horror in bargarh revised version
Horror in Bargarh: Part One
By C. Acharya
[SCENE START]
SCENE 1: THE RESTAURANT - DINING AREA
(A family sits at a dimly lit table. Plates of fresh Chole Bhature and tandoori are being served.)
MOTA BHAI:(eating enthusiastically) Waiter, bring two more plates!
BITTU:(scolding him gently) You dropped a bit.
KITU:(smiles, handing over a piece of food) Here, half and a bite slice of the tandoor.
SRISHTI:(rejoicing) Oh, butter with bread!
WAITER 1: More mayonnaise! More sauce! And a grace of crunchies!
(An 8-year-old child at the table speaks up)
8-YEAR-OLD (Kitu): I drank too much! Excuse me.
WAITER 1: To the left, my grace.
MOTA BHAI: All the lies, it is wing, it flies!
BITTU: What's the leg for?
SRISHTI: To walk right into your plate, we think.
WAITER 1:(suddenly pointing) There is a man in the hallway.
BITTU: Dad, you can bring that sad little fellow over here.
SRISHTI:(scolding) It's your uncle! Chipku.
WAITER 1: He sits at the reception on the right.
SCENE 2: THE RECEPTION DESK
(Mota bhai walks to the quiet reception area to find his brother.)
TISCA (Receptionist): Sir, is there anything I can help with?
MOTA BHAI: Chipku was here.
(A mysterious, disembodied whisper echoes from the shadows.)
MISTY (Whisper):No... Chipku here.
(Mota bhai returns to the dining table.)
SCENE 3: THE DINING AREA & CORRIDOR
MOTA BHAI:(trying to be funny) Put some chilli flakes, and dip it in the chutney.
BITTU: Mom went for some more, but didn't return.
(Suddenly, Srishti returns to the table. Her face is a mess.)
MOTA BHAI: What is about your lips, my flower hyades?
WAITER 1: I took her to the mayonnaise, and...
SRISHTI: It fell off, and I need to clean.
BITTU: There's some on your head, too.
(The Waiter and Srishti both flash a wide, unsettling smile at the table.)
SRISHTI: Nice things mean risk. I need to find my girl, it's too late.
WAITER 1: To the right, my lady.
(Srishti follows the waiter down a dark hall.)
MOTA BHAI: Bittu, follow your mom.
(Bittu walks down the hall but stops at a jammed, heavy door. The Waiter's voice is heard from behind it.)
WAITER 1: Mother is busy in the corridor, Sir.
(Strange moaning sounds return, as echos from behind the locked door as Bittu leaves.)
SCENE 4: THE ESCAPE - IN THE CAR
(Bittu comes back to Mota bhai)
MOTA BHAI: Let's go to the car.
BITTU: They didn't make it on time!
(As they walk out, a crowd has gathered on the opposite side of the building, far from the two men.)
(Inside the car)
MOTA BHAI: The radio isn't playing...
(Srishti and Kitu return, sitting in the back seat.)
BITTU:(confused) Didn't you wear a pink saree?
MOTA BHAI: And a yellow for Kitu?
MOTA BHAI: Bittu, what’s with you... what is in the mirror?!
BITTU:(Scared) They don't appear!
( The car violently hits a road barrier. The car's lights blink into the fog.)
SCENE 5: THE AFTERMATH - THE RESTAURANT
(Uncle Chipku steps out of the building and walks toward the gathered crowd, looking up.)
CHIPKU:(horrified looking at dead bodies) They are my... my family...
POLICE OFFICER: Mysteriously, a mother and her daughter fell from the rooftop. But the door to it is shut locked from quite a time.
(Inside the restaurant, a second waiter watches the chaos with a sinister grin.)
SWAMI (Waiter 2): Didn't they eat tandoori on this auspicious day....?
[SCENE END]