Dhoodh Paisa Aur Patthar

By Kapil Khanna

Premise

A small innocent kid asks a passing milkman for milk,money and stone for three consecutive days on denial of which he does something which even the evil woudn’t dare

Treatment

It’s a lone highway from where even the heavy vehicles go past at high speed.We see Lallan,a milkman riding on his cycle with 4 milk cans singing his native bhojpuri song.Then he sees this small kid of 7 years playing gilli danda alone.Chandu hits the gilli with strong force which lands on Lallans head and he falls down spilling all his milk.Lallan runs after him giving abuses but Chandu is fast and makes faces while running away.Lallan is furious and vows to teach him a lesson.

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Next day Lallan is again passing through the same highway when he suddenly sees Chandu standing near the road with a dirty plastic bowl.Lallan stops the cycle in front of him and asks him for a bowl of milk.Lallan tries to play him around.He first shouts at Chandu and catches his ears but chandu only writhes in pain but says nothing.He only keeps asking for milk.Lallan asks him that he will not give him milk without money.Chandu gives him Rs 20 which Lallan takes and rides off.Chandu follows him asking for milk but Lallan tells him that this Rs 20 is for the medicine he had to take for controlling the pain from his gilli. Chandu is on the verge of crying but Lallan doesn’t relents and rides off pushing Chandu on the road in the dust.Chandu stands there crying while Lallan is singing congratulating himself on his victory for teaching him a lesson.A stray dog appears and chases Chandu who is screaming and shouting for help.He climbs the tree and waits for the dog to leave.The dog leaves after a while.Chandu still crying in sobd gets down and leaves.

Next morning Lallan is passing from there again when he sees Chandu standing at the same point as yesterday.Lallan is surprised and stops the bicycle besides him and asks him whether he learnt his lesson.Chandu is quite,looks tired and panting a bit.Lallan tells him that he should go to school and stops playing pranks.He asks him how much milk he wants

and adds that he will give him extra milk for yesterday money as well as he was angry.Chandu tells him that he does not wants milk but wants 100 rs.Lallan is shocked and angry again and asks Chandu to stop playing his pranks.He takes out 20 Rs and gives it to Chandu but he insists on 100 Rs.Lallan takes out a bundle of notes and takes out 5 rs and gives him.We can see Chandu staring at the bundle.He refuses to take 5 rs and tries to snatch the bundle of notes.Lallan is furious and slaps him several times and pushes him on the ground.As Lallan starts to ride off Chandu follows him and keeps on asking for 100 Rs.He tries to stop Lallan by holding his handle on which he is kicked.Chandu falls on the ground in the mud as Lallan drives off giving light abuses.Lallan gets up crying and stares at Lallan till he is out of sight.The dog appears again and chases Chandu who is screaming and shouting for help. He climbs the tree and waits for the dog to leave.

Next morning Lallan is passing from there again when he sees Chandu dragging big stones on the road at the same point.He has bruises on his hands.Lallan gets angry and

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shouts at him.Chandu tells him that he wants to stop a vehicle.Lallan is amused and while calling him rascal and idiot throws all the stones that he had dragged back down the other side of the road.Chandu asks him to bring back the stones and put it back on the road.Lallan tells him that he is crazy and will kill somebody in his madness.He asks him to go away from that place and concentrate in his studies and play instead of playing such dangerous pranks.Chandu follows him and asks him to put the stones back on the road.Lallan is furious and tell him that he must have done some great sins due to which he meets people like him.He warns him that if he will not stop following him he will slap him and call the police.

He leaves talking to himself leaving Chandu behind.At that moment the dog appears and barks at Chandu.Chandu is scared and runs being chased by the dog.He is screaming and shouting for help and crying. He climbs the tree and waits for the dog to leave.

Next day as Lallan is passing from the same place he observes a police jeep and a municipality ambulance and sees a lot of huzbuzz.Lallan gets down and asks the constable the reason for their presence.The constable tells him that a hut was found burning in which three dead bodies were found.Lallan feels bad and prays to god and asks for peace for the departed souls.The inspector arrives with the two stretchers of burnt bodies and gets the same loaded into the municipality ambulance.Lallan asks the constable that he said there were three bodies but he could see only two stretchers.The inspector tells him that the third was a new born infant and he should get lost from there before he looses his cool.Lallan hurries off but suddenly he sees chandu sitting in the police van.He stops the bicycle and starts taunting him that he had said that if he will not stop playing dangerous pranks he would land up with the police.Lallan asks him to play pranks now and he will enjoy police’s hospitality.Inspector Mhatre comes from behind and asks Lallan whether he knows the boy.Lallan agrees.The havaldar asks Lallan that he will prefer going in the jeep or in the van with the dreaded murderer.Lallan asks the constable to put him in the van so he can give him a sound spanking.Before he could say anything more he is pushed into the van.Chandu is sitting silent in the corner with his legs folded and his forehead on his knees.Lallan starts abusing him saying that he is a bad omen.Whenever he meets him he says something bad happens.He sits and starts calling out to the inspector that he is innocent and that he has done nothing still sitting next to Chandu.They stop at the phatak.The

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constable laughs at him and asks him whether he is comfortable as there was nobody in the van except the mischevious kid.Lallan adds that it is a good joke that too from a policeman.The constable tells Lallan that he is the one who burnt alive his parents,infant sister and his house and thus being taken into custody.Lallan is shell shocked and moves away from him.Then he sits in front of him and asks him why did he did that dreaded

crime.He says that these soft hands are to play,to write and to read not to kill people and he killed his own parents.Chandu turns to him and tell him that he only killed his father as his mother and his sister were already dead.Lallan asks him how,when and why all this happened.

FLASHBACK

We can see Chandu running after Lallan asking for milk.When he is refused milk and his money taken he goes back to his hut an tells his mom who is lying in the corner with a few days old baby that he couldn’t arrange for the milk.His mother Savitri starts crying.At that moment his father Satya enters the hut fully drunk.He asks Savitri for food which they do not have on which he kicks her.He slaps chandu and asks him to go to work from next day and get money.Savitri is angry and asks Satya to stop drinking and work more as he is no good to them the way he is.Suddenly Satya observes that the infant is drinking milk and spilling some.Chandu’s father bends down and comes close to the infant and tells him that already they have no food to eat and on top of that he is spilling all the milk.He picks him up and hands him over to chandu.The infant is crying and Savitri is furious and slaps her husband that he has become an animal.Satya asks chandu to take the baby outside on which Savitri asks Chandu to stay.Satya kicks chandu and pushes him out of the hut. Chandu peeps through the gap and can see Satya hitting Savitri.Savitri is screaming and stopping him on which he becomes more violent.Then we see that Satya overpowers Savitri and removes her blouse and starts sucking milk from her breasts as she cries.Chandu is terrified and sits holding his sister close to his heart and terrified. Savitri’s scream dies down and only her sobs can be heard.Satya comes out and tells chandu that she has good production of milk and he can have his share and walks off.Chandu runs inside with his sister and hugs his mom. Savitri puts her new born to feed but she cries continuously as no milk is coming out.She hugs chandu and cries.Its early morning when chandu finds her having very high temperature and is shivering.She asks chandu to get money somehow so at least they can travel to the nearby village and show themselves to a doctor.At that moment we

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can see the second day when Chandu is asking Lallan for money and is pushed by him.Then we can see chandu sitting next to her mother and sister and putting cold cloth on their foreheads.Doing the same he doses off.When suddenly in the midnight he wakes and falls on his sister but she dosent cries.He tries to wake up his mother who is almost unconscious and just able to murmur.He sits in the corner and starts crying.Then he lights the lantern and keeps it close to his sister and tells her that now she will become warm.He is watching a black ant roaming freely near his leg but stops when comes against the broom stick.We can hear chandus sobs.Then we see the next day when chandu is trying to road block the road.He is trying to pick up the big stones and bring on the street.His hands are bruised and is hurt but still trying.As he passes to roll a big stone a snake comes out with his hood up.Chandu is shocked and terrified and starts crying.He sits there and tries to move but the snake hisses due to which he does not moves.After the snake leaves he starts again when Lallan arrives and he is pushed and not helped.Chandu tries to stop many vehicles truck,tanker, scorpio, safari etc but none of thenm helps.Chandu runs back home through the small road and reaches his home panting with dried lips and tells his mom that he was not able to stop any vehicle.He tries to find some water but the container is empty.He runs towards the pipeline from where the water is sipping like a small fountain.He collects some in the container.He returns.He pours some water in his mothers mouth and sits there beside his mom and stares at his sister who is dead and flies are sitting on her face.Chandu takes off his shirt and puts it on his sisters face.Its evening when Satya enters completely drunk and calls out to his wife and asks her to serve him meal.Chandu approaches his father and tells him that Savitri is not speaking since last two days and his sister is cold.Satya pulls him near him and tells him that these women always makes excuses for not wanting to do their jobs and his mother is a rascal number one.He tells chandu that today he will show him how to get work done.He pulls Savitri and tries to wake him up.Chandu gets scared and asks Satya to stop and let her mom sleep.Satya scolds him and tells him that she has to do what he says her to do and she can go to her fathers place if she wants to sleep.He starts pulling her vigorously and kicks her. Chandu is watching all from the corner of the house.He can see Satya acting like an animal slapping and kicking the dead body.Chandu’s face turns red with fury and anger. Tears rolls down his eyes and in a fit of rage he pushes Satya away from her.Satya gives up and falls down.He tells Savitri that if she does not get up he will burn her and her puppies alive.They

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have made his life a big mess he says. Chandu tries to move his mom but finds her cold.Satya is murmuring abuses.He goes out of the hut and brings a half can of kerosene.He opens the cap and starts pouring on Savitri.

Chandu stands up and pushes Satya and gives him a bad head butt in his solar plexus.Satya feels terrible pain as he lays on the floor and abuses Chandu and threatens to burn him as well. Chandu hits him with a wooden log kept in the corner.Satya passes out and is semiconscious.Chandu pours kerosene on Satya,lights a matchstick and throws on Satya.He watches him as he burns.The memories of his mom being hit by Satya runs in his mind as he watches his whole hut burn standing outside.The stray dog comes and starts barking at Chandu.Chandu dosen’t moves an inch.The dog comes nearer and becomes more aggressive and barks at Chandu.As the dog is about to attack him,Chandu just gives a hard stare at the dog seeing which the dog becomes timid and starts shaking wagging his tail and sits there looking at Chandu. Chandu sits next to the dog watching his hut burn alongwith his Mother,Sister and Father.As the camera closes in on the fire we come out of the flashback.

FLASHBACK FINISHES

Lallan is shocked and horrified and thinks that he is guilty for what has happened to Chandu.He asks for his forgiveness and asks god why it had to be him.He kneels before chandu and asks for his forgiveness on which Chandu tells him that henceforth he should not allow any kid go hungry. That will be his nirvana and that will be his forgiveness. Chandu tells Lallan that he should inform him whether any man is torturing and behaving like an animal with his family. Lallan asks him that what he will do is informed. Chandu coolly replies he will burn them alive. Lallan is shell shocked on his reply. The van enters the police station. Chandu is sitting inside the cell.

By Kapil Khanna

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