In the bustling room, every participant seemed wary of each other as they took their seats and started to read the script. This was a small part of the glorious filmy city in which an audition was being held for a soap advertisement. After passing through the first batch of the online look test, only a handful of thirty participants were asked to come for audition and the project was worth the effort.
The country's leading herbal cosmetic brand wanted a fresh face to be their new model for their new line of herbal soap and for which many major entertainment companies had sent their best fresh rookies for the audition.
One should know, in the glamour world, one's backing was as important as was one's look, so those who were associated with big production houses and entertainment companies were too sure to bag the role.
Almost everyone had appeared except a few and those who were already present could not help but look down on them for being unprofessional. Though some were happy as there was less competition, meaning they might have had a chance to win the role.
"From participants one to five"
An assistant's voice echoed in the bustling room and the first five models prepared themselves to showcase their talents.
One by one, four groups of five participants had finished their audition and only six people came out successful.
When the next group of five participants went on, the bustling room completely fell into silence.
Among the seven participants, Neha Singh, a nineteen-year-old beauty belonging to Glory Entertainment company. She had looks, connections and money and was absolutely sure of getting the role when the last participant hurriedly made her way to the audition room.
Unlike the rest of them who were wearing western clothes, she made her way wrapped in a beautiful white saree with a red border. Her natural black wavy hair fell all the way down to her back and the red lipstick on her face enhanced her beauty. The moment she stepped inside, everyone was momentarily frozen, admiring her looks and feeling envious at the same time. Neha Singh adjusted herself after glancing at the beauty who mesmerized everyone and then chuckled slightly.
"Some people have no professionalism and work ethics at all. We have all been here for two hours, giving our best for the audition, while some people are treating this whole thing like a child's play."
Neha Singh's voice made everyone come back to their senses and their earlier looks of admiration slowly turned into frowns.
"That's right, I hope those people will never get work in this industry."
Someone chipped in and others nodded their heads.
Maya ignored everyone's comments and solely focused on her script. She was already late because of traffic and, judging from the crowd, she knew she had much less time to prepare.
Two minutes later, the last group of participants were called and Maya entered with four others.
The casting directors had already been dejected. Seeing poor displays of talent, they had no hope of the last group at all. But when they saw Maya, everyone's eyes flickered with hope.
"You there in the saree. Can you tell me why you chose to wear a saree instead of a dress?"
One of the casting directors asked, without looking at the information provided to him about the participants.
Maya did not take it to heart as she stepped forward and turned, giving everyone a brief look.
"Hello, my name is Maya Malhotra, and I'm 24 years old. From my research I got to know the company's latest line of herbal soap is targeting the upper class of society and that's why I thought of showing up looking traditional and elegant. I wanted to leave a royal princess like feel on everyone's heart."
Her sweet voice echoed in the room and the three casting directors were left mesmerized. The girl in front of them had looks, a logistic approach and a sweet voice. They had almost found their model for the advertisement and in order to do that they asked her to do a few more things.
The rest of the participants were asked to get off the stage, leaving Maya Malhotra in the limelight as she performed the lines suggested by the casting directors. Each of her frames looked great, and everyone present inside looked pleased. Just like that, she was confirmed for the advertisement and the result was announced.
Outside the room, the one who looked enraged was Neha Singh as she stormed off from the site. She had invested so much of her time and yet the result was all the same.
"Hmmphh.. I will see that bitch."
Angrily muttering to herself, she immediately called her manager to vent out her anger as it was her manager who pushed her for this particular advertisement.
Meanwhile, in the room, the directors took a few look tests and, as usual, Maya Malhotra aced each. They wanted to sign her for the project and in order to do that they needed her manager to be present. She left her contact details before bidding goodbye and immediately called her manager to inform her of the good news. It had only been a month since she arrived in the film city, so she was still unfamiliar with a lot of things in the industry. However, since she was with Born Star Entertainment, which was one of the leading entertainment companies, she was assured about not being wronged.
The negotiations went on smoothly, and she signed the contract the next day. A few days later, she appeared on the same set to shoot the advertisement, but this time she felt a completely different feeling. Everyone present on the set was a professional, and she was quickly escorted to her green room. She put on traditional princess clothes and her hair was braided accordingly. She patiently sat as the hairdresser and make-up artist did their job and her brain memorizing the script. Once everything was finished, she took a look at herself and a smile of satisfaction spread across her lips. Taking a few selfies for vinstagram, she appeared on the set.
Her manager, Nikita, stared at her for a few seconds before giving her a look of approval and encouraging her to do her best.
As per the instructions, Maya performed very well with only a few retakes. As she gently held the soap and took a whiff of its scent, her expression was just right. She looked intrigued and pleased but not overbearing. In five hours, everything was completely done and everyone thanked each other for good cooperation.
After going through post-production, the company was very satisfied with the result. They released the advertisement on a Sunday and encouraged everyone to pre-book for a slot. The moment the advertisement was aired, everyone was hooked on seeing the royal princess on the big screen and started to search for everything about her.
"Oh my Godd, who is she?"
"Is she for real?"
"Nahh... I can't believe she is a natural beauty."
"Fuck, she looks so hot and sexy."
"What soap is this? I want to try one."
"It's available for pre-book. Let's go gang, I'm already registering for a slot."
"Me too."
The internet was filled with hashtags related to the new soap advertisement by the herbal company and the model who featured in it. Soon it became a trending topic and Maya's vinstagram profile circulated on other platforms. The followers on her page in all social media accounts increased drastically as she gained around 50k followers with an advertisement.
The company was beyond happy with the audience's reaction and decided to release some behind the scenes and a few sneak peaks. Those things flamed the fire more and soon Maya became the hottest sensation.
While everyone was busy fawning over her, the girl in sensation was completely unaware of everything. In fact, she was busy finishing the latest batch of books she had ordered online and was completely immersed in her own world.
Around noon, when the servants came to ask her for lunch, she finally put down her book and got up from her bed. Leisurely walking towards the dining area, she picked up her phone which was in silent mode and activated it back to general.
She looked at the food prepared and then smiled brightly at aunt Wu, who had prepared the food.
"Thank you for the food."
Expressing her gratitude, she was about to take her first bite when her phone rang, and she saw the caller ID.
The moment the call was picked, an over-enthusiastic voice greeted her from the other side.
"Babe, where have you been since morning? Do you know what has happened already? Let me tell you the whole internet is in uproar over you, and you are trending along with your advertisement and our company. A few netizens have already dubbed you the national crush."
Maya started at her food in disbelief as she heard her manager Nikita's voice from the other side. But soon a faint smile appeared on her lips which seemed enchanting and dangerous at the same time.