Why did I have to fall in love with Rose? Out of all the girls in the world, in India,in the city... why did I fall in love with her?

It was a drab Chennai morning. That day. I finished taking my engineeringcourse, but only for my family’s happiness.I decided to finally tell my dad I that want to be a film maker. A director. To beamongst the top movie makers of Tamil cinema. Then Hindi cinema. Next, I willlearn Hindi and start working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and other directorial legends. Then I will go international. Hollywood. My aim.

My dad, he is a teacher. He always wants to save time. Always. Instead ofbuttons on his shirt, he will stick Velcro on the underside. He writes with bothhands simultaneously. I think you can call him efficient, or autistic.

So, now I had told him. He did not seem as shocked as I thought. He asked mewho I wanted to work with first. I said Gautham Menon. He replied with a contradiction, “but he takes 2 years to make a film”.

I say, “Maybe that’s why they are so good.” We talked for a long time.

Then I saw Rose for the first time. She paced across the street, seeming to be inmoderate rush. I was standing behind the white gate. The one in front of ourapartment. She stood in front of me, in her blue sari. She was telling mesomething- but I did not pay any attention to her words. Her long hair flowed inthe wind. Her facial expressions formed anger and distress. I started to payattention to what she was saying.“Please open the gate and move so I can go to my apartment”

“You live here?!”

“Yes.”I opened the gate quickly. That was all. She left. Meeting her after a heated discussion was like an aura of positivity. At this point I didn’t even know her name. So, I just stalked her. When she was putting herfamily’s clothes on the washing line on the balcony-roof, I went too. She didn’t speak and just ignored me.