Tarea

ROPE
(Adaptation)

Varun Rao and Abhik Bose are rich businessmen who are partners too. They have a company which exports jams and pickles. They share an apartment together and now murder theirsimple classmate Nikhil Gavaskar. They hide the body in their apartment in a wooden chest. They host a dinner party in their lovely apartment which has a super view of the city and is also next to apolice station (which we learn when Abhik gives directions to Mr. Gavaskar). The guests are – the victim’s father, Mr. Gavaskar, an ENT surgeon ,his aunt Mrs. Joshi, his fiancé- Vidya Deshpande- acolumnist, ( Nikhil’s mother can’t make it) and another guy Anish Singh, a copy writer who is also her ex-boyfriend and was Nikhil’s close friend too. Another important guest is their school teacherMr.Gandhi who now runs a publishing company.
Varun and Abhik arrange the chest to be used as a buffet for the food, just before the maid arrives to help. Their murder has been inspired by many conversationsthey’ve had with their school teacher in the past. He used to discuss in a seemingly approving way, the intellectual concepts of the art of murder, a way of showing superiority over others.
Varunwrongly believes that Mr. Gandhi would approve of their ‘work of art’.
Varun’s subtle hints about the absence of Nikhil leads to the discussion on the art of murder. He appears calm and in controlbut stammers a lot. Abhik is visibly upset and is morose. He keeps drinking a lot and looks uneasy. Mrs. Joshi who is a palmist, mentions casually that Abhik’s hands will bring him fame. She’s talkingabout his guitar playing skills (he’s also in a rock band called ‘Serial Killers’) but his guilty mind makes him think it will bring ‘notoriety’ due to the murder. A lot of the conversation is aboutNikhil’s not being around and it worries his people.
Mr. Gandhi quizzes Abhik who looks very fidgety and some inconsistencies get thrown up in that conversation. Abhik denies strangling a chicken...