JFFS: Chandni Chowk To China AGAIN

Sidhu (Akshay Kumar) returns to India along with Sakhi (Deepika Padukone), her twin sister Suzy and their father Chiang. Sidhu and Sakhi get married and they, along with Chopstick (Ranvir Shorey), open a high-end Chinese restaurant in the city. Soon they all get very busy with the day to day workings of the restaurant. The two sisters become really enthused about making it the best Chinese restaurant in Delhi and their father helps them in all their ambitious initiatives. But Sidhu soon gets very detached with the set-up…

Sidhu starts missing the feeling of fun and achievement that he had experienced when he had learnt martial arts from his father-in-law. Although his revenge is now over, he still has that urge in him to go out and do something big. He is convinced that he is not meant to live a normal life. So to pamper his urges he starts teaching martial arts to kids and youngsters in nearby Colony Park in the evenings. Soon his evening classes gain a lot of popularity and even oldies start enrolling for them- and those who don’t start visiting the classes just to enjoy the spectacle. Among all his students he takes a particular liking for a spirited twelve year old boy Krishna who soon becomes his favorite pupil. After a few weeks for his classes, he organizes a competition within his pupils to exhibit their skills to the world. For this competition Sidhu invites all famous people of his area. His father-in-law, a martial arts expert himself, also attends and accepts to open the show with a fun match with Sidhu- in which Sidhu gets well and truly beaten initially but then recovers to make some solid moves. The competition then begins and Krishna defeats a much taller, stronger, and older opponent to lift the cup. Thus Krishna well and truly becomes Sidhu’s beloved student- almost like a son.

Soon after the competition Sidhu visits Krishna’s home. He meets his widowed mother. In Krishna’s bedroom he accidently discovers a photograph hidden beneath the bed-sheet. It’s a photo of the boy along with his younger looking mother and his late father. When Sidhu sees the picture he gets a huge shock. The man in the picture is none other than his beloved Dada (Mithun Chakravorty) who was killed because of that villain in China. Sidhu confronts Krishna’s mother who tells him something which is most astonishing. She tells him his Dada was a secret RWA agent who was working incognito for his organization and keeping a check on a lot of notorious activities that take place in the Old Delhi and Chandni Chowk area. He used to keep his family life a secret from the world so that his enemies could not use his wife and son as bait against him. When he had died, some members of the RAW had visited their home to offer condolences and pay their last respects to her- at least that’s what she had thought at that point in time. But later she understood that what they really needed was a file that her husband had compiled on a lot that goes on in the area. His colleagues couldn’t find the file. But some unknown people started following her and her son wherever they went. She wanted her son to be strong and that’s why she sent him to the martial arts class.

After hearing everything, Sidhu urges the two of them to move in with him. To him they were his family- perhaps even a bit more than just family. They accept his offer. For the next few days Sidhu keeps revising in his head all his Dada had told him. He is convinced that the secret of the file was inside him- and he just had to find it. This one mission to recall that very secret starts haunting his life. He starts rewinding all his memories with Dada for that one clue.

One day when he, his father-in-law, and Krishna make their way back from their martial art class, a group of miscreants attack Krishna and pick him up before either of the two grown-ups can do anything. They chase the goons and free Krishna- finally getting to use their martial art skills in a non-simulative situation. Krishna also makes some smashing kicks and punches- and the three of them exchange high-fives. Krishna then points towards a rare rainbow in the sky. As soon as Sidhu sees the rainbow he instantly remembers something that Dada used to tell him often.

“Indradhanush ke ant mein sone ka matka hai. Yeh sabko pata hai par aaj kal kisi ke paas waqt nahin hai us tak pahunchne ka.”

This abstract sentence used to befuddle him earlier- but today Sidhu makes a little sense of it. He starts to run back towards Chandni Chowk. Within no time he reaches his old shop- his dada’s shop. He enters their old room. Their on the wall is printed a rainbow that runs into the other room. He follows it and comes to the end of the rainbow. He looks around and spots a switch under the bed- right at the end of the rainbow. The presses the switch and a small crevice becomes visible. He looks inside and finds a note.

“Ajay, if you have found this note it means that there is a high probability that I would be dead. The file is present where it should be. Make the best use of it.”

Sidhu cannot remember his Dada mentioning about Ajay to him. In fact he knew no one called with that name. Sidhu returns to his home and asks Krishna and his mother about Ajay. She tells him that a certain Ajay Sharma was Dada’s colleague in RAW and also a very good friend. The next day Sidhu looks up for Ajay Sharma and visits his home along with Dada’s wife. Ajay Sharma’s wife opens the door and tells that that her husband hadn’t been home for the past two months or so. She further tells them that she was not worried at all as her husband had done such things in the past too- that was the nature of his work. But she also tells them that this time she was really angry because he had not even tried contacting her in the two months. Not even a phone call.

Sidhu finds everything fishy- also the fact that the note had found him- and not Ajay. But he has no leads to work upon except that note which was designed in a manner that it could be understood only by Ajay. He reaches home, only to find it deserted. He goes to the restaurant and discovers that only his employees were present- and none of his family members. On the way back he is apprehended by two unidentified men- they tell him that all his family had been kidnapped by them-

“We want that file in the next six hours”

Before Sidhu can say anything they run off after leaving a visiting card in his pocket- he spends the next few minutes roaming around and completely dazed- not knowing what to do (Rahat Ali sad song in background) - after an hour or two he takes out the card and sees the address- and decides to go there and face everything head on. He borrows a car and makes his way out of the city- to the outskirts- a few narrow lanes lead him to a place from where a huge bungalow is in sight- he parks the car some distance away and reaches the bungalow- makes his way to a side wall- climbs a tree and enters clandestinely. Next few minutes are spent making his way inside the building- and once he does that- he spends the next few minutes searching for his family- all the while making sure that no one spots him- and if someone does, making sure that that someone is not able to tell anyone else about it.

Finally he reaches the room where his family is locked in- he meets them- they tell him that Ajay had already been kidnapped by the mates of the people who had kidnapped them- he was present in the same room- completely bruised and shattered- unable to speak and move. Before Sidhu can reach Ajay the goons enter the room and capture him. They beat him black and blue- and he is unable to return the favor as his family is held hostage at gunpoint.

“Where is the file?”

Sidhu looks at his wife, her sister, her father- and the first thing that comes to his mind is – CHINA.

“The file is in China- Dada took it with him when he went there.”

“With whom in China?”

“We don’t know where he left it.”

The goons go off and leave all of them in the room. Sidhu walks up to Ajay and shows him the note. Ajay tells him that Dada had indeed taken the file with him to China- and the note indicates the same. The file had been left by Dada in the city he had died. According to an old organizational division practice- before going on a dangerous mission the officer is supposed to leave secret items/information with the person who he trusts the most. In China the person he trusted the most would have been none other than Sidhu...

Sidhu, his father-in-law, and Suzy then go together to find that file. Krishna, Sakhi, Ajay, and Ajay’s wife remains as hostages. Upon reaching China they start visiting all the places where Sidhu had been with his bag. Sidhu was more than convinced that Dada would have kept the file in his bag. If only he would have taken the bag back to India- or even cared about it. Then Sidhu realizes that he had left the bag in Hugo’s den when he was fighting it. They make a few enquires and learn that indeed a bag was found and that it was kept in a safe in Hugo’s son’s house. Hugo’s son was sure that Sidhu would be back for the bag and he would get his revenge.

Sidhu, his master, and his daughter Suzy reach Hugo’s son’s den- an ultimate martial art showdown with them finding the file.

Meanwhile Krishna keeps reading a note that Sidhu had left him.

“here is a map of this bungalow. When you get a signal- escape from this place- I am convinced you can do it- and help everyone escape.”

When Sidhu finds the file he starts doing an old martial art trick of telepathy- Krishna, asleep at that time, gets the signal in his dreams. Wasting no time he and others start escaping from the place- Krishna making full use of his martial artistry.

They succeed. A day later Sidhu and others join them. File is handed over to Ajay who takes it to RAW and finishes Dada’s unfinished business. Dada’s son Krishna is sent to a special training camp to hone his skills. The goodbye between Sidhu and Krishna is just the beginning of a truly wonderful relationship.

THE END

JFFS: Munnabhai 3 (Munna bana Leader)

Munna and Circuit are leading their lives jolly well- Breaking bones, breaking homes, abducting, and looting for money. They have just one rule- that they won’t harm someone who they feel is innocent. And this rule makes it very tough for powerful men in the city to get them to do some of the work they desire them to do. Apart from their more action oriented business, Munna and his aides also own a café that is popular amongst youngsters and common people of their area. It is in this café that Munna spots Sneha and falls hopelessly in love with her.

Sneha frequents the café with a friend of hers. Soon Munna stars to follow Sneha around in the city- like a teenager tracking his crush. He learns that she is a worker for a popular political party Jan Sevak Dal (JSD) and that she is in charge of campaigning and promotions for the party in Munna’s area. To woo her, Munna abandons his ‘real’ business and he and Circuit go and volunteer for the Party Sneha works for. Munna promises Sneha that her party would get the maximum votes in the area, and for ensuring the same he starts going from home to home to promoting the party and its manifesto. Munna enjoys tremendous goodwill in the area because of his warm and helpful nature. However he finds it tough to hide his real ‘business’ from Sneha as she starts to accompany him door to door. Circuit and his other cronies start to visit the homes at night to warn their residents of not revealing Munna’s true nature of work in front of Sneha the next day when she and Munna visit them.

With the help of their efforts JSD MLA wins the elections from their area, and in fact gets record number of votes. Pleased with the efforts, Sneha takes them to meet the party MLA who had expressed to her the wish thanking Munna personally. Along with the party MLA, there are many other important people in the MLA’s house, including the state party head who recognizes Munna as someone who had once refused to do some work for him. There, he asks Munna and his friends to work for the party in the central assembly elections four months away. Although not wanting to do it in the least, Munna agrees to their request on Sneha’s behest. As a part of the Central Assembly Election campaign for JSD, Munna and Circuit start a journey of travelling across cities and towns and villages in western India. Accompanied by Sneha, they visit hundreds of homes and meet thousands of people urging them to vote for JSD. But for Munna, the whole initiative takes a drastic turn when he meets SUNIL in one of the villages.

Sunil is a highly educated city fellow who had returned from US after completing his studies to start an NGO that catered to health, education, and sanitation issues in the heartlands of the country. Like the JSD party workers, he too is in the middle of an extensive travel assignment, but he is doing it to map the kind of issues that are plaguing the people in the villages so that he can direct his efforts more effectively. When he meets Munna and Sneha and learns about their campaigning, he decides to club his travel with their travel, on the pretext of having some company while he does his job.

Meanwhile Munna starts getting some instructions which don’t make moral sense to him. At the same time, pushed and apprised by Sunil, he starts seeing their tour in a whole new light altogether. He starts seeing the massive loopholes in the system, the massive negligence shown by the administration, the plights of the people, the exploitation, the disregard for law and order. After seeing all this, it becomes more and more difficult for him to ask people for votes. Sneha tries to tell him that nothing can be changed, and that such things are part and parcel of the system. Munna challenges her that it can be changed, and he would do it himself. He asks her for her support. But she refuses…

Munna returns to Mumbai and along with Circuit, and with the support of Sunil, decides to take the plunge and fight the elections as an independent candidate from his area. Sunil however tells him that this decision of his’, to fight the elections from his own area, makes no sense as people anyway love him and would vote for him and that it would defeat the purpose of the whole exercise. Munna then tells him that he would contest the elections from any region that Sunil chooses. Sunil chooses one of the most underdeveloped constituencies of the state, which has seen JSD rule it for the past 30 years.

Munna and Circuit relocate to the particular constituency and set-up their office there. Sunil joins them as a consultant. With the help of a corporate friend of his’ who provides them support (as a part of the CSR function of the corporate) they change the face of the entire area. Just as they start generating a lot of goodwill amongst the people, the JSD team arrives in the area with their workers (Sneha among them) and their leader.

There begins a battle of speeches- The seasoned JSD leader vs. Munna- the thug with a heart… The keenly contested battle catches the fancy of the media too, and the work that Munna and his friends do with the help of Sunil for the area starts getting showcased on TV channels all over. The little constituency becomes the center of attraction for the entire electoral campaign in the state… Meanwhile Sneha tries to meet Munna, but he refuses her this time round.

The D-day comes, and the area sees a huge turnout at the polling booths. Circuit and his men scatter all across the polling centers with the aim of preventing any frivolous act. Munna himself goes to cast his vote, and spots Sneha inside the polling booth. She manages to convey to him that she had voted for him, and not for her own party JSD. The results are declared a few days later and Munna unexpectedly loses the elections. It comes as a shock to everyone. But someone realizes that that there was another candidate with Munna’s name planted by the opposition party as an independent candidate, and hence the votes for him got divided and the incumbent player emerged the winner.

But Munna, despite losing, considers his objective achieved. The area had been completely transformed by him in terms of efficiency and effectiveness of civic amenities, health, education, and sanitation. And all it had taken him was thinking straight and thinking from the heart. Sunil tries to convince Munna about continuing in active politics, but Munna declines the offer. He moves back to the café, his people, and his area- with his love along his side.

JFFS: Dostana 2

So at the end of D-1 Neha gets hitched to Abhimanyu. So what happens to Sam and Kunal? What happens to their Dostana?

Sam and Kunal start their lives again, away from that apartment and those fun filled moments. But they realize that they can’t get over their true feelings for Neha and they both remind each other of her and the fun times they had together. They decide to help one another in finding new partners but that all efforts go in vain. In fact it is because of the presence of the other in their lives that they can’t fall in love again. So they decide to end their friendship and stay away from each other until they find their respective matches.

So, Sam and Kunal are once again on their own- like they were at the beginning of D-1. On his mother’s insistence Sam goes over and visits her. There, his mother has already found a nice girl for him and wants him to get married to her. Sam doesn’t want in the least, but on his mother’s insistence meets the girl, Ayesha, and finds her really nice (read hot). So he decides to give marriage a chance thinking that in any case he has to move on in life. So Sam and Ayesha get married and proceed to go for a honeymoon on a cruise. Once on the cruise Sam gets a shocker and finds that Kunal is there with his girlfriend…

All this while, when Sam was in London, Kunal manages to fall in love with Sonam- a hotshot model who he had once photographed for a magazine. Kunal and Sonam don’t rush into a marriage and decide to know each other better by going on a holiday together. They get an opportunity in the form of a cruise on which a small film is being shot in which Sonam has landed up a role. Kunal too becomes a photographer with the film crew and they both join the cruise- with the intention of mixing work with pleasure.

Kunal too is as astonished to find Sam on the same cruise. However, they once again bond- over drinks- and introduce their respective partners to one another. But there is a shock in waiting for them. Neha’s ex boss (Boman Irani) too is on the cruise. He still thinks that Sam and Kunal are a gay couple. He is baffled to learn that both of them are with girls. He confronts Sam and chides him that he had suppressed his natural instincts because of his mother and had ended up marrying a girl. He thinks Kunal is just passing his time by going out with Sonam as Sam has broken his heart by marrying Ayesha. He sympathizes with Kunal. Now both Sam and Kunal have to prevent Neha’s ex boss (‘NEB’) from fulfilling his mission of telling Ayesha everything.

Meanwhile the cruise reaches a small island. Sam and Kunal go out together for some sightseeing, taking NEB with them, so as to keep him away from Ayesha and Sonam. But just when the ship is leaving NEB falls in a trench. In saving him, all the three of them are left stranded on the island and the ship goes away. Frustrated, they explore the island. They find it to be a very small one with just a few locals and a very few English speaking ones. Just as they think that the things couldn’t go any worse, a group of local goons attack them and take all their money and possessions. They spend the night in the jungles and when the sun rises they get up determined to get out of the mess. They reach a small hotel. They are shocked to find that the hotel’s owner recognizes them. He had been at the party where Sam and Kunal had kissed each other in front of Neha and Abhimanyu. He has a very little English but they manage to tell him that they had been robbed and had missed the ship. The owner then tells them that there was a vacancy where they could earn some money at one go. They decide to trust him- for they had no other choice. To Sam and Kunal’s horror and NEB’s delight, they take them to a strip club with a large number of people (both guys and gals) waiting for them to start the show. They go through hell and just as they are leaving the strip club, Sam spots someone he knew very well. It’s Sunaina. His first love. The girl with whom he had made love for the first time. He is shocked to find her in a completely inebriated state along with a group of other hippies. He runs over to her but she recognizes him in an instant. His heart takes a huge lurch. He takes her away from her group and away from Kunal and NEB. They both spend the night chatting away and recalling their past memories. Sam realizes that Sunaina had been always his first love and even Neha’s memories faded in her presence.

Meanwhile the next day Ayesha and Sonam return to the island in a steamer. They find Kunal and NEB and rush over to them. Ayesha asks Kunal about Sam. Kunal realizes that there could be big trouble if Ayesha found Sunaina with Sam. He rushes over to Sam and finds him locked in an embrace with Sunaina. He confronts him and tells him that his wife was on the island. Sam has to return to the cruise but before leaving he promises Sunaina that he would be back for her. On the cruise Sam realizes that Ayesha had fallen madly in love with him and he couldn’t ask her to separate. And then it strikes to him. He had to do it again. He and Kunal once again pretend to be gays and create raucous on the cruise. NEB is thrilled that both of them had overcome their unnatural instincts and were back together. Kunal tells Sonam that they are play-acting but Ayesha is shocked and completely heartbroken. She tries to make Sam realize her love for him and tries to seduce him to ‘better things’ but all her efforts prove futile and ultimately she has to leave the cruise completely shattered.

Sam, Kunal and Sonam return to the island to find Sunaina. But there is another twist awaiting them. They find that Sunaina is Abhimanyu’s sister and Neha and Abhimanyu were on the island visiting her. Kunal spots Neha and this time it’s him who finds his heart take a lurch. He looks at her and then looks at Sonam and then realizes that he could never forget Neha and could never do justice to some other girlfriend. But he is not able to tell Sonam all this. So once again they do what they are best at and pretend to be gays, telling Sonam that in the process of play-acting on the cruise, they had actually fallen in love with each other. Sonam too, leaves the island in a huff.

Meanwhile cracks have started to appear in Abhimanyu and Neha’s marriage. Neha has been a fantastic mother but professional differences and different opinions on most things at work have started to trouble their life at home. Abhimanyu had realized that Neha could be very infuriating in matters of work and he had begun to regret their marriage. But the only thing that had kept them together was his son and Neha’s love for him. They had come to the island to try to patch up their differences. But when Neha spots Kunal and Sam she finds no time for Abhimanyu. The three of them recall their Dostana and have fun together; only difference being that Sunaina joins them. Kunal starts to woo Neha when he realizes that things were not right between her and Abhimanyu. Neha too has always had a part of her, which had loved Kunal and that part takes over her entire existence because of his charm and she too is smitten by him. Abhimanyu too realizes Kunal and Neha’s feelings for each other and he and Neha decide to take a divorce. The only thing that stops Neha is her bond with Abhimanyu’s son. But Abhimanyu thinks of a solution. Abhimanyu tells her that he has decided to move to India to establish their businesses there and their son could stay with them if she would like it. Neha is thrilled. Abhimanyu tells his son to love Neha as a mother and that he would be always there for him and would come to meet him often.

So a new Dostana begins with two grand marriages. Sunaina and Sam. Kunal and Neha.

JFFS: Bhool Bhulaiya 2

This is the first post in a new series I am starting on the blog- 'Just for Fun Sequels' (JFFSs). Every other day, sequels for many successful films are announced- though ultimately only a handful do get actually made. Here I would post some possible continuations for some of our popular films that actually deserve a sequel. This is an attempt by me to keep my creative juices active- and add a different color to the blog- the color of imagination and endless possibilities... 

Radha (Amisha Patel) gives her consent and she and Dr. Aditya (Akshay Kumar) get married in an elaborate ceremony in Varanasi, after which Aditya returns to the US, taking Radha along. They start living a charmed life together, until their marital bliss gets interrupted by an assignment that comes in Aditya’s hands.

Strange happenings are reported from the ancient town of Angkor (Cambodia) where a team of five US archaeologists had gone to study the ancient scriptures and learn more about the Khmer dynasty. At the outskirts of the town, they had made an extraordinary discovery. They had found a hidden passage to one of the outer chambers of the great temple Angkor Wat. The chamber consisted of a huge replica of the painting of Suryavarman II, the king who commissioned the construction of the temple, the original for which was a popular tourist attraction in the south gallery of the temple. The painting showed the king seated on an elaborate wooden dais whose legs and railings were carved to resemble naga snakes, and with him holding a small dead snake in his right hand. Beneath the painting were written a few words in Sanskrit that meant “The secret to success lies in the weakness of the enemy”.

The archeologists had decided to remove the painting from the chamber, believing it to be the key to many hidden facts about the ancient kingdom. They had taken the painting to their base camp on the outskirts of the city. The very night, there was a huge storm and a heavy downpour. It had seemed that the skies were angry, and were expressing their displeasure by thunder and lightning. Their base camp too had got struck by a bout of lightening that resulted in the death of one of their team members. Not only this, the next five days resulted in the death of two others in freak accidents. The remaining two Jim and Sunil had got a feeling that their removal of the painting had somehow triggered this mishap on them. Fearing for their lives, they had decided to restore the painting. The very next day, they took the painting to the chamber that they had discovered and restored the painting. But while getting out, Sunil had got struck on the head by something and had fallen unconscious. When Sunil regained consciousness, he discovered that Jim had gone, and so had the painting. Mightily shaken by the whole proceedings, he had wasted no time in reaching the city and taking a flight back to US.

After reaching US, Sunil gets a bit disillusioned and starts getting really bad dreams. He contacts Sidhharth (Shiney Ahuja), a good friend of his, who refers him to Aditya. Aditya hears him out but refuses to go forward with the case- sighting the fact of him being a psychiatrist and not a mystery solver. But on Sidhharth’s insistence, and Radha’s encouragement, Aditya decides to visit the Archaeological Institute of USA- Sunil’s employers. There he finds out the nitty-gritties of the mission gone wrong in Cambodia. But Sunil hides everything about them finding the painting and just tells him about the deaths of his colleagues in mysterious circumstances. Aditya decides to do some background research and spends a few days in library reading up the history of Cambodia and Angkor Wat in particular.

Soon Aditya and Radha travel to Cambodia, where they are accompanied by Sunil and two others from Archaeological Institute. Also, in Angkor, they are joined by a sexy female Historian Lisa, a localite, who is too hot and too smart for Radha to like. She gives a tour of Angkor Wat to Aditya, telling him about some really cool historical facts and myths, and also tells him a fable that is well known in the land of Cambodia, but which a few believe- or decide to believe…

Suryavarman II was a young and rebellious prince who was the great nephew of the then king Dharanindravarman. This was around 1110 AD. Suryavarman II wanted to be the king to the throne at which he had not legal king. But his great uncle was a really ineffectual leader, and quite aged too. Planning a usurping of the throne, Suryavarman got distracted when he fell in love with a traveler from the Chola Dynasty (Southern India) – Priyamani. Priyamani was the daughter of a learned noble in Kulothunga Chola’s court (the then Chola king). She had come to Cambodia on a state visit along with her brother Ajayratra, and with the intention of learning about the Khmer culture, and visiting the sacred Shiva temples in and around Angkor Wat. Dharanindravarman was a huge devotee of Shiva, and built royal temples for his beloved God. Suryavarman met Priyamani at one of these temples and they soon were involved in a passionate love affair, hidden from Ajayratra and Dharanindravarman. Priyamani got pregnant and Suryavarman decided to marry her. But when Ajayratra got to know of this, fuming in anger over the loss of face, he decided to kill his sister and the child in her womb. Before Ajayratra could execute his plans, Suryavarman escaped with his love and their unborn child for two years in the jungles. When he returned after two years, he told his uncle that he had been a fool and asked for his forgiveness. He also told him that both Priyamani and his son were dead. In reality Suryavarman had got in a treaty with an enemy of the state and to seal the pact had married his daughter- leaving Priyamani and their son- on their own in the forests. With the help of the enemy he battled his uncle after weakening his armies from inside like a termite, and killed him- taking over the Khmer throne.

Suryavarman then decided to build Angkor Wat, and in a departure from the norm, decided to make it Vishnu rather than Shiva the focus of the religious life. For this reason Angkow Wat faces the west- the cardinal direction in which Vishnu was associated. In fact, he hated Shiva, and anything to do with the God- perhaps in the memory of Priyamani and her devotion for the Snake God.

Now Priyamani and her Son vowed revenge, and entered the temple of Angkor Wat as Brahmins. The son Veeravardhan became well versed with the treasures of the temple complex and started small pilferages after gaining the trust of the most senior Brahmins of the temple complex. Legend has it that he accumulated a huge treasure and hid it in a secret chamber. The legend also has it that the chamber is guarded by a painting of Suryavarman- the replica of a famous representation of his in the temple complex. Soon after however Suryavarman got to know of Priyamani and his son being in the temple- and got them executed publicly. While Veeravardhan died like a warrior- Priyamani died with a secret desire in her heart- and hence her ghost returned to haunt the temple. Over the years she led to the destruction of the Khmer empire which went on a downward spiral- and finished completely hundred years later. What the legend also talks about is that Veeravardhan had left his son in the womb of the daughter of a temple priest- And that son and his subsequent generations guarded the treasure accumulated by Veeravardhan zealously- aided by the ghost of Priyamani- the guardian of her posterity. The legend says that even today, the treasure is being guarded by these people who owed their existence to a passionate love affair between Veeravardhan and a young lady.

Aditya hears this story and so does Sunil. He tells Aditya about their discovery- and that they had actually found the treasure chamber. Aditya wastes no time and enters the chamber along with a few armed personnel and Lisa- who refuses to be left behind. They reach the painting of Suryavarman and Aditya asks everyone not to touch it. He decides to explore the whole chamber before making a move.
Thus Aditya and Lisa start visiting the chamber every day, working painstakingly to find clues that could help them uncover the mystery. Every day they reach the painting, but don’t even touch it. And nothing really happens to them in the next two days. But on the third day, Aditya finds a few clues, a few footprints that he could not explain. The very next moment a few people come out of black shadows and attack them. Aditya manages to escape and keep them away. But Lisa gets lost in the dark of the temple…

Aditya, Radha, and Sunil visit the police station but the local police refuses to help them, and advices them to leave the country. They talk about Priyamani’s ghost and refuse to go inside the temple, fearing the Veeravardhan clan. Aditya understands that some murky plan is going on in the temple city, and the Police are involved in the same. He decides to take the things in his hands and makes some investigations in the nearby city. Hidden in the dark of the night, he spies on the areas around the entrance to the chamber. Using a magnetic compass and his significantly more effective sense of direction he makes a map of the entire region in his head. After three days of intensive mapping and spying, he finds another entrance- a secret tunnel- that by his calculations would lead to the same temple chamber.

He spies on that entrance- and soon enough he spots people emerging from the tunnel, with heavy boxes on their heads. He follows the trail, and finds them loading the boxes in trucks- that move towards the sea cliff- where the boxes are sent down to a waiting ship- that take them away God knows where-

Aditya fathoms that it is a smuggling ring that is been operated from within the temple premises- and the whole thing is being hidden around the temple fable of Veeravardhan- to keep the general public and the Police away. Aditya decides to go to Phnom Penh and take the help of the main city police force. They reach Angkor the very next day early in the morning and raid the chambers and catch the smugglers. They also find Jim who had been kept captive by the smugglers. But they find no trace of Lisa…

Aditya refuses to leave the city before finding Lisa. He explores the temple, and ultimately ends up again in front of the painting of Suryavarman. He reads the saying beneath the painting
“The secret to success lies in the weakness of the enemy”.
He looks at the dead snake in the hands of Suryavarman. The sign that he did not believe in the power of Shiva- the power which was everything for Priyamani. He decides to remove the painting and enters the den the smugglers were using. In a corner he spots a small Shiva temple. He goes over to it. The only Shiva temple in Angkor Wat. This was it- this was the weakness of the enemy- The weakness of Suryavarman to recognize the might of Shiva…

He explores the temple- and spots an inscription. It is a puzzle- one which if solved could lead to the greatest treasure of the world. Suddenly he hears the voice of Lisa…

“Come on Aditya, if someone deserves to know this secret- it is you- you got rid of the people who were defiling the sacred chambers of our forefathers- those wretched people who ended my clan- those who killed the last descendents of my son Veeravardhan…”
“Priyamani”
A secret entrance opens automatically as soon as the name is said by Aditya….
“Go inside Aditya, the greatest treasure of the world is yours”
“No. It belongs to this great land. It belongs to you. Your dynasty. I will let it remain here. Surely this will help your people when they are really in the need for it”
“You are a good man Aditya.”
“What I would like to do is to help you. Help you escape this mortal world. Help you escape its trappings. Help you move on…”
“Alas, that’s not possible Aditya. I brought terrible shame to my family back in India. I defiled the pride of my clan. Until and unless they don’t forgive me, I cannot be free”
“But they all are dead. Can’t anything be done?”

Aditya and Radha travel to a quaint little city in South India- Thanjavur- the city that was the capital of the Chola Dynasty at the time when Priyamani lived. They visit the ruins of a small Shiva temple and meet the priest there- an old man- whose ancestors went on till the times of the Chola dynasty. He asks him if he knew about Priyamani- who travelled far and wide to Khmer- some 900 years ago.
The priest is shocked to hear these words from Aditya. He tells him that he and his family were descendents of Ajayratra (Priyamani’s brother) – their secret had been passed on from generations to generations. Aditya tells him about the spirit of Priyamani been stuck in this mortal world- and seeking forgiveness from their family. He asks him to travel to Angkor- and makes all the arrangements for him-

As for him and Radha they return to USA- not before going to Varanasi and meeting Radha’s family and Siddharth- Every moment Aditya reflects on the vast maze (Bhool Bhulaiya) of Ancient tales and fables our ancient heritage is…

Thanks for your patience. It was a long first post. Hope you found it worth the effort. And kindly pardon the typos/grammatical errors that probably infest this post. It was written in rather a hurry.