL (shouts back) You cant treat me like this dad? Kya main bacchi hu?? Kumud shuts the door, hoping the neighbors wont hear. MOHAN Agar iss ghar mein rehna hain, toh you have to follow my rules... Praful is about to say something. Kumud holds her back. KUMUD Behas se kuch haasil nahi hone wala. Tu so ja. Kal subah kaam pe jaana hain na. MOHAN Kyon beech mein taang adati ho? Main apne beti se khud baat nahi kar sakta?? KUMUD Tum baat nahin karte, sirf chillate ho. Kal subah, thande dimaag se baat karlo. Jaa Praful.

32. Praful begins walking up the stairs. MOHAN (to Praful) Light ka bill tere table pe rakha hain. Bhar de. PRAFUL Lekin, mere paas paise nahi.. MOHAN Vegas jaa sakti hain, magar ghar mein haath nahi bata sakti?? KUMUD Bhar degi. Aap chinta mat karo. Praful goes up the stairs and shuts the door. Kumud enters. She takes out some money. KUMUD (CONT’D) Yeh le. Bhar le bill. Magar Maa.

PRAFUL

KUMUD Kuch hee din ki baat hain. Main nahin chahti tere flat mein koi rukawat hon. Praful nods. KUMUD (CONT’D) Down payment ke paise ko chuaa toh nahi? Praful nods to say no. She is feeling guilty. INT. GUEST ROOM. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Monotonous shots. Praful vacuums the floor. Praful cleans the toilet bowl. Praful arranges the shampoos. She gets a phone call. Hi Steven?

PRAFUL

33. STEVEN We were supposed to meet today for the paperwork. I have another bid on the house. PRAFUL No No. Hold that place Steve. I’m just waiting for my bank to approve the personal loan. INT. BANK. ATLANTA. DAY We see the hustle bustle of a busy bank. At the watercooler, Praful drinks water from the cup, without touching her lips. Cynthia approaches. CYNTHIA Follow me Ms Patel. Praful drops the water. CUT TO: Cynthia arranges all Praful’s paperwork and takes her time. Praful waits nervously. PRAFUL Cynthia, Is the loan approved? CYNTHIA Give me a moment please. Praful looks around the bank. CYNTHIA (CONT’D) Ms Patel, I’ve gone through your account, and as much as I’d like to help...you're not eligible for a loan! But why?

PRAFUL

CYNTHIA Your credit rating is really low. You are spending more than you are putting back. You often use your entire credit limit, and off late, you seem to have half emptied your account...in one day!

34. PRAFUL That’s because I’m flat broke! That’s why I need the money! CYNTHIA If you really want the loan, I suggest you work to improve your funds over the next few months.. PRAFUL This is crazy. If I have good enough funds why would I need a loan? CYNTHIA I’m sorry that’s how banks work Ms Patel. PRAFUL Actually, they don’t work, lady. Thanks for your time. Cynthia nods condescendingly. Praful exits the bank. INT. CAR. ATLANTA ROADS. ATLANTA. DAY Praful drives slowly thinking of what to do. EXT. LAKE. ATLANTA. DAY We see Praful’s parked car. She is sitting by a serene lake looking at the calm water. She seems disturbed but the environment gives her clarity. She thinks. EXT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. NIGHT Praful parks badly, half on the sidewalk. Mohan opens the door and heaves a sigh of relief. MOHAN Chalo, kam se kam mera garden to bach gaya. Praful hugs her dad. Hi dad!

PRAFUL

MOHAN Arre wah! Aaj Pappa pe bada pyaar aa raha hain.

35. INT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. NIGHT Kumud serves dinner. Mohan eats quietly. Praful wants to say something, but cant find the guts. PRAFUL (to kumud) Maa, naye flat mein na open kitchen rakhenge. Taaki burner se garam khana pass ho sake. KUMUD (looks at Mohan) Hmmmm. Mohan ignores the comment. Beat. PRAFUL Pappa, main chahti hu aap bhi flat dekh lo.. MOHAN Achanak kya hua? PRAFUL As an investment for you. Area bahut hee appreciate hone wala hain. MOHAN Meri kya zarurat hain? Paise toh toone arrange kiye hue hain na? PRAFUL Mostly arranged hain. Par thoda shortfall hain. Kitne ka?

MOHAN

PRAFUL Yahi kuch 30-40,000 ka. MOHAN (laughs) Thoda shortfall? KUMUD Personal loan ke liye apply kiya tha na? Kya hua?

36. MOHAN (smirks) Nahi mila? PRAFUL Nahi. But Hotel se agar undertaking letter mil jaye, toh ho jana chahiye.. MOHAN (sarcastic) Really? Toh koshish zarur karna. Praful stares at him. PRAFUL Toh aap invest nahin karna chahte? MOHAN Invest? Mujhe nahin lagta ki tumhe investment ke baare mein malum hain. KUMUD Praful, kuch problem ho gayi kya? MOHAN Agar madat chahti ho, toh saaf saaf kyon nahin puchti? PRAFUL Madat? Chalo, aap jaise chaho dekh lo. MOHAN Hmmm. Kar sakta hu help. But ek shart hain.. PRAFUL Ofcourse, woh pyar hee kya jisme sharte na ho. Boliye Pappa. MOHAN Main chahta hu ki tum ladke dekhna shuru kar do... Praful chews her food slowly. PRAFUL Aapko shaadi ki siwa aur koi topic sujta nahin hain kya?

37. KUMUD Praful, milne mein koi harj nahin beta... PRAFUL Aapke sharton ke bina manage kar lungi! Goodnight! Praful walks up the stairs. Mohan gives Kumud a ‘I told you so’ look. INT. PRAFULS ROOM. MOHANS HOUSE. NIGHT Praful sits at her desk. She nervously chews her fingernails. She suddenly opens her laptop and begins searching for flights. To Vegas! INT. VEGAS AIRPORT. DAY Praful walks in the airport lobby purposefully. She seems to be better dressed and determined. INT. CAESERS PALACE HOTEL CASINO. DAY Praful enters the casino with people in expensive suits and diamonds. She walks to the ATM and checks her balance. She has $15,000 left in her account. Praful thinks for a moment and then quickly withdraws it all. PRAFUL (to herself) Zero ho gaye to kya hua Praful, kal subah kam se kam $70,000 honge! Praful walks excitedly towards the Baccarat section. She sees three tables; minimum bet $500, minimum bet $1000 and minimum bet $5000. She stops at the $500 Baccarat table. The croupier Murthy recognizes her. MURTHY Nice to see you back. Praful waves sweetly. A waitress smiles and approaches Praful. WAITRESS What can I get you?

38. PRAFUL I’ll have a beer... WAITRESS (makes a face) Beer? We have some great champagne. Ok then!

PRAFUL

Praful takes the champagne. Murthy winks at her. She is excited to be treated with recognition & sits like a queen. MURTHY (slides his hand across the felt) Place your bets! PRAFUL $500, on Player. Praful bets $500 on PLAYER. Murthy deals. MURTHY PLAYER gets a natural 9. Bank gets a 4. Player wins. Praful wins the hand. Her nervousness subsides a bit and she places another bet. PRAFUL $1000 on player! Murthy deals. Bank wins.

MURTHY

Praful loses the bet. She counts her chips and bets. PRAFUL $2000 on Bank Murthy deals. Bank wins!

MURTHY

Praful smiles & bets on BANK. PRAFUL $4000 on Bank. Cards are dealt.

39. MURTHY BANK loses to PLAYER. Praful loses the bet. She counts 8k in chips. Murthy is paying off bets. Praful signals for a drink, the waitress hands her Champagne. She downs it in one go. MURTHY (CONT’D) Place your bets! PRAFUL $8000 on Player. Cards are dealt. Praful takes a large gulp of the Champagne. TIE! Shit!

MURTHY PRAFUL

Praful loses $8,000. She nervously starts shaking her leg. She counts her chips. PRAFUL (CONT’D) (to herself) Sirf $4000 hain. Praful grabs another Champagne and places a bet. A tall older black man watches Praful. PRAFUL (CONT’D) $4000 on Player. Murthy deals. They see the cards. MURTHY (looks sadly at Praful) Bank wins. Praful gets up angry. She is a little drunk and almost falls over. She walks to the bar. PRAFUL One beer, actually, give me Champagne. The bartender pours her a drink and gives her a bill. Praful gives her credit card. The older black man, JEREMIAH 58, and a Hispanic smaller guy, BUGS, 36, approach her. JEREMIAH Hey. Tough luck.

40. Praful nods and sips her champagne. JEREMIAH (CONT’D) (to bartender) Gin. On Ice. JEREMIAH (CONT’D) We were watching you play. You have a great game. I do?

PRAFUL

JEREMIAH Yeah. I saw you double your bets after every loss. Smart. PRAFUL But I didn’t win. BUGS If you had played on longer... PRAFUL I’m cleaned out. JEREMIAH Do you want to win it back? BUGS You know you can. How?

PRAFUL

JEREMIAH We can lend you the money. That’s what we do. BUGS You play, you win, you pay back. Praful is unsure. JEREMIAH Hey, think about it. We wouldn’t have approached you if we didn’t think you could win. Jeremiah finishes his drink and gets up to go. PRAFUL You charge interest?

41. INT. CAR PARK. CAESERS PALACE. DAY Praful walks with Jeremiah and bugs to a parked car with a big guy sitting inside. They all sit inside. Bugs begins counting money. JEREMIAH Are you sure 32k is enough? We can give you more? PRAFUL No, that should cover me 5-6 rounds. BUGS I told you boss, she’s got a great strategy. Bugs hands her the money in a packet. Count it.

JEREMIAH

Praful counts a few and then stops. PRAFUL I’m sure its fine. JEREMIAH We charge 15% interest. Ok.

PRAFUL

JEREMIAH Bugs will hang around, till you win. Just give him the cash with the interest, and we’re square. Praful nods. JEREMIAH (CONT’D) Dont look so worried. Go make a million. Praful smiles. Bugs exits with her. INT. CAESARS PALACE CASINO. LAS VEGAS. DAY Praful walks nervously to a Baccarat table with a small paper bag in her hand. Bugs sits at the nearby bar.

42. DEALER Minimum bets $500. Praful buys chips worth

.

DEALER (CONT’D) Place your bets! Praful bets $500 on PLAYER. PLAYER gets a 4. The BANK gets an 8. Bank wins.

DEALER (CONT’D)

Praful loses. She thinks for a moment and then bets $1,000 on PLAYER. $1,000

PRAFUL

PLAYER gets a 7. The BANK has an 8. DEALER BANK beats PLAYER. Praful loses $1,000. DEALER (CONT’D) Place your bets! Praful plays $2,000 on PLAYER. The dealer deals. Praful’s takes a Champagne from a waitress. DEALER (CONT’D) Player gets 6. Bank gets an 8. Player is dealt a card. Praful watches as the card is opened. It is a 1. Bank wins!

DEALER (CONT’D)

Praful stares at the cards in anger. Everything moves in a drunken haze now. Cards dissolving into each other. Croupiers voice distorting, laughing patrons, diamonds... Praful bets $4000 on Bank. Player wins. She loses. DISSOLVE TO:

43. Praful bets $8,000 on Player. Bank Wins. She loses. DISSOLVE TO: Praful tries to focus on her remaining chips. She only has enough for 1 bet of 16k left. DEALER (CONT’D) Place your bets. Praful tentatively moves $16,000 towards PLAYER. She then changes her mind and moves her chips to BANK.

No more...

DEALER (CONT’D)

In the nick of time, Praful pulls away her chips and sits out. DEALER (CONT’D) No more bets please! The cards are dealt. Praful takes support of the table and gets up to leave. She turns around curiously to see who won... Bank wins.

DEALER (CONT’D)

Praful realizes she would have won. Shit!

PRAFUL

The dealer clears the table. A young couple squeal with joy as they win big. DEALER Place your bets please. Praful cant decide whether to play or to leave. A guy at the table takes out his cigarettes to smoke. Praful looks at the packet. The brand is called ‘PLAY’. The letters starts to dance around the pack. Praful reads it and suddenly decides to sit down. In her stupor, she takes out ALL her chips and thinks where to bet. PRAFUL (to herself) Pichle do round BANK ne jeete hain. (MORE)

44. PRAFUL (CONT'D) Teesri baar jeetne ki kya chances hain? Praful bets her remaining $16,000 on PLAYER. The cards are dealt. Praful closes her eyes and prays. She opens her eyes and sees the cards. DEALER PLAYER has a 5 The BANK has a 4. Praful is getting excited. PLAYER is dealt a card it is a 3. DEALER (CONT’D) Player gets a 3 making the total 8. Praful takes a deep breath and relaxes. The dealer opens a card for BANK. He puts it down on the table. It is a 5. DEALER (CONT’D) Bank wins. Again. Praful watches in horror as her last chips go to the dealer, She looks into the paper bag, it is empty. She now owes Jeremiah $32,000 that she doesn’t have. Her head spins! INT. CASINO. CAESERS PALACE HOTEL. DAY Praful sneaks out of the room, avoiding Bugs at the bar. She enters the janitor room and steals a housekeeping uniform. INT. HOTEL LOBBY. CAESERS PALACE HOTEL. DAY She then slips out of the Casino, doing what she does best – cleaning the floors! Jeremiah’s men walk past her but don’t notice. EXT. CAESARS PALACE HOTEL. LAS VEGAS. DAY Praful hails a cab and gets in. Bugs comes out looking for her, but she ducks in the cab and it speeds away... INT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY The house is filled with several ‘mithai’ boxes, piled up in the hallway. Kumud is counting, while Mohan is checking boxes in a form. Praful enters and nervously looks at her father.

45. KUMUD Praful, yeh koi time hain aane ka? PRAFUL Maine bola tha, Vandana ke yaha reh gayi thi. Mohan ignores Praful. He is engrossed in his boxes. MOHAN Kitne hain? 15 hain.

KUMUD

Mohan makes note of it. PRAFUL Aa su chhe? KUMUD Mohan ka nayya import. Rajkot se farsan order kiya hain. Aa taste kar. She opens a box and gives Praful some ghaatia-sev. Praful eats it. KUMUD (CONT’D) Kaisa laga ghaatia? PRAFUL (mutters) Ghatiya! Kya? Tip-Top!

KUMUD PRAFUL

She begins walking up the stairs. Mohan looks at her for the first time. MOHAN Praful, ek rishta aaya hain, Rajkot se.. Praful ignores. KUMUD Acche log hain. Milne mein koi harj nahin.

46. Praful goes up and shuts her door. INT. PRAFULS ROOM. MOHANS HOUSE. DAY Praful lies down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. FADE OUT. INT. ROOM. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Praful in her work routine. She is cleaning the bathtub. She cleans the toilet bowl. She vacuums the room. Mike enters and points to a spot she needs to redo. Mike leaves. Praful makes a face. She makes the bed and puts a made-up sign. INT. TRAIN. ATLANTA. DAY Praful stands on the train. An elegant woman walks in wearing a rich dress. Praful stares at her. Life is back to normal. INT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY Praful sits all made up like a perfect Indian bahu. She and her parents are having tea with the Parekh’s, an older Gujarati couple. Their nephew Sameer, 32, is here to see Praful. MOHAN Beta, aa chhe Parekh uncle ane aunty. Tujhe kausal bhai yaad hain? Jinka Rajkot mein hosiery ki dukaan hain? Yeh unke chachere bhai, aur yeh Sameer, Kausal ka bada ladka. PRAFUL Pranaam uncle aunty. MR & MRS PAREKH Pranaam beta. SAMEER (to Praful) Aapko Pinky aur Suyash ke shaadi mein dekha tha, Ahemdabad mein...

47. PRAFUL Mujhe yaad nahin. Usko 15 saal ho gaye. MRS PAREKH Hotel mein kaam karti ho? PRAFUL Haan. Housekeeping mein. MRS PAREKH Bau fine. House will be neat and tidy. Housewife is aakhir housekeeper only! Praful widens eyes in disbelief. SAMEER Mohanbhai bata rahe the ki tum is Hotel mein 7 saal se kaam kar rahi ho... MRS PAREKH Direct divorce ke baad ne? Sameer gives his aunt a dirty look, she shuts up. SAMEER I mean, 7 saal ek hee company ko kaun samarpit karta hain aaj? Zarur team acchi hogi. PRAFUL Not really. But its a job. Aap kya karte ho? MRS PAREKH Sameer yaha MBA karna chahta hain, uska ek start up ka plan hain. He want to be the self-made man, haina Sameer? MOHAN Acha? Kaun sa start up? SAMEER Ek APP banane ki yojna hain uncle. KUMUD Arre wah, aajkal sablog apps use kar rahe hain. Meri friend Roshni, ghar se nikalti hee nahin. Grocery, housepainting, gardening, sab ke liye APP hain...

48. MOHAN Abhi toh Puja-paath ke liye bhi APP hain. Puja going on in Brooklyn but pujari sitting in Banares. Mr Parekh laughs. SAMEER Mera APP bhi sanskriti se sambandhit hain. Us-se aap Bharat ke saare dharmik sthalon ka seedha prasaran dekh sakte hain, darshan kar sakte hain. MOHAN Su vaat chhe? Dharmik chokra madi gayo Parekh bhai. MR PAREKH Arre dharm to ekach chhe Mohanbhai, Business no dharm. PRAFUL Log in sthalon mein chaadar, bhog vagaira chadhane jaate hain. Sirf live darshan se kya hoga? SAMEER Iske baare mein bhi socha hua hain. Hum mandiron aur sansthaon ke sahyog se donations aur chadhave ke options, APP pe uplabdh karenge. Yaani ke ek button se chaadar chadhao, ek button se 21 gareebo ko khaana khilao. MOHAN Instant Karma! Wah!! They all laugh. MOHAN (CONT’D) Kabhi sapne bhi nahi socha tha ke Praful ke liye Sameer jaisa rishta ayega. Beta, tujhe pata hain, Sameer is not divorcee. Praful glares at her father. Kumud holds her hand. KUMUD I think bacchon ko ek-do baar akele mein bhi milna chahiye. Kyon Nita ben?

49. MRS PAREKH Haan, haan, kyon nahin. Mohan nods. MR PAREKH Yeh accha ho gaya ke Kausal ka export licence tumhare farsan business mein kaam aa gaya. Praful is surprised to hear this. MRS PAREKH Haan, rishta aready ho gaya samjho. MOHAN Haan, ab bacche ek doosre ko pasand kare toh sky is the limit I tell you. Kausal aur main saath mein Atlanta ka number one farsan karobar banayenge. Kyon Sameer? Sameer tries to make eye-contact with Praful, but she looks away. INT. PRAFULS ROOM. MOHANS HOUSE. NIGHT Praful is undressing. Kumud enters. KUMUD Mujhe accha laga Ladka. PRAFUL Phir tu hee kar le shaadi. KUMUD (laughs) Kar leti. Agar itni boodhi nahi hoti. PRAFUL Boodhi kaha hain tu? Salman Khan se sirf 2 saal badi hain! KUMUD (laughs) Akele mil-le Sameer se, tujhe bhi pasand ayega. PRAFUL Hmmm. Ek Hindi dictionary lekar jaungi..

50. KUMUD (smiles) Lagta hain desh ki mitti se judda hain woh. PRAFUL Phir America ke sapne kyon dekh raha hain? KUMUD To kya hua? Videsh to Swami Vivekanand aur Gandhiji bhi gaye the. PRAFUL Hmmm. Kapde bhi ussi zamane ke pehne hue hain. Koi pant itna uncha pehnta hain kya? KUMUD Shaadi ke baad tu le ja usse shopping. PRAFUL Shaadi toh Pappa ko karni hain uske daddy se. Farsan ka swarna milan! KUMUD (laughs) Tereko usse kya? Ladka pasand ho, toh hee haan karna. Ok? PRAFUL Goodnight ma! Kumud leaves. INT. BANQUET HALL. ATLANTA. NIGHT Amber’s wedding. A grand banquet hall, well decorated, with many chatty guests in attendance. We see Prafuls parents bond with Ambers parents Naresh & Pushpa. NARESH Where is your drink Mohanbhai?? MOHAN Kuch der baad Nareshbhai. Abhi to raat jawan hain.

51. NARESH Nonsense. Kumud behn aap inko tension mat do please. Bacchi ki shaadi hain. KUMUD Main kahan tension deti hu. Tension to baad mein hoga, jab yeh nashe mein gaadi chalayenge. NARESH Toh Praful kis liye hain. Woh chalayegi na gaadi. MOHAN Wahi to tension hain Nareshbhai! Waiter!

NARESH

A waiter comes with a tray. NARESH (CONT’D) One whisky please. On the rocks. Mohan takes the glass. Kumud makes a face. KUMUD Main zara Pushpa se milkar aati hu. She leaves. NARESH Pata nahi aurat aur whisky ki kya dushmani hain? Bottle kholu toh dono auratein sar pe chaddh jati hain... MOHAN (laughs) Chalo ek ko toh bida kar rahe hain. NARESH Haan. Lekin Praful ko kab bida karoge Mohan? She’s over 30! MOHAN Ladka dekha hain. Woh Parekh hosiery ka beta. NARESH Divorcee hain?

52.

Nahin.

MOHAN

NARESH Phir kaise maan liya? MOHAN Ladka accha hain. Naresh nods. INT. GREEN ROOM. BANQUET HALL. ATLANTA. NIGHT Vandana and Ambers other friends are rehearsing a dance. Praful is trying to catch the moves. Amber is upset. AMBER Not done Praf! Main ek mahine se tujhe rehearsals pe bula rahi hu, aur tu ek baar bhi nahi aayi. PRAFUL Arre tension kyon leti hain Amber? Ho jayega. Yeh gaana toh main acchi tarah se jaanti hu. Vandana, bas woh ghoomne wala step dikhana. VANDANA Dhyan se dekh. Vandana does a spiral turn. 5 other girls follow her. Praful tries, but cant spin 360 degrees. VANDANA (CONT’D) Yeh kya kamar se turn kar rahi hain. From your heel babes. Praful attempts it again. Vandana gets frustrated. AMBER She’s going to ruin it. Vandy iska step change kar. VANDANA Kya?? Not fair. Phir in dono ka step bhi change karna hoga... Kar de!

AMBER

Vandana shows Praful a half-turn move. Praful watches intently.

53. INT. BANQUET HALL. ATLANTA. NIGHT Sameer enters the marriage hall. He is wearing an ill-fitting jacket and a pair of jeans pulled way above his waists. He looks for Mohan and finds him by the bar. SAMEER Pranaam uncle. MOHAN Haan Sameer. Drink loge? SAMEER Main sharaab nahin peeta. Beat MOHAN Naturally. Shaadi kaha hui tumhaari? Sameer laughs. SAMEER Aunty aur Praful kaha hain? MOHAN Aunty log waha kone mein ghusarpusar kar rahe hain. Praful ladkion ke saath dance rehearsal kar rahi hain.. SAMEER Accha? Woh dance bhi karti hain? We hear music start. Mohan points towards the stage. MOHAN Khud hee decide kar lo. On stage, Praful and the girls dance. It starts off nicely, but soon Praful can’t match their moves. She struggles for a bit, and then begins doing her own thing. Praful gets lost in her own cool moves. She is the centre of attention. People enjoy it, but a couple of the girls are pissed off. Vandana pulls Sameer and a couple of other guys to dance. Sameer has two left feet and dances badly. He looks towards Praful for help. Praful shows him a move. Amber looks at Sameer’s dressing style and gives Praful a disapproving look.

54. A young boy runs up to Praful and whispers in her ear. The boy leads her out of the hall. Sameer watches her go. EXT. BANQUET HALL. ATLANTA. NIGHT Praful goes outside the hall and is shocked at what she sees. Jeremiah and his men are standing outside. Praful doesn’t know whether to run or hide. JEREMIAH Ms Patel. We’ve been looking for you. PRAFUL I..was going to call you. JEREMIAH Well, you should have. We tried your number, seems you changed it. Took us a while to find your house, but you weren’t there. You’ve made us run around quite a bit... Sameer comes out looking for Praful. He sees her standing with strangers. SAMEER Yeh kaun hain? PRAFUL Housekeeping manager hain. Kuch zaruri kaam hain. Ok.

SAMEER

PRAFUL Jaiye na. Main aati hu. Sameer goes inside. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Can we talk outside? Please? JEREMIAH Get in the car. Jeremiah holds Praful by her arm and pushes her inside a car. The car drives off.

55. INT. JEREMIAH’S CAR. SAN JOSE. NIGHT The car drives out of the venue and parks outside. Praful sits silently. Jeremiah stares at her, but she doesn’t make eye-contact. JEREMIAH You ran off with my 32k, bitch. Its been 30 days.. PRAFUL I’m sorry, I lost it at the casino, I.. Jeremiah slaps her hard. Praful is shocked. JEREMIAH With interest, you owe me $44k. For the month it took us to find you, I’ll put costs at $5k. Why don’t we round it up to $50k? I want that money now! PRAFUL (horrified) I really don’t have it. I lost it all.. JEREMIAH Lets go in and have this conversation shall we? Beat. PRAFUL Look, I’ll find the money Jeremiah, but give me sometime.. Beat JEREMIAH I’ll give you one week. PRAFUL I...I dont have...Its not enough time.. Jeremiah slaps her again. Praful falls between the seats of the SUV. Jeremiah pulls her by her hair. She is bleeding from the mouth. JEREMIAH You think you could pay me back next week Ms Patel?

56. Praful is sobbing. PRAFUL I..I will..I need.. JEREMIAH You think I should talk to Mohan Patel? Praful looks at him in shock. JEREMIAH (CONT’D) Or Naresh Patel? If he’s not too busy with his daughters wedding? PRAFUL Please don’t, I’ll get the money. JEREMIAH You do make a pretty sight Ms Patel. Lets show you off to your family. PRAFUL No. I promise to find the money. But one week is too less... Jeremiah goes to slap her again. Praful backs off and covers her face. Jeremiah pulls her hands off and sees the blood smeared over her face. He then takes out his handkerchief and begins wiping the blood off Praful’s mouth. JEREMIAH (gently) Rob a house, rob a bank. I don’t care how you do it. You have one week. Praful nods. JEREMIAH (CONT’D) Now get out. Praful recovers from the shock. PRAFUL Just one minute please. Praful looks in the mirror and wipes her face clean. She adjusts her hair to cover a bruise. She makes a pretty face and exits.

57. Jeremiah shakes his head in disbelief as he sees Praful walk to the hall as if nothing happened. INT. BANQUET HALL. SAN JOSE. NIGHT Praful stands with her parents as Amber and her fiance get married. Praful watches the garlands being exchanged, but her mind is somewhere else. Sameer notices her. SAMEER Aap dono ek doosre ke kareeb ho? Haan.

PRAFUL

Beat SAMEER Aap Bhaavuk type ki nahi lagti? Bhaavuk? Emotional.

PRAFUL SAMEER

PRAFUL Sab kuch dikhana zaruri hain? Sameer laughs. Amber gets married. INT. PRAFULS ROOM. MOHANS HOUSE. NIGHT Praful can’t sleep at night. She hears a car in the street and goes to the window to check. There is no one. She makes a call. Amber?

PRAFUL

AMBER Ek baje hain Praful! Kya hua? PRAFUL Kuch paison ki zarurat pad gayi yaar. Praful hears a man make some noise next to Amber. AMBER Praful, this is my wedding night!

58. PRAFUL Sorry Amber, I just...mujhe kuch paise chahiye. Kyon?

AMBER

PRAFUL Amber, bata, hain ki nahin? Amber is distracted. MAN VO Amber, kis se baat kar rahi ho? AMBER (to guy) Mere boyfriend se. You have a problem? Amber?

PRAFUL

AMBER Praful, Iske liye Home Theatre khareed rahi hu. Is mahine mushkil hain... Praful hears the man moan, Amber giggles. AMBER (CONT’D) Stop it you! Praful, can I go please? Hero nahin to hartal pe chala jayega.

Go!

PRAFUL (laughs)

Goodnight.

AMBER

Praful disconnects the phone and sits alone, thinking. INT. STAFF ROOM. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Praful at work. Salma and her are cleaning a room. SALMA Yeh pillow case change nahi kiya?

59. PRAFUL Sorry, miss ho gaya. SALMA Soyi nahi kya? Prafuls phone rings. Praful takes the call and walks into the bathroom. PRAFUL Hey Kiran, thanks for calling back. Beat PRAFUL (CONT’D) Jitna bhi ho sake...10k? Beat PRAFUL (CONT’D) Kam paise bhi chalenge.. Beat PRAFUL (CONT’D) Of course I understand. Yeah, schooling itna mehnga ho gaya hain, haan, hmmm, accha sun, I’ll call you back.. Praful disconnects, takes a deep breath and calls another number. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Vandana, yaar, I need a favor..ek loan mil sakta hain. Beat PRAFUL (CONT’D) Yahi kuch 10-15 hazaar... Beat PRAFUL (CONT’D) (disappointed) Oh, accha. Congrats, kaunsi gaadi lee hain? The bathroom door opens and Mr MIKE stands there looking at her on the phone.

60. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Vandy, main baad mein call karti hu.. She cuts the call. MIKE What the hell is this Praful? Bahar tumhare colleagues kaam kar rahe hain aur tum yaha phone pe chat kar rahi ho?? PRAFUL Sorry MIKE, kuch problem ho gaya tha. MIKE Apne problems apne ghar pe rakho please. Yaha tumhara sabse bada problem hona chahiye ki Salma tumhare hisse ke bedsheets kyon change rahi hain? PRAFUL Main abhi kar deti hu. MIKE Ho gaya already. In fact, maine Salma ko tumhare doosre kamre bhi de diye. Mujhe lagta hain tumhe aaj chutti le leni chahiye. PRAFUL I said I’m sorry Mr MIKE, ek genuine problem thi... MIKE Toh apne time pe apne probem ka solution dhundo. Tumhe absent mark kiya jayega. Without pay. Praful is shocked. PRAFUL Mike! This is not fair. Tum kisi personal issue ki wajah se mujhe aise treat kar rahe ho... MIKE Personal? Are you accusing me of being unprofessional? Aur apne aap ko itna importance mat do Praful, tumhare jaise bahut aaye hain. Understand?

61. MIKE storms off. Praful kicks the cleaning bucket. EXT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY Mohan has loaded his car with boxes of farsan. Kumud comes with the last few. MOHAN Arre? Tumne toh kaha saare boxes rakh diye? KUMUD ‘Rape’ karne mein time lag gaya! Kya?

MOHAN

KUMUD Aap bahut fast ‘rape’ kartne hain. Mujhe ‘raping’ mein time lag jaata hain! MOHAN Kumud, tumhara dimaag chalta nahin subah mein. Woh sleeping pills lena band karo. KUMUD Ahemdabad mein kaha thee goli ki aadat. Takiye pe sar rakhte hee... MOHAN Tum aur tumhare Ahemdabad ke kisse. Mere paas time nahi hain. Mohan is about to drive when Praful walks into the house. MOHAN (CONT’D) Aaj itni jaldi? PRAFUL Tabiyat theek nahin hain. Mohan starts the car and suddenly remembers. MOHAN Kumud, mere almari ki chaabi nahi mil rahi. Saaf karte samay mil jaaye toh sambhal ke rakhna. Mohan drives off.

62. INT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY Kumud serves Praful. KUMUD Kyon itni dukhi hain? Praful eats. PRAFUL Chaubees ghante agar koi hasta dikhe, to usko paagal kehte hain. KUMUD Flat ke wajah se bura lag raha hain? PRAFUL Maa, please. Emotional mat ho jao yaar! Kumud suddenly sees something. KUMUD Aah! Yaha bhool gaye chaabi ‘raping’ karte samay Chhut gaye honge. Aur mujhe kehta hain sleeping pills mat lo! Kumud picks up Mohans keys and keeps it on the TV. She puts on her shoes and carries a bag. KUMUD (CONT’D) Main supermarket jaa rahi hu. Tu paracetamol leke so ja. Kumud exits the house. Praful eats and suddenly has a thought. She looks at Mohan’s keys. INT. MOHANS ROOM. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY Praful opens Mohan’s cupboard and starts rummaging through his things. She finds the safe and then tries to find the right keys to open it. She struggles. The keys fall. She manages to find the right key and opens the safe. Praful puts her hands in. She cannot find any money. In frustration she bangs the safe shut and locks it with the key.

63. EXT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY Praful gets into her car and backs out of the house, going over Mohan’s garden. She crushes his flowers and speeds off. INT. PRAFULS CAR. ATLANTA. DAY Praful drives her car on the highway. She blasts the music to and speeds as fast as she can. She notices that she is running out of gas. EXT. GAS STATION. ATLANTA. DAY She fills gas at the petrol station and pays with her credit card. The attendant makes a face. Declined?

ATTENDANT

PRAFUL What?? Try it again! The attendant makes a face and tries again. ATTENDANT Declined again! Praful desperately rummages her purse and gives him another card. He tries it. ATTENDANT (CONT’D) Declined! Look lady, I don’t have time for this. Just pay cash. Praful looks through her bag and finds some notes and coins. She gives it all to him. He looks at her disdainfully. ATTENDANT (CONT’D) Its $10 short! PRAFUL (loses it) Well I don’t have anymore money. Cant you see? ATTENDANT Lady, I sold you gas... PRAFUL] (snaps) I know you sold me gas, but I’m broke! (MORE)

64. PRAFUL] (CONT'D) The fucking banks wont help me, my friends wont help me and my boss is an arsehole! What do you want me to do? Sell my car for $10? The attendant backs off. ATTENDANT Hey its only $10. Its cool. Just leave! Praful glares at him before getting into her car and slamming the door. She starts her car. It wont start. Praful kicks the pedals and screams loudly, tears streaming down her eyes. The attendant scampers off. PRAFUL (to herself) Mamma, main kya karu!! INT. CAR. ATLANTA. NIGHT The car finally starts. Praful drives off, red in the face and breathing heavily. Praful drives for a bit and suddenly sees something. She slows down and stops near a bank. We see the facade of HILLBROOK BANK. She stares at it and thinks. She suddenly takes out a piece of paper, tries to find a pen, but cant find one. Breathing heavily, she takes out a lipstick from her back and starts writing something. INT. HILLBROOK BANK. ATLANTA. DAY Praful enters BANK 1 wearing her hoodie. She walks to the cashier hiding her face from the cameras with a water bottle and bag. CASHIER Good afternoon, how can I help you? The cashier can’t see her face clearly. Praful hands him a note. The man reads it and then begins trembling. It says ‘I am strapped to a bomb, give me $50,000. tick tock.’ The cashier is too afraid to look up. CASHIER (CONT’D) Any preference of bills?

65. Praful nods to say no. The cashier begins filling the bag. EXT. HILLBROOK BANK. ATLANTA. DAY Praful stumbles out of the bank, just as the cashier presses the alarm. She runs to her car. Praful enters the car and tries to start it. It doesn’t start. She tries again. It starts. She speeds off, and drives over the curb for a bit, then gets on the road. (I N T E R V A L) INT. PRAFULS CAR. HIGHWAY. DAY Praful sits by the desolate highway in her car. She is counting the money. PRAFUL $8,700, $8,800, $8,900, $9,000.. Praful puts the money back in her bag and sits back and breathes. She hears a car and looks around to see a car drive past. She smiles to herself, relieved. She picks up her phone and dials a number. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Mr Jeremiah? JEREMIAH You have the money? PRAFUL I have about $10k. JEREMIAH $50k, not a dime less. Beat. PRAFUL Can I pay in five easy installments? Beat. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Mr Jeremiah?

66. JEREMIAH Who the fuck do you think I am? A washing machine salesman?? No EMI’s bitch, I want the whole $50k. PRAFUL I need another two weeks, please. Beat. JEREMIAH 10 days. Or we take it from you father. The line goes dead. Praful stares at the phone in fear. A loud honk is heard. Praful jumps. Its a truck behind her. The trucker shouts. TRUCKER That’s my parking bay lady! Praful starts her car and reverses to get out, almost hitting the truck. He honks loudly, Praful drives off. INT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. NIGHT Praful enters the house. Kumud is watching TV. Praful begins walking up the stairs. KUMUD Khana parosu? PRAFUL Kha chuki hu. Baith na?

KUMUD

PRAFUL Thak gayi hu. Jaldi so jaungi maa. Praful goes up the stairs. INT. PRAFULS ROOM. MOHANS HOUSE. NIGHT Praful is looking for a safe spot to hide the money in her cupboard. She finds a long coat and starts stuffing the notes inside its pockets. CUT TO: Praful is in bed, about to sleep, when her mother walks in.

67. KUMUD So gayi kya? Praful pretends to sleep. KUMUD (CONT’D) Mera woh blue petticoat nahi mil raha. Beat. KUMUD (CONT’D) Shayad galti se tere cupboard mein rakha ho... Praful’s eyes widen as she hears her mother open her cupboard. She turns around in panic. PRAFUL Su karech maa? KUMUD Dhone ke baad, tere kapdon ke saath aa gaya hoga.. Praful sees Kumud searching the cupboard and she springs to her feet. PRAFUL Ruk, main dhoondti hu. KUMUD Mil jayega, yahi kahi hoga Praful sees Kumud venture close to her coat. PRAFUL Maa, kyon mere cheezon ko haath laga rahi hain. Maine kaha na, main de deti hu! Praful pushes Kumud aside and looks for her petticoat. She finds it and gives it to her, shutting the cupboard behind her. KUMUD Mujhe tere cupboard mein jhaankna allowed nahi?? Kabse? PRAFUL Arre, kuch cheeze private hoti hain.

68. KUMUD (emotional) Aisa kya private hogaya joh apni maa ko nahi dikha sakti? Ahemdabad mein mujhse kuch nahi chupati thi tu... PRAFUL Maa, please! Itna drama mat karo. Bas agli baar puch lena. KUMUD Nahi. Mujhe naa to band darwaze pasand hain, na locked cupboard. Parivar mein kuch chupaya nahi jaata, samjhi? Kumud stares at her heartbroken. PRAFUL Ok maa! No secrets! Promise. Ab so jaao! I’m tired. Kumud shakes her head and leaves the room. Praful looks at her jacket and sighs. INT. COURTYARD MARRIOT. ATLANTA. DAY Praful punches in at work. The African American employee gives her a smug smile. EMPLOYEE Early today are we? PRAFUL Yes. Does that mean I can leave early too? EMPLOYEE I’m afraid not. PRAFUL Thought so. Have a nice day. The employee nods. INT. STAFF ROOM. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Praful opens her locker in the staff room and takes out her uniform. She takes out some clothes of hers and a pair of shoes and clears space in the locker.

69. She then removes the $9000 she stole from the bank and puts it inside some clothes. She pushes the clothes with money to the back of the locker and then puts her shoes in. She locks it and begins changing into her uniform. INT. GUEST ROOM. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Praful walks into a room that Noella and Salma are cleaning. A Bollywood song plays on the TV. Noella watches in awe. NOELLA Incredible. Do you guys sing and dance about everything? SALMA Yes. We sing & dance when there is birth, death, marriage, harvest... Praful cleans. Noella gets a message. She changes channels. NOELLA Hillbrook bank mein chori ho gayi... Praful looks up in horror as Noella finds a news channel where the bank robbery is being reported. NEWSCASTER The woman is believed to have robbed the bank of almost $10,000. The cashier, visibly shaken by the episode, described her as heavily armed and dangerous. SALMA Dekh kaise din dahade lootne lage hain.. Praful tries to distract Salma. PRAFUL Mere trolley mein shampoos khatam ho gaye Salma, zara lekar aayegi.. SALMA Shhh...Noella increase the volume.

70. PRESENTER (to viewers) The FBI is on the lookout for a petite woman, heavily armed, who used a peculiar note to rob the Hillbrook Bank in Atlanta. Peculiar because the note was written with a..brace yourself..lipstick! The TV goes off. Salma and Noella look at Praful who has switched it off from the mains. PRAFUL Milkha aayega toh sabki band bajegi. Lets get to work please. The women resume their duties. SALMA Yaha gola-barood khareedna aalupyaas lene ke barabar hain. Market mein bhi mil jate hain. NOELLA But a lipstick note. That’s a first! PRAFUL Yeh Newswaale sab badha chadha ke bolte hain. Shampoo le aa na. Praful does her work nervously. INT. TRAIN. ATLANTA. DAY Praful on the train. She sees a large poster for a leading bank. It advertises a new housing loan. She bites her lip and stares at the word ‘BANK’. INT. PRAFULS ROOM. MOHANS HOUSE. NIGHT Praful watches a video on Bank Robberies in the US. We see visuals of various robbers, their arrests and statistics. VOICE-OVER According to Department of Justice statistics less than a quarter of bank robberies involve a gun. (MORE)

71. VOICE-OVER (CONT'D) Because why use a gun when bank tellers are now trained to hand over the money without fuss? EXT. COFFEE SHOP. SUMMERVILLE. DAY Praful drinks coffee at a café opposite the The North Georgia Bank in Summerville. She watches the infrequent movements at the bank. EXT. NORTH GEORGIA BANK. SUMMERVILLE. DAY She walks around the bank. She sees people in cars banking with the drive-thru tellers. She walks past the main bank window and sees just one customer. INT. DEPARTMENTAL STORE. ATLANTA. DAY Praful enters a departmental store and begins looking at the various clothes racks. She considers the elegant dresses, the casual wear and finally stops at the sports wear section. She goes through some tights and work out tops. She picks a pair. Praful changes into a tight track suit and does a running action in the mirror to check its elasticity. CUT TO: Praful sprints across the store, an old woman watches her, amused. CUT TO: Praful looks at a several wigs placed on mannequins. She tries on different wigs, making faces to change her appearance. INT. PRAFULS ROOM. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. NIGHT An alarm goes off. Praful wakes up early in the morning. She takes out a paper and pen, she is about to write when she remembers something.

72. She puts the pen down and opens her lipstick drawer. She chooses from several shades of lipstick and uses a mauve color to write the note. CUT TO: She wears her new track suit and looks in the mirror. She then takes some cloth and stuffs her bra. She wears the wig. INT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY Praful climbs down the stairs quietly. To her shock, her mother is awake, watching TV. DDLJ is playing on TV, its the climax scene and Kumud is engrossed. Praful tries to sneak out. Kumud notices her. KUMUD Praful? Subah subah kaha jaa rahi hain? Praful removes her wig and holds it behind her. Amrish Puri stops Simran from running to the train in the movie. Jogging.

PRAFUL

KUMUD Jogging? Yeh kabse shuru kar diya? PRAFUL Aaj se. Fitness zaruri hain! KUMUD Magar tu toh pehle se itni patli hain?? PRAFUL Patli ka matlab fit nahi hota maa. Aur tu kitne baar issi picture ko dekhegi? On the TV screen, Simran begs her father to let her go. KUMUD Roz dekh sakti hu. Humesha lagta hain ki aaj Amrish Puri Simran ko Raj ke saath jaane nahi dega! PRAFUL Jaane deta hain! Nahin toh picture itni badi hit nahin hoti.

73. KUMUD Tu zyada jogging mat karna. Tere liye aalu ke parathe banake rakhungi. PRAFUL Aalu Parathe?? Amrish Puri lets go of Simran’s hand. KUMUD Aate samay dahi lete aana. As Praful leaves, we hear the dialogue ‘Ja Simran Ja, jeele apni zindagi.’ Theme music begins. EXT. PRAFULS CAR. HIGHWAY. DAY It is a bright day. Praful's car drives along the highway. A truck honks behind her. She is driving too slow. She picks up speed. EXT. NORTH GEORGIA BANK. SUMMERVILLE. DAY Praful stops a safe distance ahead of the North Georgia Bank and inches uncomfortably into a parking spot. INT. PRAFULS CAR. SUMMERVILLE. DAY Praful adjusts her wig in the rear view mirror and musters up courage. Suddenly someone bangs the windscreen and Praful is startled. A black man leaves a pamphlet for her and walks off. It reads ‘JESUS LOVES YOU.’ Praful puts on a big pair of sunglasses. EXT. NORTH GEORGIA BANK. SUMMERVILLE. DAY Praful exits the car, takes the pamphlet and crushes it. As she walks towards the bank, she trashes the pamphlet in a dust-bin. She reaches the door of the bank and looks at her reflection in the mirror. She can barely recognise herself.

74. INT. NORTH GEORGIA BANK. SUMMERVILLE. DAY Inside, there are more customers than she expected. She starts to get a bit nervous. She starts walking towards the cashier. Suddenly she is intercepted by an Indian employee. EMPLOYEE Can I help you? Praful jumps. PRAFUL No, I...I just want to.. EMPLOYEE Account kholna hain? Haan.

PRAFUL

EMPLOYEE Aao mere saath. Zero balance account is good? PRAFUL Haan, but.. main baad mein aa sakti hu. EMPLOYEE Minto main ho jayega. Apna naam aur number bata do, main tumhe relationship manager se milvati hu... Beat PRAFUL Number hai 2..02...555...01...93.. Naam?

EMPLOYEE

Beat Simran.

PRAFUL

Theme music begins.. EMPLOYEE Simran. Lovely name. Kajol meri favorite thee!

75. The employee seats Praful and goes to meet someone. Praful quickly gets up and leaves. INT. PRAFULS CAR. SUMMERVILLE. DAY Praful enters her car and starts to breathe. She turns up the AC to stop sweating. She looks up. There is another bank just down the road. She starts the car. EXT. UNION BANK. SUMMERVILLE. DAY Praful walks towards the bank. INT. UNION BANK. SUMMERVILLE. DAY Praful enters the bank with a stronger resolve. There is only one customer inside. She marches straight to the male cashier without looking to either side. CASHIER Good morning. How are we today? Praful smiles and hands him a note. The teller reads it ‘Give me $50,000 or I blow up the bank.’ The cashier attempts to press a button, but Praful points to her jumper indicating that she has a finger on a button too. The man nervously gives her all the money from the till. EXT. UNION BANK. SUMMERVILLE. DAY Praful runs out of the bank and runs towards her car. The alarm goes off in the bank. INT. PRAFULS CAR. SUMMERVILLE. DAY Praful speeds off from the bank, almost running into a hot dog cart. EXT. PRAFULS CAR. HIGHWAY. DAY Praful stops her car on the side of the highway. INT. PRAFULS CAR. HIGHWAY. DAY Praful counts the money.

76. PRAFUL $4,700, $4800, $4,900. Its only $5000, Praful makes a face. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Chindi saale! Praful takes out her wig and throws it in the bag. EXT. CORNERSHOP. ATLANTA. DAY Praful walks out with a carton of yoghurt. INT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY Praful returns home to find her father watching the news on TV. She is nervous. We see the cashier from the bank on TV. PRESENTER How would you describe her? CASHIER She wore a hoodie and covered her face with a water-bottle. I couldn’t really see her face, but she had a nice rack. PRESENTER She had a what? The Cashier makes an action of a good endowment. CASHIER A nice rack. Beat PRESENTER So she was buxom. Was she armed? CASHIER Heavily. She had a bomb strapped to her body. KUMUD VO Praful dahi leke aayi? Haan.

PRAFUL

77. The bulletin flashes a picture of Praful in the bank. Praful panics, but luckily her wig and sunglasses cover most of her face, and her father doesn’t seem to realize. We see a female eyewitness. EYEWITNESS Man, she was terrifying. She had olive skin, sharp features and had explosives strapped to her waist. I think she was Middle Eastern...definitely trained by the ‘Al Qaida’! A loud brash reporter reports. We see the FBI cordon off the area. REPORTER Because of her peculiar note, the FBI has nicknamed her the Lipstick Bandit. The suspect is believed to be blonde, buxom and Middle Eastern. Links to terror groups are being investigated. Mohan throws his hands up and looks at Praful. MOHAN Humesha yeh Musalman hee kyon hote hain? Praful is reeling in shock. Kumud comes in with some food. KUMUD Jo! Makhan wale parathe banaye hain tere liye. Praful makes a face and heads towards the dining table. INT. STAFF ROOM. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Praful locks the door of the staff room, opens her locker and adds the 5k to the previously hidden money. She covers it up and locks it. She exits to see Noella and Salma gossip. NOELLA They think the Lipstick Bandit maybe Middle Eastern.

78. SALMA Of course. Give them a chance and they will say Hitler was Middle Eastern too. Praful, tu bata, Middle East ki aurten aise kapde pehanti hain kya? Indian ya hispanic bhi to ho sakti hain na? Praful nods quietly changes the sheets. INT. HOTEL LOBBY. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Praful is leaving for home. As the elevator doors open she spots cops in the Hotel lobby. She freezes and turns back towards the elevator, but the doors shut. The cops walk towards her. She is about to run, when another elevator opens, and the cops begin to enter. Praful overhears. Room 203? Yes sir.

COP HOTEL EMPLOYEE

The elevator door shuts and Praful approaches the employee. PRAFUL What are they here for? HOTEL EMPLOYEE They’re here for that Republican politician staying in 203. They’re his security. Praful is relieved. She walks out hurriedly. EXT. GRANT PARK. ATLANTA. DAY The Patel’s and the Parekh’s meet for a typically ‘sanitized’ picnic in the ancient woods of Grant Park. Praful helps her mother take out the food, the men open beers. KUMUD Main thepla, shaak and fafda layi hu. Aap kya layi Nita behn? Kumud lays them out one by one. Nita waits for her to finish before she displays her culinary talents.

79. MRS PAREKH Main Handvoh, fafda and ghatiya layi. Nimbu paani pan chhe. KUMUD (looks at the men) Kya fayda nimbu pani ka? Beer jo pee rahe hain. MR PAREKH Nimbu paani Sameer aur Praful ko pilao. PRAFUL I’ll have a beer uncle. MR PAREKH Aah. Tumhare liye Shandy banau? Nimbu paani aur Beer ka najayaz baccha? Ladies drink. PRAFUL Nah. Aisa hee chalega. She puts her hand out. Sameer grabs the beer from his uncle and gives it to Praful. SAMEER Yeh lijiye. MOHAN Shandy! Ek Kumud ke liye bhi banaye? Kumud makes a face. MOHAN (CONT’D) Arre, mooh mat bana. Bhagwaan log bhi somras peete the. KUMUD Woh bhagwan hain, chaahe joh kare. Insaan ko bhakti ka nasha bas hain, haina Sameer? Sameer smiles. MOHAN Yeh ladies log kyon bhagwaan ke peeche bhaagti rehti hain? Officewofis jaave na, toh mann bhatkega nahin...

80. PRAFUL (smiles) Ghar ki dekh-baal kisi office job se kam hain kya? Mujhe toh lagta hain ki Maayein aadmi se dughna kaam karti hain. MOHAN (laughs) Aajo! Ladki chali Maa ke paksh mein bolne. Isiliye mein ladka chahta tha... MRS PAREKH Sameer chhe ne. Sameer watches Praful as she takes out the food and starts serving people. CUT TO: Praful and Sameer are walking by a water-body. Sameer is wearing a sweater. PRAFUL 24 degree’s hain, sweater kuch zyada nahi ho gaya? SAMEER (smiles) Rajkot ke 35 degrees se aaya hu, mere liye mausam thanda hain. Aur yaha itni tez hawa bhi toh chalti hain, sardi ho gayi toh? PRAFUL Chance nahi loge to kaise pata chalega ki tum-me sehan-shakti hain ke nahi? SAMEER (laughs) Kabhi na kabhi toh apne aap ko samajhne lagta hain insaan. Tab tajurba ‘chance’ se zyada kaam aata hain. They walk for a bit. PRAFUL Ek baat puchu? Sach bataoge?

81. SAMEER Koshish karunga. Waise sach bolne ke vipreet parinam bahut bhukte hain maine. PRAFUL Mujhse shaadi Green Card ke liye karna chahte ho? Beat SAMEER Nahi. Main yaha MBA kar raha hu. Do saal aaraam se kaat sakta hu, bina shaadi kiye.. Toh phir?

PRAFUL

SAMEER Dekho Praful, main vastavik type ka aadmi hu. Ek partner aa jaye life mein, toh ghar chalane mein haath bat jayega. Vastavik?

PRAFUL

SAMEER Practical. Realistic. Ok.

PRAFUL

SAMEER Tum acchi ladki ho, mehnati ho-double income hoga to mein sukun se padhai kar sakunga. PRAFUL Toh basically tum chahte ho ki main kaam karke tumhari fees bharti rahu? SAMEER (little irritated) MBA mera sapna hain, aur main isko pura karne ki kshamta rakhta hu. He realizes Praful didnt follow.

82. SAMEER (CONT’D) Kshamta...potential. Praful, 10 sal kaam karke paise kamaye hain maine, yaha fees bharne ke liye. Shaadi hogi toh ghar ka kharcha bat jayega, mera kehne ka woh matlab tha. We hear thunder. The skies are dark. PRAFUL I think baarish hone wali hain. Laut chale? Sameer nods and they turn around. There is a strong breeze. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Ek ajnabi se kyon shaadi karna chahte ho? Tumhe apne pasand ki ladki bhi toh mil sakti hain? SAMEER Aapko kyon lagta hain ki aap mere pasand ki nahi ho sakti? PRAFUL Main kaun hu, meri beeti zindagi kya hain, yeh aap nahi jante. I could be a psycho, a witch? Main pishachani nikli toh? SAMEER (laughs) Pishachani? Maza ayega. Bachpan mein meri maa kehti thi ki mujhme Pishaach wale laqshan hain. Saath milke aas-pados walon ko daraya karenge! Praful laughs. SAMEER (CONT’D) Waise, ek doosre ko jaan-ne ke liye toh poori zindagi baaki hain. Woh prem kahaniya na--jaha ladkaladki shuruvat mein hee ek doosre ke liye marne-mitne ke liye tayyar ho jate hain, woh mujhe bogus lagte hain. Filmy!

83. PRAFUL Jaise ‘raja ko raani se pyar hogaya, pehli nazar mein pehla pyar ho gaya..?’ SAMEER (laughs) Bakwas. Asal zindagi mein toh pyaar shaadi ke baad hee shuru hota hain. Jab pati-patni milkar, sansar ke chunautiyon ka saamna karte hain. Tab hota hain sacche pyar ka ehsaas. Beat PRAFUL (wryly) Shuruvaad mein aadmi ki soch itni forward hoti hain na? Shaadi ke baad, reverse gear. Pyaar ki sharte shuru ho jaati hain.. SAMEER (laughs) Sharte? Lagta hain mard-zaat pe kam bharosa hain aapka. The two see Mohan, Kumud and the Parekh’s waving at them to hurry. PRAFUL Kisipe bhi easily bharosa nahi karna chahiye. SAMEER (laughs) Aur aap chance lene ki baat kar rahi thi. INT. DEPARTMENTAL STORE. ATLANTA. DAY Praful enters a departmental store and walks to the wig section. She tries on a few wigs. CUT TO: Praful buys good running shoes and practices a little running on a trial treadmill. CUT TO: Praful buys a collapsible bag for her loot.

84. In the background a TV plays the NEWS. ‘The Lipstick Bandit’ is being reported. Praful grins. INT. PRAFUL CAR. GEORGIA ROADS. DAY Montage of Praful surveying different banks. We see exteriors of remote banks. Many with drive through tellers. Cuts of various signboards. Tellers. Cashiers. All from outside. VOICE-OVER Banks with drive-thru tellers have the least footfall. Most patrons don’t have to enter the bank. They usually have the least number of employee’s... INT. PRAFULS ROOM. MOHANS HOUSE. NIGHT Praful researches banks on her laptop at home. She sees a video for ‘HUGO WELLS BANK’. VIDEO VO Now you can bank as easy as buying a big mac. Don’t even get off your car. The HUGO-WELLS BANK in Tennessee boasts of two drive-thru tellers... Praful pads her bra. She takes out a paper and looks at her lipsticks. She picks violet... INT. PRAFUL CAR. GEORGIA HIGHWAY. DAY Praful is on a long drive. A car honks behind her and she picks up speed. EXT. HUGO WELLS BANK. DAY Praful’s car drives past the HUGO WELLS Bank. Praful finds a safe spot to park her car (jutting onto the road). Leaves the engine running and goes into the bank. INT. HUGO WELLS BANK. DAY Praful walks into the BANK wearing a tight cat-suit, a hoodie and catty sunglasses. She walks confidently to the cashier and passes the note. The cashiers face pales as she reads it.

85. She starts filling Praful’s collapsible bag. Just then another colleague comes to the cashier. EMPLOYEE I need Hexico’s audit papers for 2014 and 15... The cashier nods. EMPOYEE (suspicious) You ok? Praful begins to cough. The employee looks at her. PRAFUL (choking voice) Water? The colleague nods and exits. Praful urges the cashier to hurry up. When the colleague returns with a glass of water, he sees Praful running out of the bank. He takes the note from his stumped colleagues hand, reads it and presses the alarm. INT. PRAFULS CAR. GEORGIA HIGHWAY. DAY Praful is driving on the freeway, music blasting. She takes off her wig and feels exhilarated. PRAFUL FUCKKKKK!!! INT. STAFF ROOM. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Praful locks the door, and counts the money, she is pleased. She hides the money in her locker and makes a call. PRAFUL Mr Jeremiah? JEREMIAH You have the money? PRAFUL Almost. I’m just $15,000 short. One more ‘loan’ and I’ll be done..

86. JEREMIAH I don’t need accounts, I’m not your mother! If you don’t come in three days, we’ll come to your house and take it. Understand? Yes.

PRAFUL

Praful disconnects. There is a knock on the door. EXT. STAFF ROOM. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Praful opens the door to see MIKE standing outside. MIKE Praful, tumhara make-up session disturb toh nahi kiya? PRAFUL Sorry, mujhe tayyar hone mein thoda time lag gaya. Arre, shift Baaki karne liye?

MIKE koi jaldi nahin. Tumhara shuru ho gaya toh kya hua? sab hain na tumhara kaam ke liye. Kuch bheju aapke Juice? Green Tea?

PRAFUL Mike, I promise ab se der nahi karungi. Praful gets to work. MIKE stares at the staff room. INT. KITCHEN. MOHANS HOUSE. DAY Praful oversees a new dishwasher is being installed at home. Kumud is excited, but Mohan is a bit resentful. HANDYMAN When you’re washing dishes, its best you don’t use the sink. You wont get any pressure... MOHAN (laughs) Pressure to mujhpe padega, jab bijli ka bill ayega. (to Praful) (MORE)

87. MOHAN (CONT'D) Kaha se aaye yeh paise? Mujhe to kaha tum broke ho? PRAFUL Tips save kiye hain. MOHAN Accha? Housekeeping ko bhi tips milte hain? KUMUD (changes topic) Kab se maang rahi hu dishwasher. Kam se kam isne sun toh lee. MOHAN To isi se kaho har mahine bijli ka bill bhi bhare. Cheeze khareedna aasaan hain, maintenance karna mushkil. PRAFUL Maa, maintenance contract bhi khareeda hain. Har 3 mahine free mein karke jayenge. Praful gives her father a sarcastic smile. Mohan walks away. HANDYMAN (to Praful) Please sign here miss. Praful signs as Kumud puts dishes inside. The handyman leaves. KUMUD Kaise ‘on’ karte hain? Praful goes to the dishwasher and turns it on. Kumud watches in awe. KUMUD (CONT’D) Arre wah! Mere din ka ek ghanta bach jayega. MOHAN Haan! TV pe AUR drame dekhna. General knowledge badhega! Beat MOHAN (CONT’D) Praful, Sameer pasand chhe?

88. PRAFUL Pata nahin. Humlog sirf ek walk ke liye gaye hain! MOHAN Toh? Marathon daudke decide karegi? PRAFUL (smiling slightly) Ek do baar aur milna hain mujhe... MOHAN MBA karne California jaa raha hain. Tere se acchi ladki mil gayi toh? There is a ‘bing’ sound. Kumud excitedly goes to the dishwasher. Praful opens it. The women see sparkling clean dishes. Kumud holds one and caresses it. KUMUD (pleased) Ekdum tip-top! Praful kisses her mothers hand and starts running up the stairs. She hears the news of the TV and stops. NEWS VO A breakthrough in the Lipstick Bandit robberies. The FBI has found an eyewitness who claims to have spoken to the robber just before the Union Bank robbery two weeks ago... Praful walks down the stars tentatively and watches the news. We see the pesky employee from North Georgia Bank talking to the media. REPORTER We have with us Veena Verma from North Georgia bank. Ms Verma you saw the Lipstick Bandit up close? VEENA Oh. More than saw her. I talked to her. In fact, I think I managed to stop her from robbing our bank... MOHAN Kumud, aa jo!! Praful panics as Kumud comes to watch TV.

89. REPORTER How did you manage to stop her? VEENA My job is to spot potential robbers. I saw this woman walking nervously to the cashier and I stopped her. I asked her if she wanted to open an account. REPORTER Can you describe her? VEENA She was 5’5 inches tall. Slim and very soft-spoken. She had blonde hair, but olive skin.. REPORTER Was she Middle Eastern? VEENA No I think she was an Indian. She even gave me a name. REPORTER What name did she give? Simran. Simran?

VEENA REPORTER

VEENA Yes. Simran is the heroine of a big Shahrukh Khan love story. I love that movie. Mohan throws his hand up in the air. MOHAN Saala, abhi yeh log Indians ke peeche bhaagenge.. KUMUD Aa su chhe? Simran jaisa khusburat naam, aur aise karam?

90. MOHAN Sab parvarish ka dosh hain. Maabaap ki laaparvahi hain ki bacchi bigad gayi. Praful starts to walk up the stairs. She stops to look at her face in the mirror, then looks back at her parents downstairs. They have no clue that it could be her. Praful smiles to herself. INT. PRAFUL CAR. GEORGIA HIGHWAY. DAY Praful drives the car slowly and nervously as cars speed past her. EXT. WESTERN BANK. NORTH CAROLINA. DAY Praful drives into a shopping complex and heads to a parking lot. She parks crooked near the Western Bank. She walks around the bank and sees the Hispanic guard who is probably 60+ sitting outside the bank. INT. PRAFULS ROOM. MOHANS HOUSE. NIGHT Praful is watching Youtube. A retired bank robber talks about his heists. YOUTUBE BANK ROBBER I chose the smaller banks. The ones with outdated technology. They have fewer security camera’s and usually just one security guard standing outside. And he’s probably not that good. INT. LUXURY STORE. ATLANTA. DAY Praful buys a beautiful pair of sunglasses and tries them on. INT. MALL LOO. ATLANTA. DAY Praful changes into a new track-suit and a wig in the mall loo. She stuff’s her bra with more padding. She puts on her lipstick. Then takes out a piece of paper and writes a note ’Give me $40,000’.

91. A lady enters, Praful puts away the note and checks her make up in the mirror. The lady gives her a strange look. Praful notices that the stuffing has come out of one bra. Praful runs back into the loo and fixes it. INT. MALL. ATLANTA. DAY Praful exits the loo and heads towards the exit. She looks towards a store and sees Sameer shopping there. He turns to see her, but she turns and walks away. Praful?

SAMEER

Praful walks faster. Sameer runs behind her. SAMEER (CONT’D) Praful? Hey! He catches up with her. PRAFUL Hey Sameer. SAMEER Yakeen nahin ho raha hain. Maine aadhe ghante pehle tumhare Pappa ko phone kiya tha, yeh puchne ki hum kab mil sakte hain... PRAFUL Such a coincidence. Haina?

SAMEER

Sameer notices Praful’s large endowment. His eyes widen for a bit. Coffee? PRAFUL No really Sameer, ek zaruri meeting hain? SAMEER (looks at her clothes) Aise jaogi kaam par? PRAFUL Haan...wahi change karungi. Abhi morning jog karke aayi hu.

92. SAMEER (charmed) Jogging karke aayi hain? Bilkul fresh lag rahi hain aap. Praful blushes. PRAFUL Ok then. Milte hain. Soon. SAMEER Theek hain. Coffee akele hee pee lunga. Actually jetlag ki wajah se aankh jaldi khul jaati hain, aur mein yaha kisiko jaanta bhi nahin.. Praful begins walking away. PRAFUL Sameer I’ve got to go. Sameer suddenly has a thought and runs after her. SAMEER Praful, tum Hotel jaa rahi ho na? Downtown? Main bhi saat chalta hu, raste mein baat-cheet hogi, phir mein bus lekar laut aunga.. PRAFUL But Sameer...? SAMEER Main tumhare Pappa se baat karlunga, dont worry. Praful has no choice. INT. PRAFUL CAR. GEORGIA ROADS. DAY Praful drives. Sameer looks at the sight. SAMEER Kafi hara-bhara hain Georgia. PRAFUL Tumhe America pasand hain? SAMEER Kuch cheeze pasand hain. Sadko par gadiyan kayde se chalti hain, sarvajanik parivahan ki vyavastha acchi hain.

93. PRAFUL Sarvajanik kya? SAMEER (laughs) Public transport. Praful smiles. SAMEER (CONT’D) Tumhe kaisa laga tha America jab tum nayi aayi thi? Beat PRAFUL (laughs) Shuru mein excited thee. Umeedein bahut the. Phir darr lagne laga. Darr kyon?

SAMEER

PRAFUL Yaha sab kuch itna bada hain! Sadke, gadiya, log! Sab supersized, aur main kaafi chhoti hu na. SAMEER (laughs) Kya umar thee tumhari? PRAFUL 17 saal. Na bacchi, na badi. Kapdon se lekar baat karne ka tareeka, sab doosron se alag. Main maa ke saath chipki rehti thi, aur woh mere. SAMEER Tumhare Pappa? PRAFUL Unke kabhi theek se jaan nahi paayi. India mein 16 saal unko sirf 4 baar mili. Yaha aakar bhi zyada kuch badla nahi. Jaise maine kaha, main na bachi thi, na aurat. It was confusing. Beat PRAFUL (CONT’D) Yaha paas mein ek khubsurat lake hain. (MORE)

94. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Main kabhi kabhi Hotel jate samay yaha ruk jaati hu. Dekhna chahte ho? SAMEER Par tum jaldi mein ho na? PRAFUL Dus minute late pahuch sakti hu. SAMEER (beams) To phir chalo..jheel! Praful takes a sharp turn and drives to a beautiful lake. EXT. LAKE. ATLANTA DAY Praful and Sameer stand over-looking the lake. PRAFUL Yaha mujhe darr nahin lagta tha. SAMEER Bahut khubsurat hain. Khaskar ke music lovers ke liye. Music?

PRAFUL

SAMEER Yaha ke pakshi kaafi sureele maalum hote hain. Chorus mein gaa rahe hain, suno... Praful listens carefully as birds sing and Sameer moves his hands like the conductor of an orchestra. Praful laughs. PRAFUL Maa ko music ka bahut shauk hain. But sirf dharmik sangeet. Unko Sheela ki jawani bhi Krishna leela ke tune mein sunao toh khush ho jati hain. SAMEER Kaafi kareeb lagte ho tum dono. Us din park mein tumne jis tarah se apni maa ko samarthan diya, mujhe samajh mein aa gaya tha. PRAFUL Meri best friend hain woh.

95. Beat. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Sameer, ek sawal hain. Soch ke jawab dena. SAMEER Hey bhagwan, ek aur pariksha? PRAFUL Main apni maa ko akela nahin chhod sakti, shaadi ke baad bhi. Agar humari shaadi hui toh... Beat. SAMEER Mujhe koi aitraaz nahin agar Kumud behn humare saath rehna chahe. Khaana bada swaadishth banati hain woh. Praful laughs. Sameer looks into her eyes. She becomes conscious and looks away. A cool breeze blows and they watch the birds in the lake. Sameer puts his arm around Praful. To Praful’s horror, the stuffing from her left bra suddenly pops out. Before Sameer can notice, Praful stuff its back and hurries. PRAFUL Late ho gaya..main tumhe bus-stop pe chhod deti hu... They head to the car. EXT. WESTERN BANK. SOMEWHERE IN GEORGIA. DAY Praful parks close to the Western bank and walks to the entrance. She sees the old Hispanic guard chatting with a passer by. INT. WESTERN BANK. SOMEWHERE IN GEORGIA. DAY Praful enters the bank and see’s a line for the cashier. More people than expected. She is about to turn around when a second counter opens. Praful rushes to it. She smiles and hands a note. CUT TO:

96. As Praful is exiting, the cashier presses the alarm and all the shutters start coming down. A black man is at the door about to exit. Praful collides with the black man and the guard rushes in. In his panic, the old Hispanic guard catches hold of the black guy. Praful escapes by the skin of her teeth. INT. PRAFULS CAR. GEORGIA. DAY AS Praful heads to her car, she hears a siren and sees a police car speed towards her. She gets into the car and tries to start it. After two attempts, it starts. She speeds off in the nick of time. EXT. PRAFULS CAR. ATLANTA. DAY Praful speeds like a maniac, but the cop is in hot pursuit. Alarmed, she drives over the divider and drives on the opposite side of the road, almost colliding with several cars. She gets away. INT. PRAFULS CAR. HIGHWAY. DAY She drives on a forest path, screaming at herself. She realizes that she has gotten away. She stops the car and turns on the radio. NEWS VO The Lipstick Bandit, also identified as ‘Simran’ was chased in her car by agent Robbie Fields as she made off with the loot from the Western Bank in Georgia. Her car has been identified as a green Nissan. While Fields could not note the registration number, he ascertained that the vehicle was probably a 1998 make... Praful turns off the radio. She wonders what to do. EXT. PRAFULS CAR. HIGHWAY. DAY Praful drives the car and deliberately crashes it into a tree.

97. EXT. JUNKYARD. ATLANTA. DAY She drives her severely damaged car to the junkyard. She watches as the car is crushed. She buys a 2nd hand silver car and drives off. INT. STAFF ROOM. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Praful goes to her safe place in the staff room and locks the door. She counts the money she just looted. PRAFUL $15,800, $15,900, $16,000. Praful is relieved. She dials a number. PRAFUL (CONT’D) I have the money. JEREMIAH About time. PRAFUL I’ll be there tomorrow. JEREMIAH I don’t trust you. I’ll come and get it. PRAFUL Ok. But I have one request... What?

JEREMIAH

PRAFUL Never contact me again. JEREMIAH (laughs) Wait for my call. The line goes dead. Praful opens the locker and takes out the bag with the hidden money. She opens it to add the new loot, but stares in shock. The bag is empty!

98. EXT. STAFF ROOM. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY An angry Praful opens the door and sees Salma & Noella eating lunch. SALMA Aa khana kha le. PRAFUL Mere paise kaha hain? SALMA Kaun se paise? PRAFUL Noella, where is my money? NOELLA I don’t know!?! Where did you keep it? PRAFUL In my locker! Who took it?? SALMA Praful tere locker ki chabi humare paas kaise ayegi? Master key sirf admin ke paas hain, MIKE ke sanction ke bina.. PRAFUL (it clicks) MIKE!! Praful rushes out of the room and picks up something from a parked food cart. Salma follows. INT. MIKE CABIN. COURTYARD MARRIOT. DAY Praful barges into MIKE’s office, he is in the middle of eating lunch. Praful shuts the door on Salma who is also trying to enter. MIKE Iska kya matlab hain? PRAFUL Mere paise kaha hain? MIKE (nonchalant) Kaunse paise?

99. PRAFUL Joh paise tumne chori kiye hain, you snake! Praful stumbles as she tries to remove a knife that she hid in her apron. MIKE sees this and quickly pick up the phone to dial security. Praful runs to him and disconnects the phone. MIKE panics seeing the knife so close. Salma is knocking hard on the door. Praful?? Maine jhela paane sakti

SALMA VO

PRAFUL un paison ke liye bahut kuch hain Mike. Main usse vaapas ke liye tumhari jaan bhi le hu!

MIKE Kaha rakhe the tumne, yeh bhi pata nahi mujhe! PRAFUL Jhoot mat bolo!! Staff mein se agar koi bhi locker ko access kar sakta hain, toh woh tum ho! MIKE Admin ke sanction ke bina mein koi locker access nahi kar sakta. Dekho shayad tumhare colleagues mein se kisi ne liya ho? Woh Muslim aurat? PRAFUL (shouts) Shut up and give me my money!! Suddenly there is a banging on the door. GUARD Everything Ok?? Open up sir! MIKE seizes the moment and takes the knife from Praful. He wrings her neck with his arm. The guards are trying a spare key in the door. MIKE Tum mere khilaaf report kyon nahin likhti?

100. Mike starts to smell Prafuls neck. MIKE (CONT’D) I smell a thief! A delicious, sexy, thief. I dont think Praful, ki tum isse report kar sakti ho. PRAFUL Get off me, Mike! MIKE Pehle toh tumhe yeh sab pasand aata tha na? Phir kya hua baby? Bhool gayi ki tumhare doh bonuses mere wajah se hue the? PRAFUL Woh mere kamayi ke paise hain Mike, please... Mike tightens his grip over her neck. MIKE Tumne koi toh jhol kiya hain Praful. Nahi toh tum $35,000 uss locker mein kyon chupati? PRAFUL (choking) Agar woh paise nahin mile toh meri jaan jaa sakti hain. Please. MIKE Drama mat karo Praful. Practically socho. Agar nahi chahti ki yeh baat police tak pahuche, toh chupchaap yaha se chali jao. Mauka de raha hu tumhe. Just as the door opens, he lets Praful go. She gasps for breath. Two guards stare at both of them. GUARD Who attacked who? MIKE sits down and wipes his sweat. He quietly tells Praful. MIKE Tum nahi bataogi, toh main nahin bataunga. Two guards approaches Praful.

101. GUARD 2 Are you ok ma’am? Any trouble? MIKE Go On Praful. Tell them what you were telling me… Praful glares at him in anger. She is frustrated that she cant say anything about the money. GUARD Did Mr Mehndi attack you? PRAFUL (stares at him) No.. GUARD Did she attack you sir? MIKE (pointing to knife) Yes. She tried to attack me with that knife. I want her escorted out now. Praful looks at MIKE in shock. The guards catch hold of Praful and she struggles hard to get out. PRAFUL (screams) Tum ko iski sazza milegi MIKE! MIKE Haan haan. Upar wala saza dega, Karma wagera. Bahut filme dekhi hain maine. GUARD Should we call the cops? MIKE No. Just throw her out. If she comes close to the Hotel again, have her arrested. MIKE!

PRAFUL

She manages to break loose and lunges for MIKE, but a guard catches her and she falls, hurting her leg. They lift her up, kicking and shouting and escort her out.

102. MIKE continues to eat his lunch. He sees Salma standing there. MIKE Picture chal raha hain yaha? Kaam karo. Salma scampers off. INT. COURTYARD MARRIOT. SAN JOSE SUBURB. DAY The guards escort Praful through the staff area. Her colleagues watch her. PRAFUL Just leave me please. I can walk on my own. The guard holds her tighter, Praful is embarrassed. Please.

PRAFUL (CONT’D)

EXT. COURTYARD MARRIOT. ATLANTA. DAY The guards escort her outside and let her go. Praful straightens her clothes and does her hair. Limping from the fall and barefoot, she walks towards the car park. Salma comes running with her footwear. SALMA Praful, yeh pehn le. Praful wears her sandals and limps. SALMA (CONT’D) Tu theek hain Praful? PRAFUL (pretending) Ya ya, I’m fine. Salma watches sadly as Praful limps to her car.

103. INT. PRAFUL CAR. ATLANTA. DAY Praful drives her new car listlessly. She doesn’t notice anything that’s going on around her. Her eyes look exhausted. EXT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. NIGHT Praful sees a car parked in the driveway, and struggles to park around it. She parks sticking out on the road. Mohan comes out and stares at her car. MOHAN Yeh kiski gaadi hain? PRAFUL Meri. 2nd hand mein khareedi. Praful exits looking like a mess. MOHAN Kyon? Aur yeh kya halat banaya hain? PRAFUL Gaadi kharab ho gayi thi. Ek ghanta push karna pada..garage wale ne kaha repair nahi ho sakti.. INT. MOHANS HOUSE. SAN JOSE. DAY Praful enters the house to see Sameer and his uncle and aunt sitting, having a drink. They all stare at her in a mess. MRS PAREKH (cheerful) Hello beta. Hard days work? KUMUD Praful, sab tera hee wait kar rahe the. Praful fake smiles and begins walking up the stairs. KUMUD (CONT’D) Mooh-haath dhooke aa jaa beta. Kumud stares at Mohan. MOHAN Woh. Gaadi ka break down ho gaya tha...

104. They all look concerned, especially Sameer INT. PRAFULS ROOM. MOHANS HOUSE. NIGHT Praful changes her clothes and her phone rings. It is Jeremiah. She disconnects. She is frustrated and screams into her clothes in the cupboard. Kumud enters. Su thayyu?

KUMUD

Kumud is alarmed to see her foot swollen. KUMUD (CONT’D) Chot aayi kya? PRAFUL Zara si moch hain. Woh gaadi push karte.. Kumud goes to a cabinet and takes out a small bottle. KUMUD Balm lagati hu. Praful watches as her mother applies balm. KUMUD (CONT’D) Baat karne aaye hain. Kuch dino mein Sameer California jaa raha hain, padne. Beat. KUMUD (CONT’D) Pasand hain na tujhe? Praful nods. INT. MOHANS HOUSE. SAN JOSE. DAY Dining table. Praful is staring at her food listlessly. Everyone else talks. MR PAREKH Arre bhai, in Banks ne humko itna loot liya, toh ek-aat hum bhi loot le! Mujhe uss Simran se koi shikayat nahi.

105. MOHAN Kya baat kar rahe hain aap? Logon ki jaan jokhim mein daal rahi hain Simran. Bomb leke ghoomti hain. kahi phat gaya toh?. MRS PAREKH Bomb kaha mili police ko? Asal mein ek note ke sahare loot rahi hain woh. No gun, no knife. Only paper anne lipstick. SAMEER Jee haan. Aapko pata hain, 95% Bank robberies mein hathyar istamal nahin hota--sirf notes! KUMUD Bina hathyar ke bhi paise de dete hain kya? SAMEER Haan. Bank ka niyam hain ke woh bina pratirodh paise handover karde. Pratirodh?

KUMUD

SAMEER Resistance. Aisa kyon?

KUMUD

SAMEER Grahak ko lekar koi hadsa na ho jaye, isse accha hain ke kuch paise hee chori ho jaye. Chor ko bhi bina hathyar wali chori suit karti hain. Pakde gaye toh hathiyarbandh dakaiti ki saza dugni hoti hain. Kumud nods. MRS PAREKH Praful, tum kuch bol nahi rahi beta? Praful looks up from her food.

106. PRAFUL Thak gayi hu aunty. MRS PAREKH Shaadi ke baad itna kaam mat kiya kar beta. Praful smiles. Sameer notices something amiss. SAMEER Shayad khuli hawa acchi rahegi aapke liye. Back garden mein chale? EXT. BACKGARDEN. MOHAN HOUSE. NIGHT Sameer and she go to the back garden. Praful sits on the bench. SAMEER Tum theek ho? Kaafi vichilit lag rahi ho. Praful looks at him quizzically. SAMEER (CONT’D) Distracted. I’m ok.

PRAFUL

SAMEER Mujhe Stanford mein admission mil gaya hain. PRAFUL Congratulations! SAMEER Monday ko jaa raha hu, fees aur formalities pura karne. Praful smiles. Her phone rings. It is Jeremiah. She disconnects. Sameer notices. SAMEER (CONT’D) Chahta tha ki baat pukki kar ke jau. Praful nods. SAMEER (CONT’D) (uncomfortable) Praful, kya tum ghabrayi hui ho?

107. PRAFUL (taken aback) Nahi toh. SAMEER Aise kyon lagta hain ki tum kuch chupa rahi ho. PRAFUL Kuch nahin hain Sameer. SAMEER Dekho, agar saath milkar kadam lena hain, to tumhe mujhpe bharosa karna hoga. Kya samasya hain? Praful gets up and looks at Sameer. She wants to tell him, but cant find the courage. PRAFUL Sameer...main ek private person hu. Sab kuch bayaan nahi kar sakti... Praful’s phone rings again. Praful goes to cut it. SAMEER Meri maano toh phone disconnect mat karo...nahi toh bala talegi nahin. Praful thinks and takes the call. Sameer excuses himself so she can speak in private. Jeremiah?

PRAFUL

JEREMIAH Why aren’t you taking my calls PRAFUL I have guests over. My phone was on silent.. JEREMIAH Cut the crap and come outside. Outside?

PRAFUL

JEREMIAH I’m parked outside your front door? What?

PRAFUL

108. JEREMIAH You want me to come in? PRAFUL I’m on my way. JEREMIAH Bring the 50k! Sweat inches from Praful’s forehead. She enters the house and heads quickly towards the front door. Sameer and Kumud look at her quizzically. KUMUD Kaha jaa rahi ho? PRAFUL Manager aaya hain. Kuch samaan rakhna hain mere paas. 5 minute main aayi. KUMUD Theek hain beta. EXT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. NIGHT Praful exits the house and spots the black SUV. She walks towards it nervously. Sameer comes to the window and watches her enter it. INT. ROMANOS CAR. ATLANTA. NIGHT Praful enters the car. Jeremiah sits with a drink. His henchman, Bugs, shuts the door. PRAFUL Can you drive ahead please. Jeremiah stares at her. Please!

PRAFUL (CONT’D)

Jeremiah nods his head. BUGS Pete, stop at the end of the street. The car moves, Praful doesn’t make eye-contact with Jeremiah.

109.

The money?

JEREMIAH

Praful trembles as she takes out the $14,000 she got from her last heist. She hands it to Jeremiah. Jeremiah looks at the mess. Some $20 bills, $50 bills sticking out. JEREMIAH (CONT’D) What is this?? $14,300. What?

PRAFUL JEREMIAH

Praful begins crying. PRAFUL Mr Jeremiah, I had the money. I had it all. But that bastard MIKE stole it... JEREMIAH You don’t have $50K?? Praful falls at Jeremiah’s feet. PRAFUL I will find the money. Just give me a week. Jeremiah and Bugs exchange a look. Jeremiah is amused by Praful’s antics. PRAFUL (CONT’D) I swear I’ll get you the money. I have a plan...I just need a few days... JEREMIAH Plan? To rob another bank? Praful is shocked to hear this. JEREMIAH (CONT’D) You think we didn’t know? Praful is uncomfortable. She looks outside the window. Sameer comes out of the house and looks for her. JEREMIAH (CONT’D) It was all over the news bitch. And you called me after every heist.

110.

I..I..

PRAFUL

Jeremiah puts his hands on Praful’s face and pushes his fingers into her cheeks and neck. Praful struggles to breathe. JEREMIAH So I know you have the money. Just didn’t think you’d have the guts to fuck with me again. PRAFUL I swear I don’t have it. I got small amounts from every job...I hid it in the hotel...It was stolen...please believe me. JEREMIAH Bugs, what do you think? She telling the truth. BUGS Seems too dumb to lie boss... JEREMIAH But she robbed what...4 banks? She cant be that stupid. BUGS Maybe we can get her to rob another one. A bigger one. Jeremiah looks at Praful. She is choking, going red in the face. JEREMIAH Look bitch, you do as I say now. Praful nods. JEREMIAH (CONT’D) You rob a rich bank now. Nothing less than $25k, Understand. Then maybe we let you go. Praful struggles to talk. Jeremiah lets go of her face. PRAFUL Its..Its...impossible to get $20k in one shot, they usually don’t have more than $10k in the till.

111. Jeremiah thinks. He removes a gun and places it on Prafuls lap. JEREMIAH Use this. Might work better than a lipstick note. Bugs laughs. PRAFUL I’ve never used a gun, Look, I can do it without.. JEREMIAH Take the gun. Or take a bullet. Praful stares at the gun. BUGS Try ‘Goldmans Bank’ near Tuxedo Park. That’s where the rich folk park their money. JEREMIAH Yeah. Do us a Robin Hood? Rob the rich and pay us poor money lenders... Bugs laughs. There is a knock on the window. Praful sees Sameer standing outside trying to peer into the heavily tinted glass. PRAFUL Please let me go. JEREMIAH Is that your lover boy? PRAFUL He’s a friend. JEREMIAH Does he know you’re also the friendly neighborhood robber? PRAFUL Please don’t, Jeremiah. Jeremiah opens the door. Sameer stares at them. SAMEER Praful, you ok?

112. PRAFUL Yeah, please go. Praful sees the gun in her lap and hides it before Sameer can see it. JEREMIAH So we’ll see you at...at the hotel tomorrow Ms Patel. You have yourself a nice night. You too Mister. Praful exits. Sameer helps Praful out and looks at Jeremiah suspiciously. Bugs shuts the door and the SUV speeds off. The two are standing in the middle of the street. SAMEER Sab theek hain? PRAFUL (shouts) Tumhara problem kya hain? SAMEER (startled) Problem? PRAFUL Yani musibat...masla!! Kyon mere peeche-peeche bhagte ho? Kisini tumhe meri rakhwali ka contract diya hain kya? SAMEER Chilla kyon rahi ho? Main chintit ho gaya tha jab tum dikhi nahi. PRAFUL Tum mard log kya samajhte ho, ki aurat aadmi ki bina laachar hain? Praful?

SAMEER

PRAFUL Raakhi baandho toh rakhshak banjate ho, mangalsutra pehnao toh rakhwaale banjate ho?? I don’t need you to help me!

113. SAMEER Ok Ok. Calm down. Main sirf ek dost ki haisiat se puch raha hu, kya tum kisi musibat mein ho? Beat. SAMEER Us din shaadi pe the na? Tum baar disconnect karti agar koi samasya bata sakti ho!

(CONT’D) bhi yahi log aaye baar phone kyon rehti ho? Praful hain toh tum mujhe

Praful stares at him. PRAFUL Tum sachmuch jaan-na chahte ho? Haan!

SAMEER PRAFUL

I dont think tumhe sachai accept karne ki Ksham..Kshamasta... Kshamta.

SAMEER

PRAFUL ...Kshamta hain! SAMEER Mujhe accha lage na lage, tumhe is boj ko halka kardena chahiye. PRAFUL Theek hain! She holds Sameer by his hand and takes him to the park opposite the house. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Toh suno. Mujhe gambling ki aadat lag gayi thi, jhoot bolke har hafte Vegas jaati thi, khelne. Pata hain yeh log mere peech kyon aaye hain? Kyonki maine inse karza liya tha, casino mein..dao lagane ke liye.

114. Sameer looks at her, confused. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Aur main woh saare paise haar gayi Sameer. Isiliye mujhe waha se bhaagna pada... Lekin inlogo ne mujhe dhoond liya...aur yeh..yeh bade kameene log hain Sameer... Beat SAMEER Kitna hain karza? Beat. $50,000.

PRAFUL

Sameer sits on a bench in shock. Mohan opens the door to see them. MOHAN Sameer beta, Ras malai ya gulab jamun? Both stare at him. SAMEER Kuch bhi chalega uncle. MOHAN (sweetly) Gulab jamun garam karu? SAMEER Uncle, paanch minute dena please. Mohan wonders what’s going on, but shuts the door. Sameer thinks. SAMEER (CONT’D) Police ke paas kyon nahi gayi? PRAFUL Is ghar mein police kabhi nahi aa sakti Sameer. Maa ko sadma pahuch jayega agar yeh jaan gayi toh. Sameer thinks.

115. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Abhi bhi madad karna chahte ho? Sameer is silent. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Mujhe $50,000 de sakte ho? Beat. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Chalo ek deal karte hain. Tum apne fees ke jama kiye paise mujhe de do, main shaadi karke tumhe Green Card dilva dungi. Yahi chahiye na tumhe? Sameer looks at Praful in anger and gets up. He marches towards the house. PRAFUL (CONT’D) Kya hua Sameer? Bhaag rahe ho? Maine kaha tha na, ki tumhe sachai bardaash karne ki ksham..ksham... Sameer enters the house. Praful sits outside on the park bench. In a few moments, the door opens and Sameer and the Parekh’s exit. Mohan is at the door, looking confused. They get into the car and drive off. Praful watches the car go sadly. INT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY Praful enter’s the house. Mohan and Kumud stand staring at her. Su thayyu?

MOHAN

Praful doesn’t answer. She goes straight to her room. INT. PRAFULS ROOM. MOHANS HOUSE. NIGHT Praful takes out her track suit and looks for her wig. Mohan barges in. She shuts the cupboard. MOHAN Kua hua? Kyon Sameer jaldi mein chala gaya?

116. PRAFUL Usne nahin bataya? MOHAN Nahin. Kya kaha tumne? PRAFUL Yahi, ke main shaadi nahin karna chahti. Mohan stares at her in shock. Kumud stands at the door. KUMUD Achanak kya ho gaya Praful? PRAFUL Mera dimaag kharab ho gaya tha Maa. Socha ke shayad Sameer auron se alag hoga. But nahi, yeh mard-log saare kamzor hote hain Maa... Mohan slaps her. Mohan!!

KUMUD

Praful glares at Mohan. PRAFUL Mera yahi matlab tha, Maa. Praful goes and starts packing her things. KUMUD Kaha jaa rahi hain? Praful pushes her aside and starts filling a bag. KUMUD (CONT’D) Beta, pita ke thappad ka bura nahin maante..yeh tumhara bhala chahte hain... PRAFUL Kyon apne aap se jhoot bol rahi ho Mamma? Jab se is ghar mein aayi hu, yeh mujhe nikaalne ki koshish mein lage huye hain. Bhool gayi? India mein humse milne 4 saal mein ek baar hee aate the... MOHAN (shocked) Main kya chutti manane aaya tha?? (MORE)

117. MOHAN (CONT'D) Yaha kutte ke tarah kaam kar raha tha, tumhe paise bhej raha tha. Green Card milna aasaan hain kya? PRAFUL Pappa, Green Card toh aapko 7 saal mein hee mil gaya tha. Uske dus saal baad bhi humari yaad nahi aayi? MOHAN Jab main hee settled nahin tha..toh tumhe kaise bulata? KUMUD Praful! Har mahine paise bhejte the yeh. Sar pe chhat diya inhone, tumhare padhai ke fees bhari. Aur jaise hee mauka mila, humme bula liya! PRAFUL Jab budape mein sahare ki zarurat pad gayi, tab bula liya Maa. Yaha jhadu-bartanvali bhi toh nahi milte! Mohan wants to hit her, but he controls himself and knocks down some books instead. MOHAN Kitna zehar bhara hain iske andar. Apne baap ko hee dushman bana rahi hain. PRAFUL Aur Maa, Inhone humme nahin, aapko bulaya. Main to chipak ke aayi thi na aapke saath? Kuch saal bhi nahi rehne diya mujhe saath mein. 22 saal ki umar mein hee shaadi karaadi! MOHAN Tumhari shaadi karana mera farz tha. Tum mujhe kamzor lagi. US ko akele jhelne ki taaqat nahi thi tumme. Maine socha, ek accha pati mil jaye toh...

118. PRAFUL Accha? Woh bhi aap hee ki tarah sochta tha Pappa. Usse biwi nahi, naukrani chahiye thi... KUMUD Praful! bas kar! MOHAN Auron pe ungli uthati hain?? Apni galtiya nahi dikhti tujhe?? Koi bhi shaadi perfect nahi hoti. Agar tu chahti toh apne ghar ko bacha sakti thi. Lekin tere ghamand ne sab barbaad kar gaya.. PRAFUL Haan, ghar bachane ki zimmedari humesha aurat ki hee hoti hain na? Aapne kabhi yeh jaan-ne ki koshish nahi ki, ki woh mujhe khush rakhta tha ya nahi?? Jab mein tooti-bikhri wapas yaha aayi, toh aapne ek baar bhi mere sar pe haath pher ke kaha? ‘tu kaise hain Praful?’ Tears stream down Prafuls face. MOHAN Yeh sab draame filmon mein hote hain Praful. Aadmi apni zimmedariyon show-shaa kiye bina bhi nibha sakta hain! PRAFUL Khair, aap humesha chahte the na, ki main ghar chhodke chali jau? Kabse wahi koshish kar rahi hu Pappa. Magar kya karu, kuch na kuch ulta ho jata hain... MOHAN (bitter) Aaj kaun rok raha hain tumhe? Kumud starts crying. KUMUD Praful! Jaa. Tu jaa yaha se. Main aur nahin sun sakti.

119. PRAFUL Kaash mamma, ek baar toone inse kaha hota, ki aadmi ke bina bhi aurat ki kuch ehmiyat hoti hain. Praful takes her things and walks down the stairs. Kumud breaks down as Praful gets out of the door. INT. PRAFULS CAR. MOHAN HOUSE. DAY Praful sits in her car and starts it. She drives off. Mohan watches her from the window. EXT. SALMAS HOUSE. ATLANTA. NIGHT Praful lands up at a door and rings the bell. Salma opens the door. She has been expecting her. SALMA Aaja. Khana khaya tune? Haan.

PRAFUL

INT. SALMA HOUSE. ATLANTA. NIGHT Praful enters the living room. Salma’s husband is watching TV and two kids aged 5 and 12 are playing. SALMA Yeh hain Praful, do-chaar din saath rahegi. The husband nods. SALMA HUSBAND Chaar din baad chacha aa rahe Islamabad se.. SALMA Maalum hain. The husband starts watching TV again. SALMA (CONT’D) (to Praful) Aa tujhe kamra dikhati hu.

120. INT. ROOM. SALMA HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY Salma brings Praful inside the children’s room. A make-shift bed has been made for her. SALMA Bacche mere saath soyenge. Tu thaki hogi, so ja. PRAFUL Salma, maine tujhpe shaq kiya usdin...I’m sorry.. SALMA Pagal hain kya. Mere paise jaate toh main bhi sabse puchti. Harami hain woh MIKE.. Praful hugs Salma. PRAFUL Main do-teen din mein chali jaungi. SALMA Woh theek hain. Par jayegi kaha? PRAFUL Ek zaruri kaam khatm karna hain. Uske baad mein Atlanta chhodke chali jaungi. Nayi zindagi shuru karungi kahi. SALMA Theek hain. Khuda kare tera kaam accha ho. Salma shuts the door. Praful looks at the room. CUT TO: Praful opens her bag and takes out the laptop. She sees the gun in her bag and shuts it quickly. On the internet, Praful sees images of ‘Goldman’s Bank’ near Tuxedo Park. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. GOLDMAN’S BANK. TUXEDO PARK. ATLANTA. DAY Praful drives near Goldman’s Bank in a plush neighborhood.

121. EXT. GOLDMAN’S BANK. TUXEDO PARK. ATLANTA. DAY She sits at a café opposite Goldman’s Bank and sees the beefed up security. She makes notes. She notices that there is 15 minutes of no security when the guards shift changes. She writes and mumbles. PRAFUL Lunch ke baad..1:45 ko...15 minutes ke liye...no security... Her phone rings. It is Sameer. Praful disconnects. INT. SHOPPING MALL. ATLANTA. DAY Praful buys a new wig and sunglasses. INT. BEDROOM. SALMAS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY Praful changes into her ‘cat-suit’ in Salma’s house. Salma and her husband are away at work and their young child watches curiously as Praful transforms her appearance. Praful stuff her bra to the biggest its ever been. Sameer calls again. Praful disconnects. Praful takes the gun and puts it in a bag. INT. SALMAS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY Salma’s older daughter is watching TV. NEWS OF SIMRAN-THE LIPSTICK BANDIT. Cops have tightened security around city banks. Image of Praful in her tracksuit. The girl turns to see Praful in similar clothes. Praful takes the remote control from her and turns off the TV. INT. PRAFUL’S CAR. HIGHWAY. DAY Praful drives. Her attention keeps going to the bag with the gun.

122. EXT. LAKE. ATLANTA. DAY Praful stops her car by the lake and purposefully marches towards the water holding her bag. She looks at the water for a bit, then removes the gun from the bag and throws it into the water. As the ripples emerge, she walks to her car. EXT. GOLDMAN’S BANK. TUXEDO PARK. ATLANTA. DAY The shift at the Bank changes. Praful parks her car (badly) at a strategic point and walks with an assured confidence. INT. GOLDMAN’S BANK. TUXEDO PARK ATLANTA. DAY She enters the bank. This one is much busier than the others. She gets a little nervous, but breathes in and regains composure. She walks to the cashier. CASHIER And how can I help you? He looks up at Praful and recognizes her from the news. He panics. Praful hands him a note. ‘Give me all your money, if you mess around, I blow up the bank.’ The cashier looks around for help. Praful points to a remote control in her hand. The cashier fills her bag. Praful begins walking out. Just then he presses the alarm. As the siren rings, a security guard almost catches her, but she holds out the remote control. He stops. Praful gets away by the skin of her teeth. INT. PRAFULS CAR. TUXEDO PARK. ATLANTA DAY Praful drives off from the parking lot. INT. PRAFULS CAR. ATLANTA. DAY She stops on the side of the road and counts the money. She cant believe her luck. There are only $1 and $5 dollar bills. She screams. PRAFUL $1000 fucking dollars???

123. Prafuls phone rings. It is Sameer. She answers. PRAFUL (CONT’D) (barks) Kya hain Sameer? SAMEER Main tumse milna chahta hu. Kyon??

PRAFUL

SAMEER Main..main shayad tumhari madat kar sakta hu.... INT. RESTAURANT. ATLANTA. DAY Sameer and Praful are at an open-air restaurant. Praful’s food lies untouched. SAMEER Uss din tumhari baatein sunkar hairaan ho gaya tha. Praful cant fathom what he is about to say. SAMEER (CONT’D) Par mein raat bhar so nahi paya. Mujhe yeh baat khayi jaa rahi thi ki tum musibat mein thee, aur maine tumhe akela chhod diya. PRAFUL Sameer, sorry kehne ki koi zarurat nahin. Main tum-se kuch expect nahin karti.. SAMEER Mujhe apni baat kehne do. Main tumhe woh $50,000 dena chahta hu. Praful isn’t sure she heard right. Kya?

PRAFUL

SAMEER Main paise apne saath laya hu. Chahta hu tum isse lekar, apna karza chuka do.

124. PRAFUL Yeh paise...tumhare fees ke hain na? SAMEER Haan. Magar mujhe koi jaldi nahi. MBA agle saal bhi kar sakta hu. Beat. PRAFUL Shart kya hain Sameer? SAMEER Shart? Koi shart nahin Praful. Praful cannot believe it. PRAFUL MBA karna tumhara sapna raha hain na? Uske liye itne saal kaam kiya hain tumne... SAMEER Dekho Praful, ek taraf tumhari yeh takleef hain, aur doosri taraf mera MBA ka bhoot. Maine dono ko parkha. Tum iss takleef se nikal jao, meri khushi isi-mein hain. Praful’s looks into his eyes as if she has seen unconditional love for the first time. Her eyes well up. SAMEER (CONT’D) Main tumhe pasand karta hu Praful. PRAFUL Tum mujhe jaante nahin Sameer... SAMEER Maine tumhare dil ko Praful. Apno ke liye maine kisi mein nahi galti toh har insaan

samjha hain itna pyar dekha. Aur se hoti hain.

Praful wipes a tear. SAMEER (CONT’D) Asha hain tumhe bharosa hogaya hoga ki mujhe Green Card ka lalach nahin hain. Beat

125. Praful suddenly gets up. SAMEER (CONT’D) Kaha jaa rahi ho? PRAFUL Man tumhare paise nahi le sakti Sameer. Kyon??

SAMEER

Praful walks to her car. Sameer holds her arm. SAMEER (CONT’D) Mujhse baat karo Praful... Praful stops. PRAFUL Dekho Sameer, tum ek acche ladke ho. Tumhara future bright hain. Mere saath involve hokar tum musibat mein pad jaoge. SAMEER In paison se tumhari musibat tal jayegi Praful. PRAFUL Nahi Sameer. Maamla aur bhi uljha hua hain. Please mujhe jaane do. SAMEER Yeh mat samjho ki paise lekar tum kisi ehsaan mein bandh jaogi. Chaho toh mujhse dobara milna bhi mat. Praful opens her car door and looks at Sameer lovingly. PRAFUL (controlling her tears) Tum fees bharke MBA shuru kar dena. Woh tumhara dharmik APP...idea bahut accha hain..usse banana...ek acchi uncomplicated ladki dhundkar shaadi karna...I’m sorry Sameer, main chahu toh bhi woh ladki nahin ban sakti.. Praful starts her car and drives off. Sameer watches her go.

126. INT. PRAFULS CAR. ATLANTA. DAY Tears stream down Praful’s eyes as she drives. She has never experienced this kind of unconditional love from a man before. She calls her mother on the Bluetooth. Praful?

KUMUD

PRAFUL (crying) Maine us-se jaane diya Maa... KUMUD Kisko? Kyon roh rahi hain Praful? PRAFUL Pyar karta hain mujhse, bina kisi shart ke...aisa hota hain kya maa? Beat. KUMUD Haan beta. Aisa hota hain. Beat Tere Pappa bhi bure nahin hain beta, bas pyar dikhane ka tareeka alag hain. Praful cries. Tu ab ro mat. Ghar aaja Praful. Sab theek hojayega. Beat KUMUD (CONT’D) Jabse tu gayi hain, woh soye nahi hain. Praful cries. KUMUD (CONT’D) Beta, ghar wapas aaja. Praful disconnects the phone and makes a u-turn.

127. INT. PRAFULS CAR. ATLANTA. DAY Praful drives to her parents house. Her mother is at the door, waiting for her. Praful sees Mohan looking at her through the window. Just as she is about to park the car, Praful sees lights flashing from her rear view mirror. She is alarmed to see two police cars enter her lane. Praful looks at her mother and the cops and panics. She speeds off as her parents watch, confused. EXT. PRAFULS CAR. GEORGIA HIGHWAY. DAY Praful speeds onto the Highway. Police cars follow her. She overtakes vehicles and jumps lanes. Fox News Broadcast: We hear an excited reporter on the news as we watch the chase. REPORTER VO The police is chasing what appears to be the car used in the Tuxedo Park Bank robbery early this morning. Suspect is said to be the notorious Lipstick Bandit, who also uses the alias ‘Simran’ and is believed to have robbed a string of banks across the state of Georgia. EXT. PRAFULS CAR. GEORGIA HIGHWAY. DAY Praful’s car climbs on a narrow winding hilly road and speeds dangerously. The police cars follow more cautiously. Praful hears the news report on the radio. REPORTER VO An unexpected breakthrough in the ‘Lipstick Bandit’ case today. The Police arrested one MIKE MEHNDI of the Courtyard Marriot Hotel, who was caught using marked notes from the HUGO WELLS robbery last week.

128. EXT. COURTYARD MARRIOT. ATLANTA. DAY Mike is being escorted by cops outside the hotel. He struggles and argues, and the police drag him in front of all his colleagues. REPORTER VO MIKE confessed to have taken the money from one Ms Praful Patel, of Atlanta. It is believed that they were accomplices... EXT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY More police cars swarm Mohan’s house. Cops runs inside. REPORTER The suspect is reported to have escaped just as the police reached her home. Even as the police chase her, her family is being questioned. INT. PRAFULS CAR. GEORGIA HIGHWAY. DAY Praful is horrified to hear this. She cries. Her phone rings. It is her mother. She cuts the call and speeds. It rings again. Again she disconnects. EXT. PRAFULS CAR. GEORGIA HIGHWAY. DAY Her car speeds on the freeway. It overtakes a truck and almost collides with another. The car regains control and speeds away just before the police catch up. Two more police cars join the chase. Her phone rings again. INT. PRAFULS CAR. GEORGIA HIGHWAY. DAY Praful answers this time. MOHAN (gently) Yeh kya hogaya Praful? PRAFUL Pappa please. Mujhse kuch mat puchna.

129. MOHAN Maine muafi maangne ke liye phone kiya hain Praful... Beat PRAFUL Ghar mein police aayi hain? Haan.

MOHAN

INT. MOHANS HOUSE. ATLANTA. DAY Cops in Mohan’s house. Kumud sobs while being interrogated. MOHAN Tu Bhaag mat beta! Apne aap ko police ke hawale karde. Hum saath mein iska hal nikalenge. PRAFUL (wiping tears) Main bhaag nahin rahin thee. Ghar ke paas pakdi nahin jaana chahti thi, Maa ke saamne... Mohan looks at Kumud, he controls his tears. MOHAN Tune sahi kaha tha Praful, maine kabhi tere sar pe haath pher ke nahi pucha ki tu kaisi hain? Beat. Praful continues to speed. MOHAN (CONT’D) Ek baap pe bahut dabav hote hain beta, bacche ki sahi parvarish ka. Khaaskar jab beti ho. Aur maine wahi kiya joh apne pita se seekha tha. Mujhe muaf karde beta. Pappa...

Haan?

PRAFUL

MOHAN

PRAFUL Aap mujhse pyaar karte hain Pappa?

130.

Haan beta.

MOHAN

PRAFUL Bina kisi shart ke? Mohan processes her words. And finally understands. MOHAN Haan beta. Pyar karta hu tujhse. Bina kisi shart ke. Praful cannot hold back her tears and disconnects the call. She wipes her tears, but they continue to stream. She looks behind as two more police cars emerge on the horizon and even though there is enough distance between them, she starts to slow down. She stops her car on the side of the road and wipes her tears. As a chopper hovers over them and the Police cars approach her, Praful opens her glove compartment and takes out her blonde wig. The police surround her vehicle and pull out their guns. Praful carefully put on her wig and sunglasses. EXT. PRAFULS CAR. GEORGIA HIGHWAY. DAY With not a hair out of place, the sensational ‘Lipstick Bandit’ exits her car. Her designer sunglasses betray the tears behind them and she walks with a confident swagger towards the waiting police cars.

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