Cinema Script : 'The Copper Verse' (Class XII English Project under WBCHSE Board)

The Copper Verse

[Scene A : Oikatan's Place.His girlfriend Sulagna is already present and his friends - Torsha and Saptak are also about to visit in a few minutes.Together,they plan their upcoming trip to Karnataka. ] 

Sulagna : Since when have you been reading Roy?

Oikatan : [Busy re-shuffling his bookshelves] Eh?

Sulagna : Arundhati Roy.Since when have you been reading Arundhati Roy? [On top of her voice]

Oikatan : Satyajit Ray! What are you talking about? Since when I was a mere kid..

Sulagna : Muddlehead,I'm talking about the Man Booker prize winning author.Not the Oscar winning director.

Oikatan : Dan Cooker?Are you trying to talk about Dan Brown? [Head buried inside a shelf,struggling to place the books in order.]

Sulagna : You..you're acting like Professor Calculus - the deaf,half-mad scientist from the pages of Tintin.I am talking about 'The God of Small Things'.The criticism of EMS Namboodiripad,the leader of that wretched,unprogressive party you work so serenely devoted towards.


Oikatan : Yes.I mean,yes,you've got to flip through the pages of history in order to get what is what.

Sulagna : You finally embracing non-conformism,are you?

Oikatan : I'm watching.Someone must be there.Someone must be watching.

Sulagna : So you're reading Kafka too?

Oikatan : You remember these lines?

Sulagna : They're special.

Oikatan : I know.

Sulagna : You ought to,you're the sailor of my catcher boat on a stormy night,or may be the sudden discovery of a lighthouse.

Oikatan : I'm just a lunatic practising lunacy in its purest form.

Sulagna : That's what it has to be.You should be insane when you are being insane,completely involved and all,you know.

Oikatan : [Approvingly smiles.]

Sulagna : "Then take me on the trip upon your magic swirlin' ship/My senses have been stripped/Wait only for my bootheels to be wanderin'..." [Hums to the lyrics]

Oikatan : Mademoiselle seems to be pretty excited,then.

Sulagna : South India is exciting to every nerd clinging to Social Sciences 24 x 7.

Oikatan : Why does it have to be Karnataka,dear?

Sulagna : Because....I want to be in Karnataka by next month.

Oikatan : That is the point! Why is it that you want to be there?

Sulagna : I am not really sure about hows and whats and whys.I am not sure why am I feeling so impulsive about being in a place I've never been to prior to this!

Oikatan : A homesickness for a home that never existed?

Sulagna : Yeah...yes...got a word for that?

Oikatan : It's called 'Hiraeth'.Etymologically,it has got Welsh origin,with no direct translation to any other language in the world.

Sulagna : Back to the land in which the Sun used not to set.

Oikatan : The British never treated the Scottish,Irish or Welsh - the indigenous population all too well,either.That is how imperialism works.

[Doorbell rings.]
Sulagna : They're here!

Oikatan : Again.

Sulagna : Stop acting like that,will you?

Oikatan : Why don't they ever allow us a private meeting?

Sulagna : Lovesick raccoon.

Oikatan : Stubborn Armadillo.

Sulagna : [Giggles as she opens the door.] Good evening. Come in quick,the downpour has been constant since mid-noon.

Saptak : And what were you muttering about before Sulagna opened the door,Oikatan?

Torsha : You never developed any manners,Saptak. [Pretending to blush] We're sorry to interrupt your private meeting,Dabhaai.We will leave as soon as we're done with the travel plans.And munch down on tacos while owing all the credit to your wallet.

Saptak : This is the reason I like...I mean I like to take my hats off and pay respect to you..[Takes a bow]

Oikatan : Pests!

Sulagna : I'm ordering tacos.

Oikatan : [Grumbles] Mirzafar.

Sulagna : You mumbled something you'd like us to hear,honey?

Oikatan : Of course not.

[Saptak,Torsha and Oikatan join a conversation as Sulagna orders tacos.]

Oikatan : You're that little a creature,standing 5'4" and I do not understand where you store the huge amount you tend to consume in every meal.

Torsha : Some things are never meant to be known.

Saptak : I want Chicken Quesadillas with extra Salsa,Sulagna.

Oikatan : Stop calling my wife by her name!

Saptak : I introduced her to you!

Oikatan : She's elder to you,with a difference of 4 years.1460 days.

Saptak : You're ridiculous,dear Oikatan.And she's not your wife.

Oikatan : Marriages aren't about documentation.

Saptak : This is the reason why your party is loosing everywhere.All of you would better be poets than politicians.

[Oikatan grumbles again.]

[All four of them laugh and chatter and eat as the screen turns black and scene 1 ends.]
...............................................................................................

[Scene B : The four friends have reached Shettihalli,Karnataka and have come up to the roof of the hotel they were designated stay at. ] 

Saptak : The train journey was tiring.Can't we just go over and take a nap instead of blabbering here,under a scorching Sun?

Torsha : "A Sun." You're learning to talk Floyd.

Saptak : You're insulting!

Torsha : [Grins] And moreover,it's a cloudy day.

Saptak : I want to take a little...power nap!

Torsha : Slothy bear.

Saptak : Hyperactive dragonfly.

Torsha : Dragonflies do not have brains! Stay apart frontal lobes! Do you inderstand neuroscience?

Sulagna : Could you both stop quarreling and give us some peace? Saptak,what is the issue with you? Why are you fighting with someone three years younger?

Saptak : Younger? She's my paternal aunt! And have you observed her attitude? Studies all day long and is hyperactive enough to skip sleep and water!

Oikatan : She STUDIES.

Saptak : Sulagna,Oikatan too is taking Torsha's side. [Interrupting Torsha's laugh]

Sulagna : They've got this particular lubrication business in between that's affecting innocent people on the other hand,these days.

Torsha : Yeah,he's generous.

Sulagna : Never likes to spend a penny,dork!

Torsha : He got me the entire set of Economics Handbooks last month.

Sulagna : That's one of two things he spends on - Books and Travel.

Saptak : I've had enough of ranting with no reason.I want sleep.I need sleep.I love sleep.

Torsha : Have you measured your tummy? It sticks out like, 3.5 inches from your stature.

Saptak : Sulagnaaaaaaaaa! 

Sulagna : Torsha dear,everybody is not as lucky as a dragonfly.

Torsha : I prefer to take that as a compliment.



Torsha : I am going downstairs only if it rains.And clouds gather up near the Sun,like life does to earth,like something descends,when the core burns and the luminous waves dig inside our reaches.Like a gravitating dusk.Like flickers.Like ties and shackles that are transcending towards their next alternative stage : freedom.

Saptak : A poet,art historian,economist and philosopher compiled in one. [Makes a face].I wish someday I can take my shoes off and break her bones.Have you taken a look at all her exam scores? 

Sulagna : You can do that with bare hands.I have real strong hands,I might prove that someday.

Torsha : [Shocked face] Dibhaai???!!!

Oikatan : Learn something,Saptak.

Saptak : You're stuck up,both of you.

Sulagna : I admit.

Torsha : It's cloudy.

Oikatan : What?

Sulagna : It's su...it's cloudy!!

Saptak : Have you been taking courses in Asian Magic,Alien-coordination and Weather Control or something?

Torsha : Shut up....[Lyrically,while thinking of something looking at the sky]

Sulagna : They're altocumulous in nature.Which means they haven't formed too long ago.

Torsha : Yeah.That is what I was just thinking.But there wasn't a sign of them moments ago.

Oikatan : This is surprising.I didn't see anything even similar,like minutes ago.2-3 minutes ago,it was purely Sunny and Torsha and Saptak were quarreling - while I was thinking of penning down what all the train journey felt like,while looking up and around.

Sulagna : I admit,dear.I didn't see a speckle of grey - it was all blue and white.

Oikatan : Colours that provide you tax benefits currently.

Sulagna : [Laughs] You're hilarious!
Let's get in before we get drenched.Come on,let's go,everyone.


..........................................................................................................


[Scene C : Everyone takes a nap while Sulagna struggles to fall asleep.She has a butterfly-in-the-stomach kind of feeling combined with deja-vu.A sudden high flashing and consequent thunderstrike wakes the other three up.] 


Oikatan : Thu-thundersto-or-orms.

Sulagna : [Giggles unstoppably after looking at the expressions of Torsha and Saptak,who also giggle owing to Oikatan's condition.]

Torsha : Didn't it almost look like...ball lightening?

Saptak : What is that? I do not study apart from Philosophy.

Torsha : In order to understand Philosophy,you need to understand Science and...[her voice gets interrupted by another thunderstrike].

Sulagna : Isn't it smelling?

Torsha : [Wide eyed] It is...ball lightening.I'm confirmed.Yes Captain Nemo, it does smell.Whenever ball lightening takes place,it smells of Sulphur in the air.

Sulagna : Why does it happen?

Torsha : Science doesn't know.It's unexplained,as of yet.

Saptak : You look tensed,both of you.Calm down.

Oikatan : Why did we ev-var co-come to this wre-tch-tch-ed place?

Sulagna : [Lifting a brow] Oikatan,it's not going to hurt.Stop being phobic,everything's fine.

Oikatan : It m-might.How d-do you kn-know?

Torsha : Daabhai it's fine,don't think about it that much.

Saptak : Oikatan ,we've not been struck...YET.

Torsha : Saptak,stop it.I'm serious.Phobias are not a joke.

Saptak : As you say...

shettihalli-karnataka



Sulagna : Torsha,come with me.It was near the Drowning Church.We'll check.

Torsha : Dibhai,are you nuts? No,not now.We might get thunderstruck,for real.

Oikatan : Sulagna,stop being silly.

Sulagna : [Gets up and takes Torsha by the hand] Dibhaai,don't do this.It's not safe for YOU.There's no medical facilities nearby,either.

Sulagna : [Without speaking a word,takes Torsha down the stairs and starts walking over the field towards the church.]

Torsha : That church drowns every year in floodwater,it might have broken parts,we can't get in.A chunk falls on your head and you're done.Dibhaai please.Listen to me,can you hear me?

Sulagna : I've been experiencing deja vu about this village,this hotel,another building,in another dimension somewhere...round things made of copper,rice fields,heavy showers,thunderstorms.

Torsha : Since when?

Sulagna : A few months.

Torsha : Why didn't you tell me?

Sulagna : You learn cognitive science.

Torsha : Yes.And that is why you needed to tell me.

Sulagna : You would have defied it.

Torsha : Cognitive Science doesn't defy prophetic dreams.Or deja vu.

Sulagna : [Turns to look at Torsha] Do you think I am turning into a psychopath or something?

Torsha : No.Why would I?

Sulagna : You've got to come with me,then.

Torsha : Okay,okay,let's go.Let's go. [In a hushing,comforting tone].

[They travel inside the church]

Torsha : It's dark and then there aren't any matches with us,even.What do we do?

Sulagna : "And then something flickers and descends..."

Torsha : You remember?

Sulagna : You're a poet.I adore poets.

Torsha : I don't want you getting hurt in this business.Please.

Sulagna : I need to know.

Torsha : [Peeps through the broken window] I see Daabhai and Saptak! 

Sulagna : What?! Not in the name of Iris!

Torsha : What?

Sulagna : Iris! Who is Iris?

Torsha : Greek God of Rainbow.Messenger of Zeus. But you...haven't even gone through Greek myth.

Sulagna : Yes.I haven't.

Torsha : My.....goodness.

Sulagna : I haven't.

Torsha : It's okay.

[Saptak enters the church,followed by Oikatan.]

Oikatan : Sulagna,we have to get out of here,at this moment.

Saptak : Oikatan's right for the first time in his life.Sulagna,we must leave.

Torsha : No.

Saptak : What do you mean by no? He is Astraphobic.And you know that.And you know how much a situation like this can affect someone who is phobic of that very thing that is causing mass tension here.

Torsha : Look,listen to me.Daabhai and you are going to stay here,while Dibhaai and I will look over the entire place.

Oikatan : Look for?! 

Sulagna : Rain.

[Oikatan and Saptak exchange confused looks.]

Torsha : Come on,let's make it fast.

Sulagna : Yeah.

[Sulagna climbs up the stairs,followed by Torsha.Suddenly,Sulagna squeals and a strange sound is heard.]

Torsha : Dibhaai. [Rushes upstairs]

[Sulagna is nowhere to be found.As if the compliment to the incident of clouds that appeared from nowhere.]

Torsha : Dibhaai....what do I do? Saptak! Dabhaai!!

Oikatan : Where is Sulagna?

Torsha : She...she was here.I can't find her.She sq-squealed mom-ments ago.Dibhaai...I can't find her.

Oikatan : I have got a lighter in my pocket.

Saptak : Torsha,calm down.

Oikatan : What's that? [Points to something that looks like a hole in the ground in the semi-lit darkness.]

Torsha : The mouth of a tunnel.

Saptak : You sure it isn't the rear end?

Torsha : And you're kidding at this moment?

Oikatan : Let's go.

Saptak : Yeah.

[They slide into the tunnel one by one.Torsha steps in,followed by Oikatan and Saptak.]




[Scene D : Oikatan wakes up with a strange pain behind his head.Saptak is still unconscious,lying next to him.]

Oikatan : Saptak! Wake up.Wake up.


Saptak : [Slowly opens his eyes as his vision moves straight to the sky] Where are we?
Look at the sky,have you ever seen something like that prior to this?

Oikatan : No.Looks like we are beings from a separate dimension,altogether.Floating amidst clouds.Trees inside clouds,a patch of earth born within them.Where are we?

Saptak : Where is Torsha?

Oikatan : Sulagna! 

Saptak : Let's start moving.Ignoring the pain.

[Oikatan  starts walking without speaking another word.] 

Saptak : Wait,where are you going?

Oikatan : Towards the forest.

Saptak : It's too foggy.We don't even have a flashlight.

Oikatan : We can't sit down here dreaming of one.

Saptak : Where could Torsha have gone?

Oikatan : Perhaps in search of her Dibhaai.They can't spend a day without talking to each other.I have never got a chance to observe an exception.

Saptak : Neither have I.

Oikatan : Sulagna! Torsha!

Saptak : Look,isn't that a synagogue?

Oikatan : The structure certainly resembles one.

Saptak : Quick!

Oikatan : A synagogue...at this place?

Saptak : Have you seen that our shadows,they're visible under such a cloudy sky.

Oikatan : What? [Looks at his shadow] They are somewhat solid looking,don't you think?

Saptak : Yeah...somewhat three dimensional.

Oikatan : That would mean that this dimension is apart from the three we're used to.A fourth one?!

[They walk up the stairs that lead to the synagogue.Oikatan pushes the door hard.But it won't open.]

Oikatan : Sulagna! Torsha! Can you guys hear me?

Torsha : Yes,I can. [ In a feeble tone]

Oikatan : Where's Sulagna?

Torsha : She's have a migraine! Barely conscious!

Oikatan : The door won't budge.Is there a lock inside,or something?

Torsha : It's suffocating.The lights are coming off.And there's no lock inside.

Saptak : There is something written here.

Oikatan : Where?

Saptak : On the door.

"The bow of rain 
The pull of earth 
Copper's chain
Secret's hearth"

Oikatan : Bow of rain...rainbow? pull of earth...gravitation?Copper's chain..secret's hearth.

Saptak : I think this is a cryptogram.We need to decipher it to open the door.

[A musical tone is heard]

Oikatan : It's coming from the pillars.Like the ones at Hampi!

Saptak : You pull a bow.

Oikatan : Yes,when you pull a bow,the gravitation,that is the pull of earth is maximum on the inside,the innermost colour in the band is Violet.

Saptak : The sculptures look Graeko-Roman in nature.

Oikatan : But also very indigenous at the same time.

Saptak : Roman goddess of hearth,home and family - Vesta.

Oikatan : In Sanskrit,Vesta means a wooden watch.

Saptak : A copper chain and a wooden watch?

Oikatan : Who knows?!

Saptak : Torsha! Torsha! Do you see any wooden watch?

Torsha : [Hardly audible] Something is filling up the room.I can't hear you properly.

Oikatan : A wooden watch? [On top of his voice]

Torsha : Yes! Fit in like a padlock on a huge box here. 

Saptak : And a copper chain?

Torsha : No sign.

Oikatan : How do you open this door?

Saptak : There!There!

Oikatan : What? [Looks perplexedly at Saptak]

Saptak : Numbers.

Oikatan : Okay.So...Violet....copper...vesta..

Saptak : Doesn't sound quite right.

Oikatan : V is the 22nd letter of the English alphabet.

Saptak : But the code ends at 15!

Oikatan : Graeko-Roman architechture.Can we try in Greek?

Saptak : Nu looks like a small v.
13th letter of the Greek alphabets.

Oikatan : Is there nothing that looks like a C?

Saptak : I'm afraid not.

Oikatan : Okay,c is the odd one out in the Palindrome.C of copper.3rd letter of the English alphabet.Graeko-Roman.The combination of both! It has to be 13 3 13.

Saptak : Let's try.

Oikatan : [Mutters as he presses the buttons with the numbers on them] Sulagna,we're almost home.

[The door opens with a screech]

Torsha : [Who is noticed to have several cuts on her hands is sitting beside Sulagna,who is barely able to speak a word.] Ciao,sloth bears...

Oikatan : Are you okay,Sulagna? What happened? The room smells of Hydrogen Sulphide..

Torsha : Yes...there were constant ball lightenings for a while inside this and then the door got closed and there was no way we could open it.It's suffocating here.

Saptak : Do you need water?

Oikatan : Shut up,idiot! Does this place look like a restaurant to you? Don't think about weak points.We'll make it home.

Sulagna : There's something in that box.I can't return unless I know.

Oikatan : Enough of it we've had for you,Sulagna.We are returning.And now.

Torsha : Dabhaai...please.

Oikatan : Torsha,you...I thought that you talked sense! 

Torsha : Please..

Oikatan : Okay.

Saptak : The time - we have a total of 720 combinations.And we don't have that much time.

Torsha : You've got to use your grey matter,muddlehead - not the calories you've stored up perfectly in that 3.5 inch thick tummy of yours.

Saptak : Oikatan,I...

Oikatan : He did help me open the door.And that with the help of a cryptogram.

Torsha : Gracious! I don't believe it!

Oikatan : How did you get in?

Sulagna : The door was open when I arrived.

Torsha : Same here.

Oikatan : Entrance was assigned for two people,then.The others had to know the code to enter.Heavy protection ensured.

Saptak : Hearth!

Torsha : You know the term,dope?

Oikatan : Torsha...

Torsha : Alright.

Saptak : Can we manage a fire?There was a lighter in your pocket.

Oikatan : Weird that the box is placed right beside the hearth.

Saptak : I am bringing dry leaves.

[Saptak brings the leaves and Oikatan sets them on fire].

Sulagna : Turn the box towards the hearth.It's going to do.

Oikatan : Do what?

Torsha : Dabhaai,she doesn't look alright to me.Please make it fast.

Oikatan : Alright.

[Oikatan turns the box towards the hearth.The wooden watch complete three revolutions and the box is flung open automatically.]






Sulagna : I knew.

Torsha : What's inside?

[Oikatan peeps in and is speechless in surprise]

Sulagna : Rain.

Oikatan : They are lebbo coins.

Sulagna : Chains of illumination.Chains of mystery.Chains that have shackled civilizations for years.And years hence.Only chains.

Oikatan : Made of Copper Iridium.So,this is the significance of "copper's chain"!

Sulagna : Take one in your hand and repeat what you read on the door.

Oikatan : [Takes a coin in his hand and repeats]

"The bow of rain 
The pull of earth 
Copper's chain
Secret's hearth"

[A rumble of clouds is heard outside.A ball of lightening enters the room and slides down the hearth and dies in the fire,before exasperatingly inciting it.The room is filled with the odour of Sulphide once again.Outside,it begins to rain.]

Sulagna : Rain pullers.

Oikatan : [Dazed by surprise sits on the floor and looks outside eagerly] Ah...

Torsha : It's beautiful.

Saptak : This life has been worth living.

[Torsha smiles back at him.]
............................................................................................................................





[Scene E : Everybody wakes up at once on their hotel beds.]

Sulagna : [Wide eyed] A dream?

Torsha : A dream within a dream.Worlds within worlds.

Oikatan : Did all of us dream the same dream?

Saptak : Isn't that a little unusual?

Sulagna : Torsha,open your fists.

Torsha : Fists,have I even made fists?

Sulagna : Look.

Torsha : [Slowly opens her fists to find out a coin in her left hand] R-rain puller!

[Everybody looks at it carefully]

Saptak : Let's take it to the Archaeological Department of India.

Oikatan : I am sceptic about that.

Torsha : No.We aren't letting anyone know.

Sulagna : Yes,we aren't letting anyone know,apart from us.It's a secret we are bound to protect.

Saptak : But..?

Torsha : No buts and ifs...the moment they know it,they'll start fighting like scavengers over corpses.More murders,more wars.We don't need or want any of that.

Oikatan : Yes,we don't.

[Scene F : The four protagonists have gathered along the riverside.River Hemavati is flowing pleasantly.The day is still cloudy.Sulagna goes and drops the coin into the river.]

Oikatan : The river knows.

Torsha : The river remembers.

Saptak : Hums to "Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow..."

[Screen blacks out as the downpour begins]














Post a Comment

21 Comments

  1. Great write up Titas ji. Excellent read, thank you for sharing in here :))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank You! Thank You!
      It took so much time to be written.

      Delete
    2. Plzz can u give me a conclusion of this story

      Delete
  2. Agree with Prasanna Dasari, is excellent.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome story ...can u say me its source..frm whr have u written??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wrote it,actually.It came out of my head! :)

      Delete
    2. Ohh...no actualyy me too wanaa write it bt i need the authors name nd i think so..my institution wont accept ua name as author..so........

      Delete
    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  4. Thanks for it sir ji you are great.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Can anyone give me conclusion of this story plzz?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nobody gets to know the secret about the rain-puller coins except for the four friends!

      Delete
  6. Who writer's name plzzz tell me?

    ReplyDelete

What are your perspectives?