Free Bollywood Confidential by Sonia Singh Page A

I thought the Holiday Inn…” He shot a glance at Randy, who was still on his cell. Daddy turned back to her. “Never mind. It is always better to stay with family, no?”
    Raveena was tempted to ask him about the Holiday Inn. Was that where Daddy had arranged for her to stay? Could she be basking in air-conditioned bliss instead of perspiring at Uncle Heeru’s? She was about to open her mouth and tell Daddy all about how his son had booked a room at the Officer’s Club instead, but then thought better of it.
    Raveena would complain, and then Daddy would confront Randy. Randy would be on the defensive and probably take it out on her. He might even find some way to kick Raveena off his film.
    She kept her mouth shut. After all, she’d be spending most of her time at the studio anyway.
    Daddy took a seat in the lawn chair next to her as two cars pulled up and parked beside Randy’s dark green BMW. A short, very fat man tumbled out of the first car, and a tall, rugged Sikh wearing cowboy boots and a turban exited the second.
    Randy finally got off the phone. “Raveena,” he said, “Letme perform introductions.” He gestured to the round man. “This is the choreographer, Lollipop. He’ll handle all six song sequences.”
    Lollipop? Raveena struggled not to burst into giggles. As if sensing her amusement, Lollipop shot her a challenging look. She immediately sobered up.
    Randy indicated the other man who lounged against the hood of his car. “This is Dharamveer Sandhu, the cinematographer.”
    Dharamveer lit up a cigarette. “Everyone calls me Veer.”
    â€œVeer is the best cinematographer in India,” Randy boasted.
    Instead of acknowledging the compliment, Veer blew out a perfect ring of smoke and ignored Randy completely.
    â€œWhere’s Siddharth?” Lollipop asked in a high-pitched voice.
    Raveena giggled. Everyone looked at her.
    Struggling to contain herself, she cleared her throat. “Who’s Siddharth?”
    Lollipop turned towards Raveena in disbelief. “You don’t know who Siddharth is?”
    Veer looked at Daddy in surprise. “We have Siddharth? How did you manage that?”
    â€œOh, Siddharth and I are great friends,” Randy said, butting in. “He’s doing this as a personal favor to me.”
    Raveena was definitely intrigued. Siddharth hadn’t starred in any of the Bollywood films she’d seen. Although, admittedly, the ones she’d borrowed had been a few years old.
    â€œWill Siddharth be playing the Emperor then?” she asked.
    Lollipop was practically jumping up and down. “I can’t wait to work with Siddharth! The man moves like a dream!”
    Veer flicked the ash from his cigarette and continued to muse. “We have Siddharth…”
    Daddy answered Raveena’s question. “Yes beti, Siddharth is the biggest star in India. We are very blessed to have him in our film.”
    â€œThere he is!” Randy crowed, pointing to a black Mercedes pulling into the drive.
    The windows were tinted, so Raveena couldn’t get a look inside.
    The car stopped, the driver side door opened, and it was as though time stood still.
    Raveena was so not kidding.
    Conversation ceased. Various men and women going about their own studio business moved closer and stared.
    And no wonder.
    Siddharth was the Adonis of the East.
    He was around six feet tall, lean and muscled. His skin was a golden bronze and his hair a rich dark brown. He had that perfect Roman nose, and his eyes were hazel.
    And if that weren’t enough, as he reached out and shook Daddy’s hand with a smile, Raveena saw the dimples.
    Michelangelo couldn’t have sculpted a better male.
    At that moment the only thought running through her mind was:
    How many love scenes were in the movie?
    And…
    Could they possibly add more?

Chapter 18
    Siddharth nearly tripped as he got out of his car .
    He managed