Mission Superstar_A Romance set in India Read online

  A year ago, she was transferred for that very reason. The high command had sat her down and told her one thing—“Help us clean up this city. Do what you did before, and we will support you in every way we can.” Shilpa had made that her goal as well. She would rid this city of the illegal drugs menace and keep it clean for its citizens.

  “What is the mission, sir?” she asked.

  The Commissioner drew in a breath. “I got the call last evening from the Home Office. Apparently, twenty IPS officers’ names and profiles from all over India were shortlisted. And DJ chose you among them! The work you have done during your career is impressive enough to put our entire department in the spotlight. I’m proud that DJ wants to work with you!”

  Shilpa tried to process what the Commissioner was saying. It was also very unlike him to look so flustered and excited about something. In fact, in his excitement, he barely made sense. He was usually to the point and precise.

  “Sir, who is DJ?” And the order came from the Home Office to work with him?

  The Commissioner looked taken aback by her question. Then his smile grew even more as though waiting to tell her something that would cause equal excitement within her.

  “DJ! Dhruv Jagannath wants to work with you!”

  A frown marred Shilpa’s face, still not able to comprehend. The only Dhruv Jagannath she had heard about was the popular movie actor. She wasn’t much into watching movies, but one didn’t have to watch movies to know who Dhruv Jagannath was. His face was splashed all over, from the international cities to even the remotest of villages in India. The billboards, the hair salons, the television ads—the guy was everywhere. Shilpa recalled that he was called DJ by his fans.

  But no. It couldn’t be him. Maybe there was another Dhruv Jagannath she wasn’t aware of who was a senior police officer working on high-profile narcotics cases like her.

  “Dhruv Jagannath?” she asked tentatively.

  “Yes! The Dhruv Jagannath. The biggest and the most famous superstar in India and most likely even in the entire world wants to work with you!” There was a pleased smile on the Commissioner’s face. “At first, I was shocked, too. But everyone, including me, knows that Dhruv is quite the perfectionist. In his next movie, he’s playing the role of an IPS officer who takes down the drug Mafia. So he wants our help to prepare for the role.”

  The Commissioner paused as though waiting for her to break into excited cheers or at least thank him for what he probably thought was a dream-come-true assignment.

  Several thoughts ran through Shilpa’s mind. And they were all to come up with a perfect excuse.

  And she did need an excuse to get out of what appeared to be a glorified ego-pandering job to a hot-shot actor who wanted to play a police officer. Shilpa didn’t have time for something as frivolous as that. But the expectant look on the Commissioner’s face made her choose her words carefully.

  “Sir…” she slowly began. “While I’m thrilled that you and the actor’s team and even the Home Office thought I am ideal for this… this… mission…” She almost choked on the word ‘mission’. It barely qualified as one. “…I feel there are many other officers who would suit the job perfectly. Maybe a male officer whose mannerisms Mr. Jagannath can emulate?”

  Shilpa almost rolled her eyes as she recalled the movies where the lead hero was a police officer. She had only caught a few glimpses while Ma watched them diligently. But Shilpa clearly remembered how not only was the acting way over the top, but some of the things the lead actors did and said were absolutely ridiculous. She recalled one particular dialogue. “I will make so many holes in you… that you will be confused as to which part you would breathe from and which part you would shit…” Shilpa had snorted and scoffed through those scenes. But much to her chagrin, Ma immensely enjoyed them and also smugly informed Shilpa that all those movies were blockbusters and how much revenue they had made.

  No. Shilpa had to somehow get out of the mission. Because for the life of her, she couldn’t ever imagine standing next to a movie star and listening to him yell, ‘I am police! I am the law!’

  Shilpa noticed that the smile had dimmed on the Commissioner’s face when he heard her excuse.

  Uh oh. The look he had on his face was something she recognized pretty well. She had been working with him long enough to know it meant business, and nothing would convince him otherwise from the decision he made.

  “Officer Dasani,” he said in a tone that brooked no arguments. “When a list was requested from the Home Office, they were sent both male and female officers who have done an excellent job during their career in this particular state. But even though you are relatively new to this place, they still chose you to represent our state for this opportunity. Even I agree with their decision. And I even consider your services to be on par if not better than any male officer in our department. Are you saying that as a female, you are less of a role model for a police officer?”

  That got Shilpa’s hackles up. She was a staunch feminist, and everyone knew it, especially the Commissioner. She had never backed down from any job however dangerous or hard. None of the male officers dared to offer her any slack because of her sex either.

  “I consider myself to be a good role model, sir!” Shilpa said in a crisp tone.

  “That’s good.” The Commissioner’s voice returned to jovial. He also had a satisfied look on his face. “It’s settled then. Someone from Dhruv Jagannath’s office will reach out to you directly to work around your schedule.” He sighed while having a faraway look on his face. “You know, I wasn’t really into watching movies. The only ones I used to watch were DJ’s mother’s movies. They don’t have women like Soraya anymore. She was a brilliant actor. Her son got those genes from her. His movies are the only ones I watch of the latest crop of movies.”

  Shilpa wisely kept her mouth shut. Growing up, she did watch Soraya’s movies and immensely enjoyed them, but she hadn’t watched her son’s movies to be able to comment. Maybe because right around the time the actor began to gain fame, Shilpa’s life grew busy while preparing for the civils and then joining the job she had been dreaming about since she was a little girl.

  “All right, Shilpa. Be prepared then. And meantime, don’t let this get out. At least not yet. It will distract everyone from doing their jobs. And for all I know, there would be a flurry of recommendations each suggesting that they would want to be a part of mentoring DJ.”

  Shilpa had a sudden childish impulse to run out and make a huge announcement, asking who wanted to volunteer for the job of mentoring a superstar.

  “I’m serious, Shilpa. Do not let this get out. I’ll send the details to your office.”

  “Yes, sir.” This time, her tone came of out slightly resigned.

  AS SHILPA DROVE towards her office, she hoped the mentoring would last only a couple of days, where she would hurry through the basics of what she and her team did on a daily basis. If she were in a generous mood, she would probably hand the actor and his team a couple of case files of a few dramatic missions that were also available for public knowledge.

  Now that she had things figured out, it didn’t sound that bad.

  Soon, she arrived to her destination. She nodded as she received salutes while she headed towards her office.

  Before she even sat at her desk, a junior officer placed a thick folder on Shilpa’s desk. “Madam Sir, this was sent to you an hour ago.”

  Frowning, Shilpa opened the file. Immediately two words jumped right out at her.

  Mission Superstar.

  Shilpa almost rolled her eyes at the pretentious and totally unnecessary title for the silly assignment. However, less than a minute later, all amusement vanished on her face as she read through what was in that file.

  “I cannot believe this,” she muttered in disbelief.

  The duration of Mission Superstar was to be for a period of sixty days. And then to add insult to injury, there was a detailed document of what would be expected from the mission.


  Each word that Shilpa read in that file made her irritation only grow further.

  She was to sign a non-disclosure agreement for being able to work with the great Dhruv Jagannath. And some of the things listed in the NDA were to say that she couldn’t discuss anything about him with anyone or sell the story about her experience of working with him. She, or anyone she knew, was also not allowed to take any pictures of him without his knowledge over the duration of the mission.

  And then, since she apparently could not accept monetary compensation for the job, she would be awarded four tickets to the movie premiere towards the end of the mission.

  Shilpa closed the offending folder midway and pushed it aside. “Bloody hell.”

  Chapter 3

  A week had passed. Unlike how Shilpa handled most cases, she refused to do any research on Dhruv Jagannath. All she could feel at this point was resentment that the actor thought he could impede on a government officer’s time just because he bloody could. She was determined to push the annoying mission and the mighty superstar out of her mind until the time came for her to deal with them both.

  But on that particular day, Shilpa received a call from Dhruv Jagannath’s manager.

  “DJ will be back from the Caribbean cruise in a week’s time. In the meantime, I would like to make arrangements for him. Is there a luxury penthouse for rent close to where you live? Security for the place has to be top-notch. He’ll have two bodyguards with him who also need to live close by. DJ swims regularly, so a well-maintained private pool is a must. A private lift, a private chef who has preferably worked in international star hotels, good restaurants. I also think—”

  Shilpa’s nostril’s flared in irritation. She had been in the middle of filing important paperwork when she got the call. “Mrs. Thadani,” she interrupted the manager. “First of all, Mr. Jagannath will not be working with me. He’ll only be observing me while I work. And as to whether or not there are any luxury penthouses near my place… I don’t know, and neither do I care. I am a very busy person who has no time to hunt for such places so that your client can stay in the luxury he’s accustomed to. I would also like to warn you that most of my time is spent in the field at places with zero security and at the shadiest of places with minimal comfort. Please inform your client of this and get back to me if he still wants to go ahead.”

  There was silence on the line. Shilpa thought the woman on the other end of the line was too outraged or offended by what she just heard. Shilpa even prepared herself to be threatened by various name droppings in the high command. But there was a chuckle from Dhruv Jagannath’s manager.

  “You are just what DJ needs. This is going to be gold. Pure gold. Better than any movie script!” There were some more giggles.

  Shilpa didn’t understand any of the things the other woman said. She didn’t even bother to ask for an explanation since she didn’t care enough. All she wanted to do was to convey to the clearly entitled celebrity who was currently cruising in a luxury yacht, the reality of being a police officer. The man really needed to know what he was getting himself into before he arrived with his entourage. She also strongly hoped he would drop out from the very idea of being her damn shadow during the upcoming weeks.

  “Officer Dasani,” the woman continued after stopping the giggles and pulling herself together. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements for DJ. Believe me, he’ll be there. I’ll call you before he arrives.”

  Great, Shilpa thought sarcastically as she ended the call and returned to her paperwork.

  Ever since she was promoted, and despite being on the Special Task Force team, she had to take up a lot of managerial work as well.

  Shilpa studied the files. The Pathak case she was working on was becoming frustrating by the hour even though it was moving at a rapid pace. All her focus and energy was needed there. She and her team had recently discovered the body of one of the Pathak brothers two days ago at a garbage dump. The whereabouts of his brother were nowhere to be found. Shilpa and her team were still investigating and tracking all possible places where he could be in hiding. Based on the evidence they had gathered, they knew he was still alive.

  Shilpa’s phone rang on the desk. “Yes?”

  “Madam Sir, the Managing Director of Redwood Schools is here to meet you.”

  “Ask her to come in.”

  After the recent drug busts at various exclusive private schools, Shilpa was working closely with the school management and parent council teams. She had given strict warning to the schools to have their CCTV cameras in working condition at all times along with strong background checks for the school personnel.

  Shilpa knew that the Managing Director of Redwood Schools took the appointment to request Shilpa not to let the details of the drug peddling activity be made public. The woman cared more about the reputation of her schools rather than for the safety of her children. Unfortunately, the woman was going to be terribly disappointed.

  Chapter 4

  The air was filled with thick, heavy smoke making everything blurry. The room also smelled of stale alcohol and food as it was close to midnight.

  Shilpa was serving drinks at the tables when her eyes fell on her target. The nervous-looking middle-aged man had just walked into the seedy bar.

  “Madam Sir, he is here. He came alone,” one of the officers standing outside pretending to be a drunken patron informed her via their headsets.

  “Okay good.” Shilpa and her team had gotten the tip-off that Vinay Pathak visited his favorite haunt after midnight.

  The tip-off was right. The man took the table at the front. He ordered his drinks and was watching the dancers gyrating on the stage. One of the dancers was his girlfriend. Shilpa had an interesting chat with her. Apparently, Vinay Pathak promised to take his girlfriend to a ‘foreign’ country with him in two days. That meant he somehow managed to get a fake passport and documents done from somewhere and even purchased the flight tickets.

  Shilpa waited for a few more minutes until he was drunk enough. And then, she went up to his table. The man looked at her with bleary eyes. But he was looking at her body. She was dressed like the other women in the place. The heavy make-up, low-hanging, long ethnic skirt along with the bright red blouse baring quite a bit of skin made her blend in well. Shilpa was comfortable enough because it wasn’t the first time she had to wear such clothes while she was on field duty during undercover operations.

  When Pathak’s eyes met hers, they turned instantly alert. That meant he must have known who she was and also about her team hunting him.

  He pushed the flimsy table towards her direction making a run for it.

  Shilpa dodged the crashing bottles and chased after him.

  The long skirt was in her way. Even while she ran, she ripped the fastening and stepped out of the skirt. She was wearing skin-tight leggings under the skirt for the purpose of having to chase someone that night.

  “He’s heading to the west entrance,” she spoke into the walkie-talkie that was strapped to her waist along with her gun holster.

  “Pathak! Stop!” she shouted while continuing to chase.

  He must be really scared because the bastard was quite fast for someone who was drunk. Shilpa continued to dodge and leap across the tables he had upturned on his way. There was chaos, and people began to scramble because they must have realized there were police in the bar. The bar as mandated by the law was supposed to have shut down much before midnight.

  Amidst the chaos, Pathak managed to slip through her backup and escaped into the streets that were still busy even though it was well past midnight. Keeping her eyes trained on her target’s back, Shilpa ran behind him.

  He made her chase him quite a bit.

  Shilpa couldn’t shoot him because it was critical he remain uninjured and alive.

  “He’s heading to the 5th cross street near the temple. Get the vehicles there.”

  Barely five minutes later, Vinay Pathak realized he was cornered. Suddenly, he
took a diversion away from where the backup was waiting. Shilpa drew the long, thick stick that was strapped to her waist and threw it towards him.

  It hit him square on the back, propelling him forward. Shilpa covered the distance between them and stood next to the fallen man.

  He rolled over and watched her with a dazed look.

  Shilpa smiled. “Hello, Pathak. Heard you are going on a foreign trip?”

  A fearful yet determined look covered the man’s face.

  SHILPA HAD BEEN in the interrogation room for more than eight hours since they had brought back Vinay Pathak with them. But the man was refusing to talk. Shilpa was trying to suppress the urge to shoot his brains out.

  “Tell us what you know, Pathak,” she asked for what seemed to be the hundredth time since early that morning.

  Another officer stepped in. “Madam Sir, let me continue to handle this bastard the way I have been doing,” he said.

  Shilpa was tempted to allow the officer to continue to try and beat the truth out of Pathak. However, Vinay Pathak, even though he wasn’t the main Mafia kingpin, he was one of the critical underlings who carried out the dirty jobs. So Shilpa knew she and her team had to maintain their cool if they wanted to draw information out of him.

  Shilpa had spent enough hours over the duration of her career interrogating people who were mostly criminals. She knew what worked and what didn’t. Third degree wasn’t going to work on Vinay Pathak. So, taking a break as she had planned, she walked out of the interrogation room.

  She waited outside, discussing the next course of action with Satish, an officer from her team when she heard the buzz around the police station.

  “Oh my God! It’s really him!”

  “Why is he here?”

  “Who cares! As long as he is here!”