SYNOPSIS:

Act 1: After suffering a painful break-up, Maria, a hostess at an upscale restaurant, has withdrawn into a shell. She works longer shifts and spends her limited free time in a stupor watching movies, especially the movies of one star in particular, Gabriel Ford. But when a film festival breezes into town with Gabriel Ford as its main attraction, Maria’s fantasies become richer and more detailed. Act 2: In her fantasies, Gabriel invites her out to dinner. They dine, laugh, dance and flirt – they fall in love. Gabriel is besotted with her and she with him. They can’t keep it a secret and very soon the media is pursuing her. He is everything she has ever wanted. In her nightmares, she sees her father abuse her mother; she and her younger sister cowering in a corner, waiting for it to stop. She sees herself abusing her former boyfriend. Maria’s dream world crashes into her real world; her normally impeccable work suffers and her health fades. Act 3: One night, Gabriel breezes into her restaurant. Star-struck, Maria wants to serve him, but the front-of-house manager Gautam does not let her. Gabriel and his entourage are ushered to a secluded spot on the terrace. As Maria’s shift ends, she despondently prepares to leave without having met her hero. A commotion on the terrace catches her attention. Gautam rushes into the locker room, grabbing a first-aid kit. She follows in his wake, running up the staircase. Gabriel is shouting obscenities at his beaten-up girlfriend as his bodyguards attempt to hold him off her. They lock eyes and his rage is familiar. Maria walks past him to attend to his girlfriend. She begins to tend to the young lady’s wounds. The girl tells her that her name is Sakina.