Chapter 322.What it means to be a superstar (3)
[Agnas] as a movie had multiple schedules that panned over three months. The movie that started in June was shot over a dozen locations with built in sets and a crew that was way larger than the previous movies that Aiden had been a part of.
Zero International producers, including Theodore, would visit the set a lot to make sure that everything was going according to the studio’s plans.
Though, even with producers on the set, the final control was still in the hands of Baz who presided over the set like a dictator and made sure that everything happened according to the vision in his mind.
Finally, in the first week of September, Aiden got ready for the final scene.
“How does it feel?”
Baz asked as he looked at Aiden. They were standing in a corner.
“A bit empty if I’m being honest.” Aiden replied, looking up at Baz. “I feel this after every movie but the feeling is strong with Agnas. It’s almost like I will miss a part of myself after it’s over.”
“That’s normal.”
Like Baz said, it was normal for actors to feel like the characters they are playing are a part of themselves. That’s why, when they finish up a movie, they feel like they are missing a part of their soul.
In some strong cases, an actor’s personality gets influenced by the character he’s playing. Agnas’s case with Aiden was a bit similar as he had felt a change in his thinking due to this role too.
‘Maybe because I connected with Agnas and actually saw his life but it’s a bit different. His life and stardom also changed a bit of my thinking.’
He thought as he noticed Baz patting his shoulders.
“You have done a good job in the movie. Take your time with the last scene and let’s go celebrate with a wrap party after that.”
Baz left after that, leaving Aiden to think about the scene alone.
The last scene was actually also one of the last scenes in the movie. It was a scene from the last show that Agnas had done in which he had suddenly started crying while on stage. No one has given it much thought at that time as they have thought that he was just too engrossed in his music.
A lot of singers feel such emotions during certain songs.
But the reality was obviously very different.
‘He was crying because even with so many cheers and fans, he felt cold and lonely. Even though he achieved what most couldn’t, he lost something big.’
He thought and closed his eyes.
***
[Agnas|3 September-2018|Act 9|Scene 7|Take 1]
Agnas took a deep breath.
He was standing in a position where he was very comfortable. Thousands of fans cheering his name all over the venue. Huge cutouts with his name written on them and fans waving posters with his face around.
The band behind him was enjoying the atmosphere and making sure that this was another hit show. Agnas had just finished one of the introduction songs that was supposed to be the starter.
After that, he was supposed to sing more popular songs. Something that he has in abundance.
So many voices mixed in the air. Agnas noticed each of them.
He should have already been pumped till now. Normally, that was the case. His anxiety has decreased a lot in recent years.
More like, he had gotten used to acting as a superstar who always looked confident. He has truly embodied the quote that a lie told a hundred times becomes the truth.
But even with that, he couldn’t explain what he was feeling at the moment.
He didn’t feel the usual and just stayed still, his eyes fixed at the air like he was spacing out.
‘This just doesn’t make me happy. Something is still missing.’
He thought and blinked his eyes. His gaze looked down on his guitar and a small laugh escaped his mouth.
Another frown followed it before he shook his head.
‘No, I can’t do that. I need to play the part. I have sacrificed everything for it. I can’t stop now.’
His fingers strummed the strings of his guitar. A loud cheer went up.
Agnas looked up at the crowd. Whenever his gaze followed, a cheer would come up. His fans loved him. They treated him like an idol. Someone to be revered.
He wasn’t close to them but they were content in seeing him from a distance.
‘I need to smile for them. Like always.’
He muttered in his mind, trying to keep his conviction to not disappoint the people who had come to watch him. No matter what was going inside of him, he needed to look normal and smile.
Thinking that, he started singing. The cheers got louder at that. People went crazy for the song.
“Agnas!”
“Agnas!”
“Agnas!”
The smile on his face widened hearing the chants of his name. But suddenly, he felt something streaking down his cheeks.
A drop sounded out.
Agnas looked down and realised that he was crying.
‘But why?’
He asked himself and in just a moment, he realised the reason. Even with all the love from his fans, he wasn’t happy. Agnas the superstar was but Agnas the person wasn’t.
Standing on the stage, he just felt lonely.
Still, he needed to sing.
So, he sang with a smile on his face. Just this time, tears accompanied the smile.
***
“Congrats!”
“The shooting is finally over. It was hard but I’m glad we were able to be satisfied with it. I feel like this movie would work really well.”
“Yeah, it’s a blockbuster certainly. This is the best project I have worked on.”
“Director Baz was extremely strict but we were able to finish it on schedule because of him.”
“Yeah, all the actors did an amazing job, especially Aiden.”
“Hey, we are all going to the Hilton hotel to celebrate the end of shooting.”
“Yay! Let’s go!”
Aiden walked up outside after removing his makeup and donning his normal clothes. He touched his hair a bit and realised that he didn’t need to keep his hairstyle now.
He could go back to his normal one but he felt like he should keep it for a bit longer.
‘Maybe a week more.’
Aiden thought and looked around. He was trying to look for Wade and Tom but suddenly, someone approached him.
“Excuse me.”
“Yeah?” Aiden looked up to the man in front of him. He looked like an average causacian. Maybe a background actor wanting an autograph?
He guessed in his mind but the words from the man were quite different from what he imagined.
“Do you mind coming with me? Someone wants to meet you.”
“Who?”
“Franco Li. You must know of him. He really wants to meet you so can you please give him a bit of your time?”
The man spoke politely. Aiden guessed that he was Franco’s assistant but he didn’t know why he wanted to meet him.
“Why does he want to meet me?”
Aiden asked and then the man quickly replied.
“He has something to discuss with you. He’s sitting in his car, waiting for you. It would only take 5 minutes and not more than that. He even said that he would drive you to the Hilton hotel if it takes more time.”
‘This is weird.’
Aiden thought in his mind.
For a second, he wondered if Franco wanted to meet him because he found out Aiden was the main reason behind Zetflix getting a great deal on [Disconnected]. But that thought didn’t last long.
Even if that was the case, there was no reason for him to come for him a year later when everything was done and dusted.
But there was no point in rejecting it. At least Aiden was curious enough to follow the man.
“Okay, let’s go.”
As Aiden walked away, two pairs of eyes followed him. One of them was confused as he looked at Aiden.
“Who is Aiden following?” Tom asked.
“He’s Franco Li’s assistant. He’s probably taking Aiden to meet him. He’s probably around.”
The person beside him replied. He was Wade who was smoking.
“Why does he want to meet him?”
“Franco Li rates Aiden highly. He wants to get him in SGA. He probably wants to offer Aiden a deal for him to move to SGA. An offer he can’t refuse.”
“Oka— Wait! What?”
Tom looked at Wade with a stunned expression on his face. An offer from SGA? And from Wade’s expression, it looked like he already knew about it.
“Isn’t it better if you go with him? You are his agent.”
“I know but this time, I want Aiden to make his own decision.”
Wade said, puffing out a cloud of smoke.
“I just hope he makes one which is right for him.”
***
[A/N: Sorry, I was sick. Weather changed here. Got sick because of that. Better now so uploads are resuming.]