NRI

Title of Film: NRI

Gist of Film: Gaurav's journey from a wealthy young man living in US, to a middle class person living in India- to the Chairman of one of the world's largest Construction firm- Arkians.Com, parallel to his tumultuous love life.

Episode 1:

Gaurav Guglani is a rich young man working for his father's firm in the USA. His parents want him to marry Lamba Tank's daughter- a Gujrati girl- Arti Tank, who lives in India with her mother- Khushboo, away from her father Lamba Tank who has been a partner with Gaurav's father- Vijay into making Arkians one of the largest construction firms in the world. It is Vijay's decision to marry Gaurav to the daughter of Lamba Tank- a Gujrati the two business associates who had known and gave profit mutually by virtue with their teamwork and commitment towards their company Arkians which had operations in India and the USA. Vijay Guglani handled the US market and Lamba Tank handled the Indian real estate market.

They had found this match the day Gaurav was born, six months younger to Arti- as was set in stone- that the marriage between the two of them would have to be certain even if they have to go against the wishes of their children- Gaurav and Arti.

Arti was the daughter of Lamba. She is not all that good looking- not tall and not fair in complexion, but she brings joy to the face of anybody who sees her. Her voice is deep as if coming from the stomach. She burps as if she is going to bring out a pearl- a bit amusing- her actions looked stupid to an unintelligent eye but her wisdom was kind to her detractors too. Her fluency in French was nice. She encourage people to sing and would easily take the center stage in most discussions. She is a hard-working girl who aspires to become an aeronautical engineer. Currently she is doing her masters in Economics.

When they were young, Gaurav and Arti used to fight over the minimum arguments. Both were intolerant towards each other and usually not want to see or meet each other for long periods of time, but there was indeed a secret attraction between both of them which neither of them acknowledged. To them the destiny was to fight with- that they didn't want to marry each other, as they were two opposite ends of a rope which didn't want to tied. They had known about their father's intentions and were often discussing ways to avoid their marriage- which was a topic of their discussion many times they met.

Gaurav visited India to comply with a strange contract between himself and his father's company. The contract that in order for Gaurav to stay in the board of directors, he would need to marry at the age of thirty and not later than that, would have to marry only Arti and would need to spend at least thirteen years in India with her. On fulfillment of these conditions, he would be reinstated as the Chairman of the board not before forty-eight years of his age in life.

In India, Gaurav invites the Tank family for a game of tennis. Over the game, Gaurav disliked Arti more than he ever did. She was rude and spoke hard truth. She said face on that she didn’t like him because he had many affairs those he did not want to relinquish. She insulted Gaurav when she asked him how much he would earn in India and if is it the best place to grow? But since Gaurav was adamant at being part of the company owned by his father and father in law, he did not want to leave it. He was not ready to start his own enterprise and achieve any success which he was not very hopeful towards. His only ambition was to gain control of the company whose management he had taken lessons from his father. He was not yet ready to face the truth that he would have to live in India for thirteen years as part of the contract between the company and himself, however he would be required to go abroad as many number of times as he was deemed fit for business purpose, if he had the keep that job- as a manager would draw a salary. He would need to purchase his own car and pay for the grocery, live in a rented accommodation unless he gets the capability to own one for himself.

On a meeting between him and Arti that took place in a restaurant, Gaurav was avoiding eye contact with Arti- as if he was guilty. He would attempt to smile at her but could not bring out any joy. He would try to catch her attention, but when she would look- he would the other way. Arti analyzed that he must be hiding. She asked him what the matter was. His reply was cold-

“I am not pure enough for you Arti. I have relationships with women those I may not want to loose in this life-time and I want a life free of technical relations those complicate my personal freedom. “

Arti liked Gaurav’s will to be able to do things people would see impossible as- like getting Bill Gates to invest in his father’s company.

Lamba thought- “what would happen if Gaurav dropped the deal and set out to work in some other firm or attempt his own business? My dreams of marrying the Guglani’s with Tanks would never see the light because essentially Gaurav and Arti do not like each other”

Lamba's son- Dushyant liked Gaurav’s manners. He became his fan on the third meeting when he saw him play the flute. The music was as if coming from the mountains- dancing in valleys below. He had found Gaurav with a pleasing personality whom when everybody would look it would seem a bit funny, not imposing but possibly tickling- whose acts were not stupid but calmly polite.

Two weeks later than when the Guglani family came to India, Arti goes to a mall to fetch a gift for Gaurav's birthday. On the way back she meets with an accident as a speeding car bangs her. She looses consciousness and the gift she bought is seen lying on the road. She is brought to the hospital by passerbys.

Arti is given blood as she had lost much due to the accident. The person who gives her blood is her old friend- Tanuj. Gaurav enters the room of the hospital and stops as he sees Tanuj lying on a bed next to Arti's. By then Arti has come to consciousness.

"I bought a gift for you Gaurav" she reached out to the table that has a box kept. She hands over the box to Gaurav. Gaurav opens the box and sees a watch.

"I dont wear watches" Gaurav said, sliding the watch to his pocket.

"Not even for me?" Arti asked.

Gaurav gets up and goes out of the room. Arti's eyes follows him as he leaves. She begins to cry. Her mother consoles her and the family comes near her.

"He does not like me mother. I dont want to marry him-- I dont want to marry him" she said.

Gaurav comes out of the hospital and walks around shops in the street. He brings out the watch from his pocket and thinks about his girl friend- Anna John Mary with whom he had been going around for a few years. It was her whom he wanted to marry, not Arti.

Gaurav brings out his phone and calls Anna. He tells her how the contract is bothering him and he is feeling stupid to abide by the contract. He tells her that he might even decide to leave his father's company if he is not able to handle the pressure to marry Arti. He tells Anna that he loves her more than anything else in the world.

A week later, Gaurav sees Tanuj and Arti togather in a park. Tanuj pushed the wheelchair on which Arti sat. She seemed happy to be in his company. Both of them smiled and exchanged pleasantries. Gaurav was immediately jealous. He had expected Arti to be for himself all the while and despite the fact that he did not want her as a wife, he could not bear the sight of her being with any other man.

He goes up to both of them from behind and keeps his hands on Tanuj's shoulders. Tanuj is surprized. Arti is perturbed to see Gaurav. Gaurav invites Tanuj to a game of Chess and challanges Tanuj to beat him. The bet is decided. Whoever wins the game gets Arti.

Gaurav looses the game of chess. It is not known if he deliberately lost or by his luck, but Tanuj comes upto him and clearly asks him to walk out of Arti's life. Gaurav gets frustrated. On one hand is his contract with the company and on the other hand is his ego- to loose a girl whom he had possessed all life. Despite the fact that he did not want to marry Arti, he could not imagine Arti with somebody else. He had grown possessive about her through all the years they spent time together.

Gaurav goes to Arti and asks her to marry Tanuj. He tells her that he will leave the company and start out his own business. Arti replies by telling him that she loved him and cannot imagine a future with anybody else. Gaurav tells her that he did not love her and the girl whom he loved was in the US. Arti is heart broken. She informs Lamba that the marriage will not work out.

Gaurav goes back to the US and quits his father's company- Arkians, but is not able to forget Arti. He also refuses to marry Ann Mary.

Arti is diagnosed with AIDS, resulting which, Tanuj refuses to marry Arti. When Gaurav hears about this news, he comes back to India. He tells Arti that he wants to marry her. Arti refuses, but he compels her. He forces her to marry him. The two families marry Gaurav and Arti in a private ceremony, without any extravagance- but there is a atmosphere of gloom,

Gaurav insists everybody to cheer up. He wants to fill happiness in whatever life Arti is left with. Doctors confirm that Arti may not live longer than ten years. Arti comments, after her marriage- that this could be a gift to Gaurav, as he may not endure her more than ten years and after which he can regain his seat in the board of directors of their fathers company and possibly marry any other girl he wants. Gaurav feels embarrassed by Arti's offer. He asks her to only think about the both of them.

Gaurav rejoins his father's company, but is not looking at his career. Suddenly he feels a love towards Arti, not possessiveness but a desire to provide and take care of Arti. He takes her to various pilgrimages/ temples those she had desired to visit, he tries to keep her happy by cooking meals for her and calling her after every short while from his office. Arti's condition is deteriorating. She is slowly loosing health. Gaurav is pained to see her suffer.

Seven years after their marriage, Arti is reduced to complete hospital care and bed ridden. She asks Gaurav for a favour. She asks him to call Ann Mary to India. Gaurav calls Ann and asks her to come to India immediately. Ann comes and meets Arti and the family. Arti requests Ann to marry Gaurav in front of her own eyes, while she is alive. She says that she wants to see Gaurav happy. She asks Gaurav to produce a child with Ann. Hesitantly Gaurav concedes to Arti's demands. He makes love to Ann, as Arti grieves in pain of her disease.

Ann gives birth to Gaurav's child. Arti, at that time very feeble and weak, adopts the child- a boy as her own. She names him Shalabh. An year later- she dies.

Gaurav is reinstated to the position of a Director in the managing board of his father's company- but he decides to spend the rest of his life in India. Mary Ann gives up her job in US and lives with him for the rest of their lives- in India.