# ▸ ACT ONE — SETUP · panels 1–16

# ▸ Act One — Setup · panels 1 to 16

Audio by Paper2Audio

# ▸ Act One — Setup · panels 1 to 16

## Page One

**1.** *Wide. A winter evening in a bustling city. Sodium-orange glow, exhaust haze, a river of headlights. A city bus pulls into a crowded stop.*

Caption: *A random winter evening. The city, not slowing down for anyone.*

**2.** *Anudeep steps down onto the footpath — rucksack, one duffel, glasses slightly fogged from the bus A.C hitting cold air. Small in the frame. Grinning like an idiot.*

Caption: **Anudeep Nadella. 21. Graduate student.**

*(⭐ **Locked: 21.** He is not waiting on applications. He got in months ago. He is in this city because the consulate is here and his interview slot is eleven weeks out.)*

Caption: *Just landed in Hyderabad.*

**3.** *Close. He squints at a map pin on his phone, waves a hand, entirely unbothered.*

Anudeep Ah! Parledhu le… deggare undhi.

**4.** *His phone lights up mid-thought.*

S.F.X: *bzzt bzzt*

Caption: **Suraj Babu Reddy. 22. Graduate student.**

---

## Page Two

**5.** *Split. Right: Anudeep, phone to ear. Left inset: Suraj mid-shout, sunglasses pushed up on his head indoors, T.V glow on his face.*

Suraj Eh ra! Abbai — all good to go?! Bus on-time?

**6.** *Anudeep, walking, breezy.*

Anudeep Haan-haan ra! Just there…

**7.** *Close on his face. A small guilty softness — he doesn't want to be a bother.*

Anudeep *(thought)*: *Ippudu veedini disturb cheyadam enduku le…*

Anudeep *(thought)*: *Auto ekkesthe ayipothundi.*

**8.** *An auto swings up to the kerb, driver leaning out, cheerful.*

Auto Uncle:** Dha babu ekku — adi degare, dimpestha!

---

## Page Three

**9.** *The auto threading thick evening traffic. Bikes, a cow, a wedding hoarding, string lights.*

S.F.X: *Honk! Honk! Honk!*

Caption: *In that traffic…*

**10.** Big Panel. His P.O.V out the open side — the skyline lit up. Glass towers, a flyover curving away, a metro sliding past at eye level. Anudeep half-hanging out of the auto.*

Anudeep Dang! Hyd is so pret-tayy!

Anudeep It's changed a lot since I last saw it!

**11.** *Close. Eyes shining. Pep-talking himself.*

Anudeep *(thought)*: *Okay. Okay. Okay ra Anudeep — oka 2 years tarvata, inka pedda ga koddam.*

**12.** *The auto brakes. The noise drops away all at once.*

S.F.X: *braap— …*

Auto Uncle:** Babu! Leggu — amma, mee address vachindi!

---

## Page Four

**13.** *Wide. Anudeep standing with two bags in a hushed two-storey colony. Wires overhead, a temple loudspeaker pole, one flickering streetlamp. Two street dogs sitting like bored security guards, staring dead at us. One crow.*

S.F.X: Caw · *whuff.*

**14.** *Close on Anudeep's face. The excitement is still there. It is doing its very best.*

Anudeep *(thought)*: *…okay.*

Anudeep *(thought)*: *Okay. This should be the establishment. Foundation building. Hardship phase.*

**15.** *The outside staircase. He climbs, hauling bags. On the third step: a single abandoned slipper. He steps over it. Looks back at it once.*

S.F.X: *thnk. thnk.*

**16.** *His hand on a rusted gate, easing it open. Low, tense framing — the art starts playing horror without telling him.*

S.F.X: *creeeeak*

---

# ▸ Act Two — Escalation · panels 17 to 40

## Page Five

**17.** Hard Cut. A pale zombie hand rises into frame against a blue glow.*

S.F.X: Ding-Dong

**18.** *Pull back — it was a horror film on the T.V. In front of it: Suraj and Kicha, slack-jawed, snacks everywhere. And in the top corner of the room, above the curtain rail, a matchbox-sized black object with a single red pinprick.*

S.F.X (tiny): *bip.*

**19.** *Suraj raises a hand without looking away from the screen.*

Suraj Aagu — choostha.

**20.** *Suraj opens the door. Beat. His face falls open in slow, dawning horror — because in his head a ghost story is still running.*

Suraj Aa— aa— **Anudeep…?!**

---

## Page Six

**21.** *Suraj recoils. Kicha springs off the sofa behind him.*

Suraj **deyyam!**

Keecha deyyam! deyyam!

**22.** *Anudeep — deadpan, cold, exhausted — steps in and slaps Suraj's arm.*

S.F.X: Thwap

Anudeep **Nene bey!**

**23.** *Silence. Both stare. Anudeep walks past them and drops onto the hall floor with his bag.*

**24.** *Suraj leans to Kicha, whispering, still not convinced. Anudeep, without looking, slaps him again.*

Suraj *(whisper)*: Veedu nijame eh na…? Deyyam antava?

S.F.X: Thwap

---

## Page Seven

**25.** *Kitchen. Kicha, recovered instantly, pours coffee into a scraped-label glass jar. Close enough to read: Priy

S.F.X: *glug*

**26.** *Suraj sits by Anudeep on the floor, softer now.*

Suraj Eh ra — repu vasthuna anavu kada. Em ayindi?

**27.** *Anudeep mumbles, looking away, not wanting to explain the "didn't want to bother you" of it.*

Anudeep *(mumbling)*: Enduku le ani vachesa.

**28.** *Kicha hands him the jar. Anudeep sniffs it — a tiny "!" over his head. It smells of mango pickle. He drinks anyway.*

S.F.X: *tnk*

Keecha Coffee tho.

Caption (Anudeep): The tumbler smells of pickle. I drink it anyway. Politeness is a prison.

---

## Page Eight

**29.** *Suraj already pulling on a jacket.*

Suraj Sare, taggu — nenu, Kicha office ki velli vasthamu. Repu time spend chedam.

**30.** *He points down the corridor at a plain, slightly-off door.*

Suraj Coffee taggi kastha fresh avu. Adi nee room.

**31.** *Both bolting out the front door, half into their shoes, panicking about the time.*

Suraj & Keecha 12 avuthundi — padda padda—!

S.F.X: *slam*

**32.** *Anudeep alone in a suddenly very quiet flat, jar in hand.*

Anudeep *(thought)*: *…idi temporary. Padakonda vaaralu. Tarvata rendu years.*

---

## Page Nine

**33.** *He opens "his" room. More store-room than bedroom — boxes, a spare cot, a bare bulb, dust. He deflates slightly.*

Anudeep *(thought)*: *Room aa… store room aa?*

**34.** *He starts unpacking on the cot, folding a shirt into a precise square.*

**35.** *A small noise from the kitchen.*

S.F.X: *clk… tk.*

**36.** *He pokes his head into the kitchen. Empty. Still. A tap drips.*

S.F.X: *drip.*

Anudeep *(thought)*: *Emo… edo padipoyi untadi.*

---

## Page Ten

**37.** *Back in the room. He lies on the cot, hands behind his head, staring at the bulb.*

Anudeep *(thought)*: *Okay. Settle avu. Just a few months.*

**38.** *He turns his head right. Beat panel. Two glowing eyes in the gloom beside the cot.*

**39.** *A fat cat. It blinks at him.*

S.F.X: *meow.*

**40.** *Anudeep — who is scared of cats — Launches off the cot, limbs everywhere.*

Anudeep Ah

S.F.X: Whump

---

# ▸ Act Three — the Turn · panels 41 to 52

## Page Eleven

**41.** *He yanks the front door open to escape the cat — and freezes. A young woman is standing right outside in the dark.*

S.F.X: *creeeeak*

**42.** *He panics, doesn't process her at all, slams it shut and backs away.*

S.F.X: Slam

**43.** *Silence. Then hard pounding on the door.*

S.F.X: *Bang Bang Bang*

Anudeep *(thought)*: *Nope. Nope nope nope.*

**44.** *His phone buzzes in his pocket. He nearly leaves his body.*

S.F.X: *bzzt bzzt*

Anudeep *(thought)*: *Ide time lo call cheyala ani…*

---

## Page Twelve

**45.** *Split. Anudeep frantic; Suraj casual in a bright office corridor.*

Anudeep Arey suuu— Suraj, nee—! Door bayata evaro unnaru ra—!

**46.** *Suraj waves it off entirely.*

Suraj Aa — tanu Aishwarya. Mana intiki pakkane untadi. Dinner teesukoni vachi untadi.

**47.** *Anudeep deflating, hand on forehead.*

Anudeep …pakkane aa.

Suraj Door open chey ra, pichoda.

**48.** *Door opens. Aishwarya — hoodie, easy stance, a steel tiffin box, an unbothered half-smile. She's been out there the whole time.*

**Aishwarya:** Hi!! Sry—

Anudeep Sry—

---

## Page Thirteen

**49.** *Aishwarya steps in, dry, completely at ease.*

**Aishwarya:** I thought aa sollu Suraj gadu kaavali ani door open cheyatledu ani.

**Aishwarya:** So — you're Anudeep kada?

**50.** *Anudeep sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck.*

Anudeep Haan. Indaka edo "deyyam cinema" adi idi anaru, so…

**51.** *She waves it off, setting the tiffin down, already opening it.*

**Aishwarya:** Adi common eh le, chill. Ee intlo prathi kotha manishi okka roju full ga bhayapaddake settle avtharu.

Anudeep …adi reassuring aa?

**Aishwarya:** *(handing him a plate)* Ledu. Kaani true.

**52.** *The cat strolls back in. Anudeep flinches toward her. She immediately crouches and scoops it up, cooing, completely at home.*

S.F.X: *meow.*

Anudeep Asalu… idi bhayapettindi mundu. This thing.

**Aishwarya:** Arey bujjoda~ asalu vasthava raa ee intiki?

---

# ▸ Act Four — the Landing · panels 53 to 64

## Page Fourteen

**53.** *The two of them at the small table, eating. The ice properly breaking — the first real conversation of the series.*

**Aishwarya:** So. Two years ante — masters aa?

Anudeep Haan. Applications ayipoyayi. Results kosam wait. Ee three months… gap.

**Aishwarya:** *(chewing, gesturing at the flat with her spoon)* Appudu idi nee training ground anamata.

Anudeep *(looking around at the mess)* Survival camp.

*She snorts. First joint laugh.*

**54.** *Mid-laugh — everything cuts to black. Inverter glow. Both lit sickly blue-green.*

S.F.X: *tk— … hmmmmmmm*

**55.** *Aishwarya grins. She's enjoying this.*

**Aishwarya:** Ippudu perfect "deyyam cinema" laga undi kada?

**56.** *She leans in, spinning the bit, delighted.*

**Aishwarya:** Just imagine — ippudu, a guy drained in rain, like a mut… walks up… and knocks the door.

---

## Page Fifteen

**57.** Parallel Panel. Outside, in the dark drizzle, a soaked silhouette is genuinely trudging up toward the door. Right on cue.*

**58.** *And the door knocks. Both of them freeze mid-bite.*

S.F.X: *knock knock*

Anudeep Did you hear that??

**Aishwarya:** Em ayi untadi…??

**59.** *The lock turns — from outside. Someone has keys.*

S.F.X: *k-klik*

**60.** *Both scramble back. Aishwarya, who is never rattled, actually screams.*

**Aishwarya:** Ah

---

## Page Sixteen

**61.** Big Panel. In the doorway: Jay. Soaked from the drizzle, hair flat, holding a torch up under his own chin — the worst possible lighting — and utterly, unremarkably calm. A small faint scar on his left brow.*

*Anudeep bolts across the room.*

Anudeep Ah

**Jay:** …hi.

**62.** *Aishwarya, hand on chest, recognising him instantly — half relief, half exasperation. Anudeep is still flattened against the far wall and has understood nothing.*

**Aishwarya:** Nuvva?!

Anudeep *(from the wall)* Evaru?! **Evaru ra idi?!**

**Aishwarya:** *(flat, already bored of the drama)* Idi Suraj cousin illu kada. Veede aa cousin.

**63.** *Beat. The information arrives. Anudeep peels himself off the wall, and the terror converts straight into indignation.*

Anudeep …avuna?! **Suraj never mentioned—!**

*Jay sets the torch down, peels off the wet jacket, and actually laughs — a short one. The first from him.*

**Jay:** Haha — technically nenu ikkada kaadu ga. **Paina.**

**Jay:** Aa spike on chesa Aishu daniki… inkoka spike edo pettadu Kicha. Daani valla trip ayindi anukunta.

*And while Jay is talking — a small silent piece of business at the edge of the panel. Anudeep leans very slightly sideways. His eyes travel **down.** He is not listening to a word. He is checking Jay's feet.*

*Bare. Muddy from the lane. Pointing the correct way round.*

*He straightens up, satisfied, and rejoins the conversation two sentences late.*

*Aishwarya, meanwhile, has already made the executive decision the scene needed:*

**Aishwarya:** Sare. Ravayya, **dheyyam garu.** Annam thinu — inka konchem undi.

**Jay:** *(a beat; then, sitting down)* …dheyyam garu aa.

**Aishwarya:** Peru sampadinchav. Ippudu bathuku daanitho.

**64.** *Three shots, one panel row — then out.*

*a) The three of them on the floor around Aishwarya's tiffin, plates out, the inverter's blue-green light making it feel like a secret.*

**Aishwarya:** …ippudu chepthe — first day ye idi antha jarigindi ante—

Anudeep Cheppaku. Please. Naaku **repu** kuda undali ee intlo.

**Jay:** *(mildly, eating)* Repu current vasthundi le.

Anudeep Adi kaadu point—

*Aishwarya is already laughing. Then Jay. Then, despite himself, Anudeep.*

*b) Pull Way Out — the building from the dark lane below. One lit window. Inside it, three small figures, laughing.*

*c) Foreground, bottom of frame: Suraj and Kicha coming up the lane, bags on shoulders, stopping dead. Looking up at the window. Faces slack with horror.*

Suraj …orey. **Dheyyam dheyyam** anavu kada. Ippudu choodu em ayindi.

Keecha *(very quietly)* Okkade undalsina Anudeep… ippudu **rendu dheyyalatho** undadu.

*Long beat. The laughing continues in the window above. Neither of them moves.*

Suraj *(not taking his eyes off the window)* …lopala veltama?

Keecha *(already backing away)* Nenu ra bey. **Nuvvu** vellu.

*They are still standing in the lane when the panel ends.*

## End of Episode 1

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