City of Joy Page #23

ARISTOTLE JOHN:

Where can we take them? We can't

take them back to the clinic. No

one will put up with it.

SALADDIN:

We can't let them drown, can we?

Eh, Max Daddah?

EXT. LEPER COLONY - DAY

The leper colony is submerged. The parents have puttheir children on the roofs and the relatively able-

bodied lepers are piling charpoys one on top of anotherto protect the sick and the infirm. Meeta and her babyare on a roof. The mud bank is too slippery to get therickshaws down and back up.

HASARI:

It's too deep!

(CONTINUED)

120.

CONTINUED:

A beat.

EXT. LEPER COLONY - PAIR MUDDY, PARTIAL HANDS - SAME

DAY - SOME MINUTES LATER

A leper clings to a rope as several of the human horsespull him and others up the mud bank.

ANOTHER ANGLE:

Max, Hasari, Rassoul, and Chomotkar up to their necksin water; Hasari and Rassoul have a door on their

shoulders; on top of the door, a sick leper woman.

Max is lifting one child, then another onto the door.

The two pullers make their way slowly toward the mudbank.

ON MUD BANK:

Aloka, Joan, helping lepers into rickshaw.

MEETA:

Anouar!

ANOUAR:

Max Daddah!

ON MEETA AND BABY

The hut starts to come apart under them. Max and

Chomotkar quickly move to the house with another door.

MAX:

We're here! We're here!

Chomotkar holds the door up as Meeta holds the babyout in the direction of Max's voice. Max catches the

baby as the house slips down, then grabs Meeta, whoclings to him.

EXT. MUD BANK - DAY

Hasari pulling the lead rickshaw. Anouar on Max's

shoulders, the two of them leading a terrible ensembleversion of "Hound Dog." An air of festivity amonglepers and rescuers.

They come to a bridge made of two planks over rushing

water.

(CONTINUED)

121.

CONTINUED:

Several rickshaws go across but as Max and Anouar start

over, suddenly the ground gives way beneath Max's feet.

Anouar falls free; someone grabs him; but a blackish

stream rushes into Max's mouth and in an instant he's

swept beneath the gurgling filth. The density of the

filth makes his effort to surface ineffective. It

looks for all the world like he's going to drown.

ON OTHERS:

Max has disappeared. Instinctively, Hasari dives into

the maelstrom. He, too, disappears. After some moments,

Hasari surfaces, spitting the filth out of his mouth.

He dives again, comes up somewhere else. Dives a third

time. Is down. Is down. Is down. Then suddenly

bursts out of the filth, dragging the unconscious form

of Max Loeb into the air. More people have gathered.

Cries of:

OTHERS:

It's the doctor. Save Doctor BigBrother!

Aloka passes a baby to someone and helps Hasari pushMax up onto the bank. But now Hasari doesn't know

what to do and turns to his wife.

Aloka quickly clears Max's mouth and begins to administer

mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. She blows, she

breathes; she blows, she breathes. People crowd in.

Aloka blows, she breathes. It seems, though, that byhis stillness and by the looks on people's faces thatMax is dead. Yet, more determined still, Aloka goeson; blows, breathes...

CLOSE ON ALOKA AND MAX

And now Max gags, his body erupts in spasm, and heexplodes a stream of black liquid out of his lungs.

Aloka supports his forehead as Max retches again andthen comes still. A beat.

INT. CLASSROOM - NIGHT

We PAN ACROSS members of our group -- lepers andnormals -- passing bowls of rice in a simple communalmeal, Singing a religious song quietly. On the floor

in the b.g., Anouar is writing something on a slightlydamp stretch of cloth with a child's crayon. Said

takes the cloth and tacks it to the wall. What Anouar

has written is this, "All that is not given is lost."

Everyone in the room stares at the words.

122.

INT. CLINIC - MAX'S ROOM - NIGHT

Max opens his eyes to find Joan, Hasari, Aloka, and thechildren keeping a vigil.

MAX:

Oh, Jesus, the guy went to sleepwhen he was supposed to be working?

I gotta get up -

He tries to get up. Joan pushes him back down.

JOAN:

Sshh, sshh, sshh! No heroics,

junior.

right.

Lay back. You're all

MAX:

All right.

(a distant laugh)

Yeah, I am, I'm all right.

He is a little delirious. The boys come close, kneelat his side, instinctively reach out to him.

MAX:

Want you guys to know something.

About me. Wanted to be the

world's greatest heart surgeon,

just one better than my dad. Just

one. First time I'm the lead

surgeon on a case, the main guy, Ichoke. Froze. The chief made me

step aside. My teacher. Had to

take over for me. Went into

radiology. Photography. Had to

have somethin' easy. No pressure.

Wasn't too nuts about myself.

Quit.

Hasari reaches out and touches Max, telling him with atouch that it's all right. He stares up through blearyeyes at all of them with utterly open love. Amrita

holds out a small gift to him: It's a banana leaf,

holding a small scoop of rice and surrounded by littledecorative leaves.

MAX:

You people... You...

(a beat)

I love you guys.

EXT. RAM'S HUT - TWO MONTHS LATER - DAY

A group gathered on a dry, sunny afternoon, peering intothe hut. We FOCUS on the growing flower in the teacaddy in the window and then go THROUGH the window into:

123.

INT. PALS' ROOM - DAY

Hasari, Max (dressed quite India), the local Hara Giri,

Mr. Ghosh and the four Ghosh uncles crammed into the

tiny room. Members of our group jam the doorway,

spectating. The air is close.

HASARI:

I can offer no more than I've

offered! No more! All right,

I'll add two dhotis, two vests,

and a punjabi. But that's all.

Mr. Ghosh lights up a bidi, looks at his brothers,

wrinkles his brows at Hasari.

MR. GHOSH

That's all? Did he say that'sall?

HASARI:

My daughter's qualities will makeup for what is lacking.

SUBASH'S FATHER

Well, it won't do! I am firm in

requiring for my exceptional sonthe bicycle, 1000 repees... andone ounce of gold.

HASARI:

That's robbery! The child of a

rajah might be worth that, andI'm not even sure of that!

Impossible!

We linger on Shambu a moment.

INT. ST. PIUS SCHOOL - HEADMISTRESSES' OFFICE - DAY

Sister Cecilia, in full habit, looks over a sheaf of

test scores.

Then she peers up at...

ANOTHER ANGLE:

Manooj, seated between Hasari and Max.

SISTER CECILIA:

Well, indeed I think Sister Joan

is right -- we've got a prospecthere. We'll start you off with afew classes; if that works out,

we'll make a proper student of you.

(CONTINUED)

124.

CONTINUED:

Hasari can't believe his ears. Manooj sits frozen. Max

grins.

EXT. NARROW LANE - NEAR CITY OF JOY - DAY

Amrita, Subash, and Shambu heading home from the workshop.

Shambu's cast is gone. Subash flirts with

Amrita. They see Hasari, Max, and Manooj coming towardthem. Manooj runs to them, shouting that he's going tothe school; Amrita, Subash, Shambu congratulate him...

HASARI AND MAX:

Suddenly the rickshaw wheels jam. They turn to findtwo men, one of whom has slammed a stick into Hasari's

spokes. Retribution, it would seem, has arrived.

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