"A commercial?"
Raghunath let out a hearty laugh, the stress of the successful machine trial finally melting away. He looked at Padma and Savitri, shaking his head. "Listen to him! Most kids want to play hide-and-seek, and my Ashu wants to make a 'commercial' for masalas."
"Let him play, Raghunath," Nana Janardhan said, leaning on his cane. "He's been working like a man for days. Let him enjoy his new toy. What do you need for your 'game,' Ashu?"
Ashutosh kept his expression innocent, though his mind was already calculating the frames. "Just some cloth for a background, Nana. And I want Abhishek-bhaiya, Aryan, Ansh, and Ananya to help. We're going to play 'The Pathak Family Store'."
"Oh! I want to be the Queen!" Ananya shouted, jumping up. Her jealousy from earlier vanished at the prospect of being the center of attention.
"Kings and Queens don't sell masala, Ananya," Aryan teased, poking her.
"Enough! I am the Queen of the Kitchen!" she pouted, her S-Rank Creative Potential already flaring up in the form of dramatic flair.
Raghunath waved a hand dismissively. "Fine, fine. Use the backyard. Savitri, give them whatever old sarees or bedsheets they need. Just don't break that camera, Ashu. It's older than your father."
For the next three hours, the backyard of the Haveli became a chaotic "film set" that looked like a playground to the adults. Padma and Savitri sat on the veranda, sipping tea and watching the children.
"Look at him," Padma whispered, her eyes fixed on Ashutosh. "He isn't just playing. Look at how he's positioning them."
Ashutosh was using his Director's Vision (Lv 1). He had draped a deep blue saree over a clothesline to create a solid backdrop. He had placed a single wooden table in front of it, covered with bowls of vibrant red chili powder, yellow turmeric, and dark cloves.
He didn't have lights, so he used a large piece of white cardboard, held by a confused Abhishek, to reflect the afternoon sun onto Ananya's face.
"Ananya, don't look at the camera," Ashutosh commanded. His voice wasn't a child's whine; it was calm and authoritative. "Look at the turmeric. Smells like the sun, remember? Close your eyes and breathe in. Now, smile like you just tasted Maa's best kheer."
Ananya, surprisingly, followed his lead. The "jealous" sister found that under Ashutosh's direction, she felt like a star.
"Ansh, when I say 'Action,' you drop the spices into the bowl from above. Slowly. Aryan, you hold the Pathak packet and show it to the lens at the very end."
"This is a weird game, Ashu," Aryan muttered, but he adjusted his grip on the handmade "Red-Gold" packet they had made.
Ashutosh looked through the Bolex H16. He had loaded one of the rolls of Kodak film he'd received from the system. Each foot of film was precious. He waited for the exact moment the wind died down.
Whirrr-r-r-r.
"Action," he whispered.
In the viewfinder, the scene was magical. The reflected sunlight made the spices glow like gems. Ananya's smile was radiant—pure, innocent, and inviting. The slow-motion drop of the spices (achieved by Ashutosh cranking the camera at a higher speed) looked like a dream.
He did three "takes." Each time, he adjusted the light or the position of his siblings. To the adults, it looked like children playing "Dukaan-Dukaan" (Shop-Shop). They laughed and went back to their tea.
Two days later, Ashutosh convinced his Nana to take the film roll to a friend's lab in the city that processed 16mm newsreel footage for the local stations.
When the developed film came back, Ashutosh waited until evening. He set up the old projector in the dark living room. The whole family was there—the grandfathers, the parents, the siblings, and Padma, who was curious to see the "results of the game."
"Alright, Ashu, let's see this 'play' of yours," Raghunath said, settling into his chair.
The projector clicked on. A beam of dusty light hit the white wall.
The screen flickered to life. There was no sound, but the images were staggering.
The first shot was a close-up of the turmeric—not a grainy, shaky mess, but a sharp, artistic shot where every grain seemed to sparkle. Then, Ananya appeared. The way Ashutosh had captured her made her look like a child angel. She inhaled the aroma of the spice, her expression one of pure, blissful domesticity.
Then came the "hero shot." The red-and-gold packet of Pathak Masala, held by Aryan, appearing out of the darkness, bathed in a warm, golden glow.
The film ended. The white light of the projector hit the wall, empty.
Silence.
Total, absolute silence.
Raghunath sat frozen. He didn't see a "game." He saw a vision of his business that he hadn't even dared to imagine. He saw his daughter looking like a movie star and his product looking like something that belonged in the palaces of Delhi.
Padma Sharma was the first to speak. Her voice was trembling. "Savitri... this... this is not a game. I've been to the studios in Bombay. I've seen the rushes of big films. This boy... he hasn't just filmed a play. He has filmed a soul."
Nana Janardhan turned to look at Ashutosh, who was calmly winding the film back. "Ashu... how did you know to put the light there?"
Ashutosh looked up, his face innocent but his eyes burning with a fiery light. "The light was already there, Nana. I just showed it where to go."
Raghunath stood up, walked over to Ashutosh, and looked at his tiny hands. "Ashu... if we show this to the shopkeepers... they won't just buy our masala. They will beg for it."
[DING! Quest Completed: The Screen Test]
[REWARD RECEIVED:]
500 Skill Points.
Sub-Skill Unlocked: [Acting Coach (Lv 1)].
Ashutosh felt the surge of knowledge. He now understood not just how to move the camera, but how to draw emotions out of people—how to make a shy brother look brave or a jealous sister look like a saint.
'1,100 + 500 = 1,600 points,' he calculated.
"Papa," Ashutosh said, breaking the heavy silence. "The machine is ready. The branding is ready. Now, we have the 'Commercial.' I think it's time we go to the big market in the city."
Raghunath didn't hesitate this time. The "Hesitant" trait was gone. "Pack your bags, Ashu. Tomorrow, we go to the city. We're going to show them the Pathak name."