Cell Number 205
It is a story, after reading which you will wonder where it began and where it has taken you!
A painting competition is in progress. The hall is filled with students painting. We see from the top, a canvas, on which is the painting of a woman's womb. It's being painted by a handsome young boy, 18 years of age. He is surrounded by a group of fellow admirers. As we come down we see intense concentration and focus in his eyes, his blue shining eyes. With his little brush he paints at the bottom corner his name, David.
As David keeps standing in front of his work, a hand reaches for his shoulders. He turns to find an elderly man, of about 45 years of age. From his appearance it is clear that he is a professor. They both start walking as the rest of the admirers continue to stay back and analyze the work of art.
The professor says, "You have your father's hands." David's face drops as the professor mentions his father. David says, "Sir there are a thousand and one things you can speak to me about, why on earth do you wish to mention about the man I do not wish to remember?" The professor says, "No matter what he was, he was always a good person, and you are talented like him. And he too was my student. You remind me a lot about him." David looks agitated and he says, "I have to leave, Lilly will be waiting for me." "Say hi to your precious from me..." Replies the professor.
David reaches home. It's a beautiful house surrounded by the greens of the countryside. As he enters he calls out for Lilly.
No reply...
He goes into a room, on the door of which we find a young girls photograph. She is about 10 years of age, cute and like her name, fair like a Lilly. He opens the door and calls out again.
"Lilly dear..."
No reply...
David looks calm and he goes to his bedroom. As he removes his shoes his cell phone rings.. he picks it up. There is a sudden change on his face. His blue eyes fills with tears. He moves forward and we see another photograph of him with Lilly in his lap on the wall. He touches the photo and tears roll down his cheeks.
David walks along a hospital corridor. At the end of the corridor we can see a couple of people standing in front of a door. David reaches the door, wipes his eyes and smiles. Then he enters, like a whole new person, into the room. There in a bed we find Lilly lying down. She sees her brother and excitement fills her eyes. She shouts "David.."
The nurse standing nearby, actions her to keep quiet. David runs towards her, takes her hands and kisses her. He hides the pain within and asks, "What happened precious?" For which Lilly replies "As usual, I fainted, aunty brought me here, doctor checked and am fine. Aah forget that, what about the competition? How did u do? Are you gonna win it?" David smiles and says "Yes, have we ever lost to anyone dear?" The sister standing by says "It's time for her injection..." David holds Lilly's hand as the drug makes her fall into deep sleep.
The doctor's cabin is banged open, as David enters and sits on the chair. Doctor John smiles as he looks at David, but we can see some form of invisible anxiety in his eyes. He says, "David every time you come and sit on the chair, I pray to god to give me a chance to tell you that we still have time. But this time I feel it's..."
"Doctor." David cuts through. "How long does my sister have...?"
The doctor falls into deep thought and says without looking into his eyes "May be a week or two to the maximum." David's eyes exhibit inexplicable amount of mental pain as the doctor continues "All that we have left to do is to keep her smiling and do anything..." David slowly gets up and leaves the room without leaving the doctor to finish the sentence.
The door of the roof opens and David walks along through the terrace of the 17 floor hospital building. He looks at the horizon not knowing what to do. After a moment he picks up his cell phone and dials a number.
(Music follows)
1) Far away somewhere in an office cubicle a cell phone rings. A young man in his executive dress picks the call. He listens, takes his coat leaves the office.
2) Far away somewhere, in a workshop, under an old truck a cell phone rings. A hand covered in grease picks it up. A young man in rugged clothes and healthy physique answers it. He leaves the workshop on an old 1960 model bullet.
3) Far away somewhere, on a mountain, inside the pockets of a cyclist, a cell phone rings. The cycle stops and the rider picks the call. He detours through the fog filled mountain cliff.
David returns home. As he opens the gate to his house, there at the doorstep he finds three young men standing, those who answered David's calls. Prathap, Veer and Asgar.
They walk towards David and consoles him. One of them says "Thank God David, for did we ever think that she would stay so long with us?" David's eyes fill with tears as he says "It's not that, she is the only one left in this world for me. And now it's time for her too. But I have something left to do for my precious. That which she longs for the most." David takes out an old looking letter cover from his pocket and hands it over to his friends; he says, "This is the last letter which dad wrote to me from the prison. The last in the line of letters for which I have never replied.. read it."
(Music follows)
The three boys read the letter and once finished they look at David. Asgar speaks out to David, "How long does Lilly have?" David replies "Two weeks". The boys look at him and continues, If whatever is said in this letter is Lilly's last wish, and if you wish to get it granted and if fifteen days are enough for it... then David. We are with you..."
David looks at them and we see a glimpse of hope in his eyes twinkling somewhere, craving for something...
(Music follows)
Various sequences of the four boys are shown. At the house, where they discuss deeply, at the countryside and near the lake. The atmosphere of a heated preparation is seen. The boys observe lawyers, they search along the markets. One of them analyzes a gun and rubber bullets, another analyzes the prison, another one checks on the police training camp and David stares into the horizon. We see his eyes meddling with a plan to make something happen.
One fine morning, fog spreads along the hills as we see a police wagon speeding down the road. The wagon has four policemen including the driver. The driver looks uncertain since the fog deceives his eyes. And at one sudden moment he stamps hard on the breaks and the wagon comes to a halt. The headlights reveal a pair of legs standing in the middle of the road. As the driver brightens it, we see David, his eyes cold, and with a baseball bat in his hands. He lifts it up as the policemen looks stunned. He walks towards the jeep and gives one bang on the front mirror which shatters instantly. The policemen horrified gets out, punches right on David's face making him fall down on the road, lifts him, curses him and puts him at the back of the wagon. As the wagon moves, we see the other three boys coming out from the bushes and looking at David on whose lips blooms a smile. The wagon speeds away.
David's phone rings. It's picked up by Prathap. It's the doctor from the hospital. He tells him that Lilly's condition is worse and that she is looking for David.
David's friends meet a local lawyer and negotiates. David is presented in court along with his baseball bat. The lawyer fails to get a bail and David is ordered to be shifted to the central prison for six months. One of the boys meets the lawyer, gives him a cover. The lawyer opens it finds some cash and a note which says "For doing your duty well.." David is taken to the central prison along with a couple of others. The documents regarding David's cell and his prison details are handed over to an employee. He is tracked down by one of the boys. The employee falls for a 500 rupee note and hands over David's papers.
The boy goes through the paper and at one point he stops. Under the heading CELL NUMBER he strikes out the 145 and writes down 205. He hands over the papers back to the man as a feeling of confidence covers his face. At the prison the warden checks David's documents and curses all around for not knowing which cell is vacant. He says to an attendant "Shift the fellow from 205 to some other cell and put this bloody creep there." David is taken through the corridor to his cell and the attendant guard along with him reads his papers. As he reaches the cell 205 the guard says "David John...oho!" He looks at David with disgust. "Your miserable father was in this cell too. Found him dead one morning, lying there on the floor like a rotten swine! Now remember do not cause any trouble here for you don't know, I have a knack for breaking ribs." David reads the guards name "Damien". The attendant pushes him hard into the cell.
David looks around the cell. The scene changes to the past and we see David's father standing where he is. A man who looks elegant. We come back to David as he goes through the walls, he finds the name David and Lilly carved on it. We shift to past as we see his father carving the names. David sits on the bed and looks down at the floor. There he finds the floor to be covered with black square rocks. He continues looking and his eyes catches something. There at the corner, below the iron barred opening, standing out from the rest of the rocks, is a white one!....
The three boys meet outside the prison walls. They discuss on something and waits...
Rays of moon light fills David's cell. He gets up from the bed and checks the time.. It is midnight. Looking around, he leaves the bed and goes to the corner and sits down. With his hands he wipes the white rock and with his fingers he digs along its sides. After a while he takes out the stone and keeps it aside. As he inserts his hands into the space below his hands meet with something. He slowly lifts his hands and we see a cylindrical object. He gets up stands below the barred window and opens the cylinder. He pulls out something like a piece of paper and unfolds it slowly. Something reveals in the moonlight and his eyes fills with tears...
Lilly's pulse rates grow unsteady. The nurses around looks at her, her cute little face struggling. The doctor looks uncertain and asks the people nearby for David...
In the morning the laundry man comes along the prison corridor. But this time when the prisoners dumped their clothes into the trolley their faces were trying hard to recognize the new laundry man. Only one prisoner recognized the new laundryman and along with his clothes he dumps a cylinder into the trolley. David looked at Veer as both of them nodded.
Outside the visitors room the guard sees a nun coming towards him. She reaches him and says "I am here to see David John." The guard reaches towards her to check her. She backs away and says, "What do you want to search me for? I am a nun for heavens sake!" The guard backs away.
Veer pushes the trolley along the empty corridors of the prison and reaches for the wagon, where Asgar waited in the drivers seat. The wagon leaves.
David waits in the cell impatiently looking at his watch when a guard comes in and says "You have a visitor." David smiles.
As David reaches the visitors room he sees his visitor. As they speak the guard keeps a watch on David. All of a sudden the nun puts her hands into her pockets and pulls out a gun, she aims it at David and fires it at once. The bullet hits David on the shoulder and he falls down. The nun runs out of the room.
David is pulled out of the room as the guard shouts out for help. Officer Damien comes along and looks at David pitilessly.
The nun is chased by the guard outside as she enters into the restroom.
Officer Damien yells out, "Call for an ambulance before this bastard runs out of blood."
The guard follows the nun with his gun pointed at her as she stops in front of the mirror. She removes the face cover and turns back. Horrified the guard remains stunned. Prathap "The nun" punches him right on the face. He removes his clothes and puts on a hospital attendants shirt.
Prathap the driver speeds the ambulance towards the visiting room. David is carried in and officer Damien enters the drivers cabin. The wagon leaves.
As the ambulance goes along David looks around from the stretcher. With his full might he kicks the guard sitting next to him and the guard falls down unconscious. Prathap pulls over as Damien looks at him in surprise. "What do you think you are doing?" He yells.
Knock, knock!
Damien's doors shakes.
Knock, knock!
He opens the door and finds David standing there energetic as ever. Before Damien could reach for the gun David pulls him out. He slaps right on Damien's cheeks and says "This is for calling a great man, a Swine!!" David gets in the wagon and closes the door leaving Damien and the attendant on the road side.
(SLOW MOTION)
We go to the past where David gives the letter to his three friends to read.
(Voice over of David's father follows)
"Dear David,
I do not know what feeling you might be having when you read this letter."
We see Veer and Asgar pulling over the vehicle at the hospital. They take the cylinder and run..
But I want you to know that no matter how bad a failure I am, there are only two assets which make me feel like I am alive. It is you and Lilly.
David bleeds along the way as Prathap speeds on.
Ever since your mother's death I have never felt alive..
David's eyes reflect the lights along the road..
The accident shattered my life... It made me what I am today... for if alone I was not drunk on that night you would have come to see me at least once... but son I have failed you.. I have failed Lilly...
Veer and Asgar runs along the corridor..
But there is just one favor I would ask you to do... for I do not know if I would be alive to meet you.. I want you to do this for your mother..
David and Prathap pulls over in front of the hospital. Veer bangs open Lilly's hospital room. Lilly looks at him with hope, the last of it left in her eyes.
David take care of Lilly...
Veer removes the cylinder and pulls out the canvas. He unfolds it and turns it towards Lilly..
For she has never seen her mother...
Lilly looks at the canvas in Veers hands. We see the portrait of a graceful woman on the canvas as Veer says, "Lilly it is your mother."
We go to the past and see David's dad painting the portrait with his mother sitting in front, graceful and elegant.
If she ever asks to see her mother, son I want you to come within these walls, for I have kept the most precious gift of my life for her, for my Lilly...
Lilly takes the painting and keeps it on to her chest, closes her eyes...
David bangs open the door, runs to Lilly holds her hand but she had already reached her mother's laps. David's eyes fill with tears, but he smiles, satisfied...
The door to the roof opens and David enters the terrace bleeding. It starts to rain... David looks up at the stars.. and says,
"I am not sad, then why wash away my tears? ...for I have granted her your last wish dad... for I know you are listening... now take her... my precious."
Veer, Prathap and Asgar joins him. As he looks at them, police wagons fill the front of the hospital. Then Veer says, "David, do not worry, I have arranged for a lawyer. We will get a bail in two days time."
David laughs and replies "Pal that's where my father was for fourteen years... I don't mind spending six months there..."
THE END
As David keeps standing in front of his work, a hand reaches for his shoulders. He turns to find an elderly man, of about 45 years of age. From his appearance it is clear that he is a professor. They both start walking as the rest of the admirers continue to stay back and analyze the work of art.
The professor says, "You have your father's hands." David's face drops as the professor mentions his father. David says, "Sir there are a thousand and one things you can speak to me about, why on earth do you wish to mention about the man I do not wish to remember?" The professor says, "No matter what he was, he was always a good person, and you are talented like him. And he too was my student. You remind me a lot about him." David looks agitated and he says, "I have to leave, Lilly will be waiting for me." "Say hi to your precious from me..." Replies the professor.
David reaches home. It's a beautiful house surrounded by the greens of the countryside. As he enters he calls out for Lilly.
No reply...
He goes into a room, on the door of which we find a young girls photograph. She is about 10 years of age, cute and like her name, fair like a Lilly. He opens the door and calls out again.
"Lilly dear..."
No reply...
David looks calm and he goes to his bedroom. As he removes his shoes his cell phone rings.. he picks it up. There is a sudden change on his face. His blue eyes fills with tears. He moves forward and we see another photograph of him with Lilly in his lap on the wall. He touches the photo and tears roll down his cheeks.
David walks along a hospital corridor. At the end of the corridor we can see a couple of people standing in front of a door. David reaches the door, wipes his eyes and smiles. Then he enters, like a whole new person, into the room. There in a bed we find Lilly lying down. She sees her brother and excitement fills her eyes. She shouts "David.."
The nurse standing nearby, actions her to keep quiet. David runs towards her, takes her hands and kisses her. He hides the pain within and asks, "What happened precious?" For which Lilly replies "As usual, I fainted, aunty brought me here, doctor checked and am fine. Aah forget that, what about the competition? How did u do? Are you gonna win it?" David smiles and says "Yes, have we ever lost to anyone dear?" The sister standing by says "It's time for her injection..." David holds Lilly's hand as the drug makes her fall into deep sleep.
The doctor's cabin is banged open, as David enters and sits on the chair. Doctor John smiles as he looks at David, but we can see some form of invisible anxiety in his eyes. He says, "David every time you come and sit on the chair, I pray to god to give me a chance to tell you that we still have time. But this time I feel it's..."
"Doctor." David cuts through. "How long does my sister have...?"
The doctor falls into deep thought and says without looking into his eyes "May be a week or two to the maximum." David's eyes exhibit inexplicable amount of mental pain as the doctor continues "All that we have left to do is to keep her smiling and do anything..." David slowly gets up and leaves the room without leaving the doctor to finish the sentence.
The door of the roof opens and David walks along through the terrace of the 17 floor hospital building. He looks at the horizon not knowing what to do. After a moment he picks up his cell phone and dials a number.
(Music follows)
1) Far away somewhere in an office cubicle a cell phone rings. A young man in his executive dress picks the call. He listens, takes his coat leaves the office.
2) Far away somewhere, in a workshop, under an old truck a cell phone rings. A hand covered in grease picks it up. A young man in rugged clothes and healthy physique answers it. He leaves the workshop on an old 1960 model bullet.
3) Far away somewhere, on a mountain, inside the pockets of a cyclist, a cell phone rings. The cycle stops and the rider picks the call. He detours through the fog filled mountain cliff.
David returns home. As he opens the gate to his house, there at the doorstep he finds three young men standing, those who answered David's calls. Prathap, Veer and Asgar.
They walk towards David and consoles him. One of them says "Thank God David, for did we ever think that she would stay so long with us?" David's eyes fill with tears as he says "It's not that, she is the only one left in this world for me. And now it's time for her too. But I have something left to do for my precious. That which she longs for the most." David takes out an old looking letter cover from his pocket and hands it over to his friends; he says, "This is the last letter which dad wrote to me from the prison. The last in the line of letters for which I have never replied.. read it."
(Music follows)
The three boys read the letter and once finished they look at David. Asgar speaks out to David, "How long does Lilly have?" David replies "Two weeks". The boys look at him and continues, If whatever is said in this letter is Lilly's last wish, and if you wish to get it granted and if fifteen days are enough for it... then David. We are with you..."
David looks at them and we see a glimpse of hope in his eyes twinkling somewhere, craving for something...
(Music follows)
Various sequences of the four boys are shown. At the house, where they discuss deeply, at the countryside and near the lake. The atmosphere of a heated preparation is seen. The boys observe lawyers, they search along the markets. One of them analyzes a gun and rubber bullets, another analyzes the prison, another one checks on the police training camp and David stares into the horizon. We see his eyes meddling with a plan to make something happen.
One fine morning, fog spreads along the hills as we see a police wagon speeding down the road. The wagon has four policemen including the driver. The driver looks uncertain since the fog deceives his eyes. And at one sudden moment he stamps hard on the breaks and the wagon comes to a halt. The headlights reveal a pair of legs standing in the middle of the road. As the driver brightens it, we see David, his eyes cold, and with a baseball bat in his hands. He lifts it up as the policemen looks stunned. He walks towards the jeep and gives one bang on the front mirror which shatters instantly. The policemen horrified gets out, punches right on David's face making him fall down on the road, lifts him, curses him and puts him at the back of the wagon. As the wagon moves, we see the other three boys coming out from the bushes and looking at David on whose lips blooms a smile. The wagon speeds away.
David's phone rings. It's picked up by Prathap. It's the doctor from the hospital. He tells him that Lilly's condition is worse and that she is looking for David.
David's friends meet a local lawyer and negotiates. David is presented in court along with his baseball bat. The lawyer fails to get a bail and David is ordered to be shifted to the central prison for six months. One of the boys meets the lawyer, gives him a cover. The lawyer opens it finds some cash and a note which says "For doing your duty well.." David is taken to the central prison along with a couple of others. The documents regarding David's cell and his prison details are handed over to an employee. He is tracked down by one of the boys. The employee falls for a 500 rupee note and hands over David's papers.
The boy goes through the paper and at one point he stops. Under the heading CELL NUMBER he strikes out the 145 and writes down 205. He hands over the papers back to the man as a feeling of confidence covers his face. At the prison the warden checks David's documents and curses all around for not knowing which cell is vacant. He says to an attendant "Shift the fellow from 205 to some other cell and put this bloody creep there." David is taken through the corridor to his cell and the attendant guard along with him reads his papers. As he reaches the cell 205 the guard says "David John...oho!" He looks at David with disgust. "Your miserable father was in this cell too. Found him dead one morning, lying there on the floor like a rotten swine! Now remember do not cause any trouble here for you don't know, I have a knack for breaking ribs." David reads the guards name "Damien". The attendant pushes him hard into the cell.
David looks around the cell. The scene changes to the past and we see David's father standing where he is. A man who looks elegant. We come back to David as he goes through the walls, he finds the name David and Lilly carved on it. We shift to past as we see his father carving the names. David sits on the bed and looks down at the floor. There he finds the floor to be covered with black square rocks. He continues looking and his eyes catches something. There at the corner, below the iron barred opening, standing out from the rest of the rocks, is a white one!....
The three boys meet outside the prison walls. They discuss on something and waits...
Rays of moon light fills David's cell. He gets up from the bed and checks the time.. It is midnight. Looking around, he leaves the bed and goes to the corner and sits down. With his hands he wipes the white rock and with his fingers he digs along its sides. After a while he takes out the stone and keeps it aside. As he inserts his hands into the space below his hands meet with something. He slowly lifts his hands and we see a cylindrical object. He gets up stands below the barred window and opens the cylinder. He pulls out something like a piece of paper and unfolds it slowly. Something reveals in the moonlight and his eyes fills with tears...
Lilly's pulse rates grow unsteady. The nurses around looks at her, her cute little face struggling. The doctor looks uncertain and asks the people nearby for David...
In the morning the laundry man comes along the prison corridor. But this time when the prisoners dumped their clothes into the trolley their faces were trying hard to recognize the new laundry man. Only one prisoner recognized the new laundryman and along with his clothes he dumps a cylinder into the trolley. David looked at Veer as both of them nodded.
Outside the visitors room the guard sees a nun coming towards him. She reaches him and says "I am here to see David John." The guard reaches towards her to check her. She backs away and says, "What do you want to search me for? I am a nun for heavens sake!" The guard backs away.
Veer pushes the trolley along the empty corridors of the prison and reaches for the wagon, where Asgar waited in the drivers seat. The wagon leaves.
David waits in the cell impatiently looking at his watch when a guard comes in and says "You have a visitor." David smiles.
As David reaches the visitors room he sees his visitor. As they speak the guard keeps a watch on David. All of a sudden the nun puts her hands into her pockets and pulls out a gun, she aims it at David and fires it at once. The bullet hits David on the shoulder and he falls down. The nun runs out of the room.
David is pulled out of the room as the guard shouts out for help. Officer Damien comes along and looks at David pitilessly.
The nun is chased by the guard outside as she enters into the restroom.
Officer Damien yells out, "Call for an ambulance before this bastard runs out of blood."
The guard follows the nun with his gun pointed at her as she stops in front of the mirror. She removes the face cover and turns back. Horrified the guard remains stunned. Prathap "The nun" punches him right on the face. He removes his clothes and puts on a hospital attendants shirt.
Prathap the driver speeds the ambulance towards the visiting room. David is carried in and officer Damien enters the drivers cabin. The wagon leaves.
As the ambulance goes along David looks around from the stretcher. With his full might he kicks the guard sitting next to him and the guard falls down unconscious. Prathap pulls over as Damien looks at him in surprise. "What do you think you are doing?" He yells.
Knock, knock!
Damien's doors shakes.
Knock, knock!
He opens the door and finds David standing there energetic as ever. Before Damien could reach for the gun David pulls him out. He slaps right on Damien's cheeks and says "This is for calling a great man, a Swine!!" David gets in the wagon and closes the door leaving Damien and the attendant on the road side.
(SLOW MOTION)
We go to the past where David gives the letter to his three friends to read.
(Voice over of David's father follows)
"Dear David,
I do not know what feeling you might be having when you read this letter."
We see Veer and Asgar pulling over the vehicle at the hospital. They take the cylinder and run..
But I want you to know that no matter how bad a failure I am, there are only two assets which make me feel like I am alive. It is you and Lilly.
David bleeds along the way as Prathap speeds on.
Ever since your mother's death I have never felt alive..
David's eyes reflect the lights along the road..
The accident shattered my life... It made me what I am today... for if alone I was not drunk on that night you would have come to see me at least once... but son I have failed you.. I have failed Lilly...
Veer and Asgar runs along the corridor..
But there is just one favor I would ask you to do... for I do not know if I would be alive to meet you.. I want you to do this for your mother..
David and Prathap pulls over in front of the hospital. Veer bangs open Lilly's hospital room. Lilly looks at him with hope, the last of it left in her eyes.
David take care of Lilly...
Veer removes the cylinder and pulls out the canvas. He unfolds it and turns it towards Lilly..
For she has never seen her mother...
Lilly looks at the canvas in Veers hands. We see the portrait of a graceful woman on the canvas as Veer says, "Lilly it is your mother."
We go to the past and see David's dad painting the portrait with his mother sitting in front, graceful and elegant.
If she ever asks to see her mother, son I want you to come within these walls, for I have kept the most precious gift of my life for her, for my Lilly...
Lilly takes the painting and keeps it on to her chest, closes her eyes...
David bangs open the door, runs to Lilly holds her hand but she had already reached her mother's laps. David's eyes fill with tears, but he smiles, satisfied...
The door to the roof opens and David enters the terrace bleeding. It starts to rain... David looks up at the stars.. and says,
"I am not sad, then why wash away my tears? ...for I have granted her your last wish dad... for I know you are listening... now take her... my precious."
Veer, Prathap and Asgar joins him. As he looks at them, police wagons fill the front of the hospital. Then Veer says, "David, do not worry, I have arranged for a lawyer. We will get a bail in two days time."
David laughs and replies "Pal that's where my father was for fourteen years... I don't mind spending six months there..."
THE END
Post Comment
