Karname( Screen play)

KARNAME
Chapter-I ( The Event)
(Scene1)
Ext-22nd May 2006. Jee Jeeboy towers its 8:30 am early morning a sea of people moving through dalal street all heading to their work place.
Narrator: This is ‘The Bombay Stock Exchange’ a symbol of trade and commerce for hundreds of years. Today it symbolizes stability, trust and most important of all, the Indian Financial System. It has always been an indicator of the nation’s mood and mood swings. All of India’s ups and all the downs are accounted for here. For centuries the stock market and its businesses have revolved around a few. It has always included people like Mr. Hitesh.
(Scene 2)
Int- In a lobby of an old building with Victorian architecture. Hitesh is an over weight man in his mid forties he is wearing his usual Khadi suit which complements his gold rimed glasses, gold jewelry and an expensive gold wristwatch. He walks with difficulty towards the elevator when a dubba wala brushes past him which infuriates him. As he approaches the elevator the elevator attendant open the door in a crisp manner. At that very moment he pretends to challenge the dabba wala who is long gone.
Hitesh: Can’t you watch where you are going!! You there I am talking to you!
Hitesh now content with his fake display of bravery boards the lift along with three other amused brokers.

Scene 3
Int: As the archaic elevator begins to move Hitesh is dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief while panting profusely.
Broker1:Good Morning Sirji.
Broker2: Hitesh Seth good morning.
Hitesh: (In a Sindhi accent) Good Morning.
Broker3: Saab what’s your call on Malhotra Cements?
Hitesh: How would I know?
Broker1: Kya bolteh hai seth; you always know plus aaph keh pass BSE ka direct terminal bhi toh hai.
Broker2: Sir what’s your view on the market today?
Hitesh: (In an agitated voice) When will you boys stop asking these same questions? Why don’t you pay more attention to research than asking me everyday?

Scene 4
Int- A large office which house around 100 employees; Hitesh enters the office and walks briskly towards his cabin. All the employees present in the office stand and greet Hitesh as he walks past them. Pankaj a senior employee follows Hitesh holding few bunched up papers in his hand.
Pankaj: Good Morning sir! Our new branch is ready and its systems are online. These are today’s reports on world markets.
Hitesh turns towards Pankaj who hands over the documents to Hitesh. There are large Plasma screens on the office walls showing a plethora of market information from different parts of the world. The employees of Hitesh have begun their day they start talking enthusiastically in a loud manner. The commotion and the high-tech workstations in the office look impressive enough to fool anyone into mistaking this office for the BSE’s control room.

(Scene 5)
Hitesh enters his cabin and the high decibled activity outside his cabin is buffered to an extent. Now that he is in his cabin he hurriedly prays to a framed picture of his guru who oddly looks like the Laughing Buddha. He goes through the reports handed to him by Pankaj. He puts the paper down on his cluttered desk and picks up the receiver of one of his three phones; he glances at an expensive computer monitor which displays BOLT (BSE On Line Trade system) while dialing a number.
Hitesh: Aaj ka kya tip hai? Ambuja uthana hai ke thokna hai……
END



The Diversity of Players
(Scene 6)
Multiple scenes in one shot with series of brokers from all over the country exchanging notes over the phone with each other doing what Hitesh just did.

Scene 7
Int- An early morning local train; people from different walks of life can be seen few taking a quick nap few busy talking on their cell phones.
Man1: (In his mid 30s a blue collared worker) Rana ke 100 uthalo.
Woman: ( 20 year old call-center employee looking all tired from her late night shift her speech reflects fatigue) Tata ka 20 bech dena.

Scene 8
Int: A room with posters of Metal and rock artists like Iron Maiden the room has a very rebellious touch to it with bright coloured walls and clothes all over the bed.
A 19 yr old boy appears to be sitting away from his computer and playing an air guitar while listening to some music. He then slides towards his computer on his chair and begins working on his computer; the computer screen is filled with statistics and images as seen in Hitesh’s office plasma screens.


Scene9
Int: A middle-class house where in the hall besides the dining table lies a computer mounted on a ready-made computer table. The sound of a pressure cooker’s whistle can be heard. The lady of the house enters the hall sits in front of the PC she wipes her face with her sari’s dupatta before trading on-line, the monitor of her PC also shows the BOLT.


Scene 10
Int: A barbers shop where everyone is looking lazy and laidback most of them discussing politics. A man in his Thirties shady rough faced talks on his cell phone while getting a haircut.

Man2: “Ashim ke 200 Uthale”

Scene 11
Int: NDTV PROFIT studio where a senior news anchor PRANOY gets ready for his show, he is to air the views and sentiments of key players in the stock-market. Behind the studio lies their operation cell where executives dressed in formal attire call-up people they comprise of few Punjabis, South Indian busy on their workstations looking in distress. A make-up artist readies Pranoy while a technician pins the microphone on Pranoy’s shirt.

Pranoy: Where are my stories and the interview lists?!
Pranoy ‘s Junior: Sir they are all busy and unavailable for comments.
Pranoy: What?! Call Ramnathan I am shure..
Pranoy ‘s Junior: Sir he has said no.
Pranoy: Ok try Pathikh then; Boss you can’t be so lax man.
Pranoy ‘s Junior: He is not talking our call in-fact he disconnected my last call.
Pranoy now looks and sounds tensed.
Pranoy: So h-o-w am I to conduct this damn show?
He picks his cell phone and dials a number.
Pranoy: (In a concerned voice) Avinash is every thing ok?...I mean no one’s ready to comment on the market and…

Scene 12
Int: A dimly lit presentation room where a large projection screen displays the current market movements. Avinash the lead banker of the country’s most powerful cartel answers in a calm and poised manner with a confident smile.

Avinash: Relax…. Its always like this I am in a boardroom meet we‘ll talk it over dinner.
His smile freezes, an uncomfortable feeling creeps over him after he disconnects the phone. There is chaos in the boardroom the level of noise is begins to rise with every passing minute.

Banker1: I am sure it is one of Abhishek’s moves.
Banker2: This is a conspiracy and I am sure you are a part of this!
Banker2 point accusingly at one of the bankers present in the presentation room.
Avinash: Relax people. If you haven’t already noticed then let me tell you all our stocks are being hit. Ravi tell me is it possible that there could be some one new is doing this?
END

The Meltdown

Scene13
Int: Hitesh’s office where a long row of brokers are taking and executing the order on phones and computer. The level of panic seems to be increasing and the noise deafening. The employee at the end of the row stops taking calls and looks frustrated and panic stricken. The dead wall behind the employee has a poster showing a picture of cheetah with the quotes “A broker without aggression is a cheetah without teeth.” –Sharecheetah.com
The crowd settles down and the room is now filled with a deafening silence all the phone sets light up.

Hitesh: (Comes out hurriedly alarmed over the mood of the atmosphere.) What’s going on here?!
He doesn’t get a reply amidst the silence all keep looking at a large Plasma screen on the wall which now displays a graph depicting the mood of the Sensex. The graph on the screen shows the market crashing and a red arrow pointing down with a blinking figure of 1000pts.

Empoyee1: (whispers) How could this be
Empoyee2: (whispers) How can the market fall this fast and at this level?
Empoyee3: (whispers) It’s not even fluctuating? The graph looks unreal it has defied all our predictions.
Hitesh begins to sweat profusely.
Empoyee1: (whispers) It’s like the market is tamed and predictable
Hitesh looks shocked as the giant screen reads 1023pts down in a bold Red color.
Empoyee3: (whispers) It’s all over now, all our client investments wiped out.
Employee2: What are we going to do now and what about our investments?
His army of a hundred look at him for direction. His head begins to swirl His legs begin to weaken they can’t support his body he begins to fall. Time for him has stopped his staff engrossed with the overflow of bad news are not in the state to support him; they fail in reaching Hitesh’s aid as he loses consciousness it all happens to him so quickly yet gruelingly slow from his perspective. Hitesh feels as if he is falling in slow motion.