Obsessions

  • 22 Feb - 28 Feb, 2020
  • Salaar Laghari
  • Fiction

Few hours later, I was at a restaurant and having soft drinks. I had drunk three already but still wanted to drink even more. I said out aloud,

I have nothing to lose now. My money is deposited at a place where it can never be stolen from. Now, what I need to do is invest it somewhere for no profit in return. So, what I need to do is…

That moment, I heard someone saying,

“Why are you feeling sorry for yourself?”

I looked at the guy who was seated on a table in front of me. It was my friend David McIntyre. I responded,

“Oh, it’s you. Hi! What are you doing here?”

“I’m listening to you, talking to yourself.”

“Alright, come here and sit by my side.” I said to him.

He stood up and came to my table. The two of us were seated face to face. He began the conversation,

“Look, I know that no one is willing to sign you and you want to shoot a documentary. So, you are worried about how to proceed further?”

“Yes, that is true and obviously I want support. I can’t do this on my own.”

“What do you mean?” he asked him to have a clear idea.

“What I mean to say is that I need a cameraman and some assistants too.”

“Don’t worry about that, you’ll get everything with the passage of time.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“When you will start working on the project, things will get easier eventually. All you need right now is a push, a start.”

“But how? I mean, nobody’s signing me and I don’t even have a platform. Where will I publish my content?”

“On YouTube.”

I had this idea on the back of my head and I really liked it.

“Create your own channel,” David said to me. “And wait for the subscribers.”

“Well, I really like your idea.”

“Then, don’t just think and start working on it. I will also provide you help.”

“Oh, I’m very grateful to you and I’m glad that we had this little talk.”

I was about to stand up and I almost had, but he held my hand and made me sit down again.

“Yes?” I asked.

“Can you tell me what your documentary is about?” he asked me with a serious look on his face.

“Yes, actually it is about people having different obsessions.”

“I will need more.”

“Well, I…” I had no proper answer and so, I changed the direction of the conversation by asking, “Why do you need to know? I mean, I am willing to share it with you, but why do you want to know now.”

“Alright, first tell me when are you planning to shoot this documentary?”

“Anytime soon, in fact, I only need a couple of cameras, video editors and a driver to drive my car and I’ll be ready to shoot.”

“Okay, now imagine you have all of these things, what is the first thing you are going to do then?”

“Well, I’m going to go and interview the people of course,” I answered spontaneously.

“Okay, tell me about the first three people you are going to interview.”

I was literally left speechless for a while. I had no answer and then, I heard him saying,

“This is exactly what I am trying to indicate. You are not well prepared for your show. I questioned about your content and there you were sitting all clueless. This is what I meant. Do you get it?”

“Oh, my God! You’re absolutely right. I don’t have any content to execute.”

“Yes, but don’t get disheartened. You will have an amazing content, once you prepare yourself. Therefore, you need to work very hard.”

“You are right. So, tell me what should I do?”

“Firstly, you need to do a little publicity. You will have to create suspense for the audience.”

“Okay, then?”

“It will take some time.”

“Wait, can you tell me how can I create this suspense?”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan.”

v v v

Next evening, I was sitting in front of the camera. My friend David was sitting at the opposite side looking at the video being shot on the camera. I began my speech,

“Greetings everyone, as you all know me and I must say that you have been very supportive throughout my journey. The purpose of this video is to tell you that I am shooting a documentary…”

“Stop,” David interrupted me.

I was annoyed but I asked him anyway,

“What is it?”

“This is not a good start,” he said while standing up. “You need to have better words to create a better impression. The opening should be better.”

“Oh, come on, I have been a movie director for several years now, I think I’d know how to start.”

“Is that so?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m not trying to degrade your remarks but…”

“…Neither I am,” he interrupted again. “But, if you’re still so confident about your speech then, I would ask you to watch this video and judge it on your own.”

I stood up. I didn’t want to argue nor did I want to prove him wrong and so, I simply said,

“Alright, fine! Let’s give it another shot.”

He nodded his head and sat back on the sofa.

I walked towards the camera and after deleting the video, I started shooting a new one.

I went back and sat in front of the camera.

One hour later, I was seated on the dining table with David. I said to him,

“I really got to thank you for this idea. But I must also mention that you were very annoying throughout the entire video.”

I giggled a bit. He smiled and answered with sarcasm,

“Ask me, how much I was annoyed?”

I chuckled and then said,

“Whatever, but it was totally worth it.”

“Anyway, tomorrow you have to get it published on YouTube.”

“I don’t have a channel as yet you know that.”

“Then, create one. You can’t depend on others and you have to stand on your own feet like before.”

“Yes, I know. I have to.”

“And besides that, you clearly mentioned that you are not doing this for money. You are doing this for your fans.”

“Absolutely, absolutely!”

He nodded his head and then, after a while said,

“Now, you know what you have to do once you have your own channel.”

“Yes, I have to go and find people whom I want to interview. I have to make an appointment with each one of them first.”

“You do have their addresses and phone numbers, right?”

I was again left speechless for a while. However, I tried to recall but nothing really rang a bell. David changed his tone and said,

“Oh, come on, you can’t be that forgetful.”

“It’s not that I’m forgetful,” I replied defensively, “I’m just trying to recall. I think, I remember the addresses but not their homes specifically.”

“Okay, do you have their numbers?”

“No.”

“Do you think you can reach them easily?” he asked.

“Now, that’s what I need to tell you. The answer is I can’t but there are people who can guide me.”

“Okay, good enough! You have to make a list as soon as possible. Prioritise them, according to which one seems interesting and important to you. In the meantime, you will have to wait for the subscribers as well.”

“Okay, how many subscribers do I need to start my show?”

“At least a million, one million subscribers and you are good to go.”

“What if I don’t get that many? And I don’t think it’s easy.”

“Look, you need to put these thoughts aside for now. You are going to publish this video tomorrow and then, you will hunt for the interviewees. Don’t wait for the subscribers as it will take some time. You will be shooting after a week or two.”

“Okay, that’s agreeable but also frustrating.”

“You will have to bear the frustration for now if you want to be in peace afterwards.”

I knew that he was right and so, I didn’t respond.

v v v

The coming week was one of the toughest weeks of my life. I had to gather plenty of information regarding the people whom I thought to interview. I had to make a separate profile of each one of them until I was completely satisfied with the information.

I had two men and a woman; their profiles were really interesting and I had decided to interview them according to my own set of questions. This was something my fans were desperate to watch because I know my fans. They prefer something that is different from fiction, basically real life stories based on dark realities of the world.

My movie ‘Crimes inside a Public Library’ was a big hit because it was not a fictional story, it was a real life tale based on smuggling that took place back in 1990s. Although, the movie was labeled as fiction from my side but the audience knew that it was a reality. So, I had to do the same with my new project. I have to present it in a way that the audience finds it really interesting.

Let me give you a piece of my mind. What my audience should expect from me and what they get should always have to be the same. To witness the reality that is even beyond their wildest nightmare.

The three people that I have so far are people who have been trapped by their obsessions for several years. These people are normal human beings like us, but what makes them different and unusual from all of us is the point that I shall focus on my documentaries.

I won’t spill the entire interview before you but a brief idea of each personality can definitely be presented. The first person that I am planning to interview is a man who is obsessed with illusions. He is obsessed with magic tricks but is this obsession just like all others’? You’ll find that out soon.

The woman, up next for the interview is a person who is obsessed with reflections. The entire world for this woman is her mirrors. She perceives mirrors as nobody does, and that is because she was all alone in her life. This interview might be a horrifying one for introverts who are not willing to socialise with different people.

And the third person that I have is someone who is not just obsessed, he is filled with hatred. He has a mind that is seeking for its revenge. I don’t really blame him for why he hates so much but whatever the reason is, his hatred has made him really dangerous.

v v v

After a week, I met my friend David again. He was at my house and we were having coffee. He asked me,

“So, how many subscribers did you get? In one week?”

“I want you to guess.”

Seeing my happiness, he said,

“Well, I think that you have earned your desired number. I guess 1.1 Million.”

“Wow! What a guess,” I was shocked on his accuracy, “How did you know? Oh, I think you must have seen it by yourself.”

“No, I honestly didn’t. You know very well that I don’t have internet access.”

“But still so accurate? Yes, this is the exact number.”

“So, what’s your plan for tomorrow?”

“I’m going to interview one of these people. I have written down my questions and also made a list of things that I need to shoot. Top of the list is that person’s room.”

“That’s interesting! Well, I’m sure you would do your best. What about the cameramen?”

“Yes. I have two cameramen, who will shoot my interview from different angles.”

“I see.”

“So, who will edit the video?”

“I will, of course.”

“One more thing,” he said, “Are you sure, these people won’t be harmful to you? I mean, do you have any security plan?”

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