Murder in Bollywood (8 page)

‘Oh yeah, I remember. It's about Tivs's death, right?' Rohan replied absent-mindedly, with his eyes glued to the television screen and his attention firmly on the game.

‘Yes, we need to ask you a few routine questions about Mr Tiwari, if that's all right with you,' Hoshiyar said.

‘Yeah, cool. I mean, Tivs was a great guy and all. So who killed him?' Rohan asked.

‘Nobody. He slipped and fell in the toilet while taking a bath. His death was an accident,' Hoshiyar replied.

‘An accident! Fuck! That like seriously sucks, man,' Rohan replied, still transfixed on his game.

Zagde, by then, had had enough of the boy's obvious lack of manners. So he walked across to the television and pulled out the wires connecting it to the console, turning off the game.

‘Hey, come on, man. What'd you do that for?' Rohan protested, throwing his arms up in the air.

‘Show a little respect, you snot-nosed brat, otherwise we'll take you down to headquarters and question you there,' Zagde said with a growl.

‘All right, chill, I am sorry, dude. What do you wanna know?' Rohan replied, sufficiently intimidated.

‘I would like you to tell us everything you know about the late Mr Tiwari. Although his death was an accident, we want to be certain that there are no loose ends. Now, I believe he was your parents' secretary for about ten years,' Hoshiyar said in a tone both calm and gentle, in an effort to allay the boy's fears.

‘Yeah, he was, but we never interacted much. He was always busy with those two,' Rohan said plainly.

‘Who do you mean by those two?' Hoshiyar asked.

‘That Nikhil and Mallika, who else,' Rohan replied.

‘That's no way to talk about your parents,' Zagde remarked sternly.

‘They were not my parents. They didn't give birth to me,' Rohan shot back sharply.

‘So what if they didn't give birth to you. They adopted you. They put a roof over your head. They gave you the best of clothes, the best of food, the most lavish of lifestyles. You should be thanking God every minute of the day for bringing such generous people into your life, and now that they are gone, you should be mourning for them. But all you're doing is running them down, while you gorge on chocolates and play video games. You should be ashamed of yourself,' Zagde exclaimed in disgust.

‘Yeah, man, you're absolutely right. They were like wonderful, generous people, while I am nothing but a low-down, rotten ingrate. Congrats, dude, you really figured me out,' Rohan remarked sarcastically.

‘Don't be offended by officer Zagde's candour. He's only stating what appears obvious. But sometimes, the obvious has very little to do with reality. You seem full of resentment towards your late foster parents, and I am pretty sure that an intelligent young man like yourself would not harbour such feelings without good reason. I would really like to know what that reason is, Rohan, if you're willing to tell me. Who knows, perhaps talking about it might make you feel better,' Hoshiyar suggested gently.

To those words, Rohan did not respond instantly. Instead, he turned pensive and looked away, as if contemplating whether he should or shouldn't reveal to the good inspector certain things that he had kept to his innermost self, then sighed deeply as if to indicate which way his mind was made up, after which he turned to Hoshiyar and spoke with a genuineness that wasn't there before.

‘Nikhil and Mallika came into my life ten years ago, when I was just eight years old. Ishan Malhotra, the famous film producer, had launched his first film back then and had signed Nikhil to make his debut as director. Sameer Ali Khan, the Bollywood superstar, who, in those days, was an unknown, was cast as the hero and opposite him Ishan managed to rope in Mallika, which was a casting coup of sorts for them, as she had already spent two years in the industry and both the films that she had starred in were huge hits, making her Bollywood's most happening new heroine. The rest of the cast and crew were pretty much experienced, apart from Kiki Fernandez, Bollywood's number one fashion designer, who was given his first break with that film, as Sameer's and Mallika's stylist, and good old Tivs, who Nikhil brought on as his secretary. Ishan had seen a Hollywood film called
Irreconcilable Differences
, and loved it so much that he decided to remake it in Hindi as his first production, calling it
Pyaar Kar Ke Dekho
. The story is about a small child who goes to court to seek emancipation from his parents who fight all the time. For that role, Nikhil auditioned a whole lot of kids, but didn't like any of them for the part. Then one day, Mallika saw me near the Haji Ali signal as she was driving by and immediately felt that I would be perfect for the part. My real parents were pavement dwellers, who would beg at traffic signals and sometimes do odd jobs for a living. So when I got the offer to act in Nikhil's film for a very decent amount of money, they were more than happy to let me do it. It was during the making of
Pyaar Kar Ke Dekho
that both Nikhil and Mallika, who had fallen in love, grew very fond of me and when they decided to get married right after the film's release, they approached my parents and expressed their desire to adopt me. At first, my parents flatly refused, but then they thought that they would never be able to give me the kind of lifestyle that Nikhil and Mallika could, so they said yes. But Nikhil had one condition, that after the adoption formality was completed, my parents should walk away and never try and contact me again. They agreed to this too. But Nikhil and Mallika never really loved me, Inspector saheb. They only pretended to, because I was nothing but a tool, which was essential for promoting their film. And after the film released, the only reason they decided to adopt me was because for the rest of their lives it would guarantee them good press and put them in an exalted position in everybody's eyes. And besides, celebrities adopting kids is a very Hollywood thing to do, and what Hollywood does, Bollywood has to copy blindly; so when Nikhil and Mallika saw the opportunity to adopt a beggar child from the street, they grabbed it with both hands. So what if that meant snatching him away from his parents and treating him like some exotic house pet, who they'd dress up in regal finery and shower with love and kisses in front of the photographers and the media, to show the world how much this penniless urchin boy meant to them and how well they treated him. But away from the flashbulbs when we were all alone, it was as if I didn't exist, until one day, out of the blue, I'd get a brand-new laptop or a top-of-the-line cellphone, and suddenly, I'd become the apple of their eye once again, which meant it was time for yet another performance. But then, their
kaminapan
did not surprise me, Inspector saheb. After all, they were two of Bollywood's brightest stars.
Aur Bollywood woh jagah hai jahan aadmi aadmi ko dusta hai, aur saap dekh kar hasta hai
(Bollywood is that kind of a place where man bites man, while the snake looks on amused). In fact, if you ask me, I don't think Nikhil and Mallika died in freak accidents. Knowing what kind of horrible people they were, I won't be surprised if someone bumped them off,' Rohan revealed.

‘Bumped off? You mean, someone murdered them?' Hoshiyar feigned surprise.

‘Yes. I am sure of it,' Rohan nodded vigorously.

‘But there wasn't any evidence to indicate murder. Have you heard or seen something which makes you believe that it was?' Hoshiyar asked.

‘No, I haven't. It's just a feeling. I even told uncle and aunty about it, but they thought I was being silly. Probably, they are right,' said Rohan.

‘And who is this uncle and aunty you're talking about?' Hoshiyar inquired.

‘Oh, that's Mr Bimal Seth and his wife Rushali. They're both doctors. I am sure you've heard of them. They're really well known. They say I am being paranoid about my foster parents' death. They believe it was an accident and they're telling me to accept that fact and move on. I think I should listen to them, because, frankly, I can't think of anyone who could've done this,' Rohan said.

‘What about you? Couldn't you have done this? Didn't you hate your parents for the way they treated you? Didn't you tell us that yourself? I think you make an excellent suspect, Rohan. You had motive, means and opportunity,' Zagde intervened, looking Rohan in the eye.

‘Yeah, I guess. But I'm just a regular nineteen-year-old kid who likes to play video games and hang out with his friends. I mean, I am no psycho killer who's going to run around knocking people off just because I don't like them. That's some seriously twisted shit, bro,' Rohan replied, more stunned than scared.

A little after sunset, the two officers, having finished questioning young Rohan Kapoor, left Billimoria House and drove off in the direction of the SCS headquarters, with Hoshiyar sitting in the passenger seat, and Zagde, as usual, behind the wheel, but for some reason he appeared more than a tad disgruntled.

‘What a waste of time that was! That boy, Rohan, was absolutely of no use. Apart from having no valuable information of any kind to give us, he just sat there on his plush sofa, contradicting himself over and over again. First, he was sure that someone murdered his parents, because they were horrible people. Then he thought he was being silly. After that, he admitted to being paranoid about his parents being killed. And finally, he decided to accept that his parents' death was an accident, because he couldn't think of anyone who could have killed them. I mean, seriously, sir, what's wrong with kids today? Why do they all appear so doped up and confused all the time? And did you see how he was addicted to his video game? For God's sake, this is not his age to be lolling on a couch, in front of a giant television screen all day long, like some geriatric. He should be outdoors playing a sport or in the gym working out. Or better yet, he should be studying and improving his mind. But then again, he doesn't need to study and become capable of finding himself a job, because his parents have left behind hundreds of crores so that he and his seven generations can remain in their chocolate room and play video games all day long without having to worry about where their next meal is coming from. He doesn't need to improve his mind either, because in a couple of years from now, if he gets tired of his luxurious life and decides to rough it out on his own two feet, all he has to do is pick up his cellphone and make a quick call to Aamir, Salman or Shah Rukh who will instantly take him under their wing and put him through dance class, fighting class and acting class, after which he will be given a grand Bollywood debut so that in the next four or five years, he, too, can make a few hundred crores. These star kids have it so easy, I tell you,' Zagde protested.

‘Ah, my dear Zagde! Always politically incorrect and always riled by people who get things easily. Perhaps this has clouded your judgement with regard to the importance of our meeting at Billimoria House,' Hoshiyar remarked, visibly amused by his deputy's heartfelt tirade. Then he explained, ‘Don't you remember what Mule told Tiwari over the phone from Shimla? He told him to take care of Rohan, because he wasn't safe. But you and I have both seen the security around that boy at his home. Nikhil's and Mallika's lawyers, who are currently the trustees of their estate until Rohan turns twenty-five, have ensured that he has the best possible protection round the clock since he is the sole inheritor of an enormous fortune. Now, with a foolproof security cover like that, how could he be in any kind of danger? Unless, of course, someone very close to him wishes to do him harm. So, that brings me to another question. Is young Rohan, as you put it, a confused, doped-up kid, who sat on his plush sofa and contradicted himself over and over again? Or is he a very smart boy, who knows something of great importance and believes that his silence, or maybe even his act of appearing dim-witted and confused, is the only thing that's keeping him alive? That's why he spoke to us in such a contradictory, roundabout way. And did you pay attention to the information he gave us during our conversation? When I asked him the reason for his resentment towards his parents, he could have simply told me that although they adopted him, they never really loved him. But instead, he began by telling me about the past, in which a bunch of newcomers started their careers together with the same film. And it is the past in this case which is of maximum significance. So the question is, did Rohan speak about his parents' association with Sameer Ali Khan, Ishan Malhotra and Kiki Fernandez for no sinister reason, or was he taking those names to insinuate that one of them had something to do with Nikhil's and Mallika's death? And what about the two other names he took, that of the doctor couple, Bimal and Rushali Seth, who were doing their level best to convince Rohan that his parents' death was accidental? Do they have a part to play in any of this? So you see, my dear friend, our rendezvous with the new master of Billimoria House was anything but a waste of time,' he concluded.

‘The people whose names Rohan took, should we bring them down to headquarters and question them until one of them talks?' Zagde inquired after some thought.

‘No, that would be a mistake, as they're all rich and well connected. If we touch them without any probable cause, it will be the end of our case,' Hoshiyar said.

‘Then what do we do?' Zagde asked.

‘First and foremost, before we go about investigating a double homicide, we must prove beyond doubt that it was indeed a double homicide. At this point, both Nikhil and Mallika are considered victims of a freak double accident, not amounting to murder, which we've got to change. For this, we will have to re-examine all the evidence and find that irrefutable proof which nullifies the earlier verdict. Since the bodies of the victims have already been cremated, let's begin by going over all the crime scene photos and sending the cocaine that killed Mallika for a second round of analysis,' Hoshiyar advised.