Film Synopsis - Kane and Abel

Synopsis #12

Title:    Kane and Abel

Idea:    The Bait

Plot:     Elder brother puts himself in harms’ way to protect his younger brother fallen foul of an underworld don betting on cricket matches

Genre: Crime

Script Regn No (SWA): 40394

Membership No: 49484

Seg 1

Parents have their favorites. Usually it is the mother who sets up the contest with her choice being the younger one. Traditionally, aging parents stay with the youngest child. For that reason, when a will is made the parents’ house is usually given to the youngest. The leftovers or surplus to the rest. 

Seg 2

The mother’s role in this division of Father’s blessing and property between the children – usually two, has historical precedents going back to 4000+ years - Esau and Jacob – being prime example. Abraham’s son Israel’s wife Rebekah manipulates the situation and steals the father’s blessing for the eldest child Esau and has it conferred on Jacob (“the liar” biblically translated). 

Seg 3

The prodigal son being one of Jesus’ most notable and quoted parable. In the parable the youngest asks for his share of the father’s property and wastes it on indulgent living, regressing to the point, when all is spent, to live with the pigs and not even getting to eat what the pigs eat. 

Seg 4

The prodigal son returns to his father. The Father slaughters the fatted calf to celebrate the son’s return. The elder son returning from the fields after a hard day’s work learns of the celebration and the reasons for it. He is justifiably aggrieved. 

Seg 5

The younger son who is meant to live with his parents returns home. Biblically, it represents the love of God the Father ever ready to forgive when the sinner repents of his ways and wants to be forgiven. When seen from human eyes - the elder one gets the shaft while the younger one despite everything he has done gets the booty. 

Seg 6

Nothing has changed much over thousands of years when it comes to adoring mother and younger son ruling the roost despite every unconscionable action committed by him. 

Seg 7

Vijay and Sonjay are elder and younger sons of an industrialist father. Vijay is hardworking and pushed to the limits by his hard-nosed father who does not know the word – defeat. Once he has set his mind on an acquisition or project – only the end matters; the means must bend to his will – toward that pursuit. 

Seg 8

Sonjay finds satisfaction in coming to his plush office, signing off on cheques, which require two signatures – either that of the father and one more of either of the sons – or the two sons’ signatures. It is the father’s way of keeping control and for operational reasons, when he may not be available to sign the cheques. 

Seg 9

Sonjay finds joy in socializing with the celebrity-set including actors and sports personalities. He is the brand ambassador for the company sporting the company brand on his T-shirt when being photographed with the celebrities at high profile sports and media events. His mother too takes joys in living out this celebrity life vicariously. 

Seg 10

Vijay stays studiously away from the limelight. Burning the proverbial midnight oil. Making sure the factories are running at full utilization, the supply-chain is well-oiled with no hiccups, the distributors and retailers are happy and pushing the products aggressively. 

Seg 11

He focuses on multimillion-dollar acquisitions to grow the company’s business in core and adjacent areas. He also keeps abreast of technology trends to ensure the business is using the best to drive productivity. He ensures that debt is being raised at the lowest cost and cash flow is good to cover the interest and the principal. 

Seg 12

He is the face for the investors in the company. Ensuring they are getting good returns on their investments. Only networking Vijay ever does is with people who will partner him in taking the business forward. 

Seg 13

When not at work or traveling, Vijay is at home with his wife and two young children either watching a movie to take his mind off work or chatting with his wife and kids on how was their day, helping the kids with homework especially with math or discussing how the book that his wife is writing is progressing giving her useful feedback.  

Seg 14

Sonjay progressively gets sucked into the film world and betting on sports events – initially for fun – to test out his instincts and his understanding of the components that lead to victory. He is also gifted with a good math brain and an analytical mind. 

Seg 15

After a while the lure of money in the betting business which makes him huge bucks that funds his lifestyle – moves from the legitimate exercise of brain power – predictive analytics of past game data to bet on the winner – to the illegitimate dalliances when some of the bets go wrong. When the past is no more a good predictor of the future. Data and player skills and experience has nothing to do with outcome. What matters is the money riding on the game. 

Seg 16

The descent from legal and above-board to illegal and underworld is imperceptible to Sonjay himself and to his family. It is so seamless that no one event appears to have triggered the descent into a world where everyone is always looking over the shoulder. 

Seg 17

From legit and corporate do’s with film personalities and sports stars he is seen partying with savvy and sophisticated, but underneath it all unsavory characters who make a living on illegal betting, laying ‘honey-traps’, blackmail, extortion and even kidnapping. 

Seg 18

Sonjay is asleep most of the day and at all-night binges, drugs, women till dawn. The transition from respectable responsibility of managing the company’s image and keeping the brand in the spotlight with sports and celebrity sponsorships to skipping office, being incoherent in meetings, impulsive decisions, expired contracts leading to legal entangles … come to Vijay’s attention. 

Seg 19

Vijay soon begins to get involved in brand-related discussions, advertising campaigns and contracts, supplier payments and finds that the whole system is in a mess. He is never able to meet Sonjay since he is rarely in the office and at night he is out. 

Seg 20

Vijay meets with his mother and asks how often she meets with Sonjay. Sonjay lives with his parents. Vijay lives independently but not too far from the family mansion. His mother says rarely. He is asleep all through the day – most days – and then he leaves the house without informing her. She asks Vijay if something amiss. Vijay tells her that all is fine. He does not want to involve his mother and father in the mess that Sonjay has created. 

Seg 21

One day while Vijay is conducting a meeting with the advertising agency, Sonjay walks in. He asks the head of the advertising agency what is happening here. The agency head says that they are presenting the annual plans for the brand. Sonjay says to whom are they presenting without him knowing about it. Vijay, who Sonjay does not notice, in the throng of people in the conference room, speaks up that they are presenting to him. Vijay asks Sonjay to join the meeting. 

Seg 22

Sonjay tells the agency head and his team members to leave. Vijay wants to avoid a public confrontation. He does not want to give grist to the rumor mill that all is not right in the family. He nods to the agency head and they begin to pack up. Vijay says tells them to leave everything as is wait in the adjoining conference room. 

Seg 23

Sonjay demands to know from Vijay why he was not informed about the meeting. Vijay tells him to check his mail and his mobile he will see notifications about the meeting. Vijay asks isn’t that the reason Sonjay has come to the conference room? 

Seg 24

Sonjay accuses Vijay of slowly getting into his functional responsibilities to finally take over the company. He tells Vijay that he has no business dealing with the advertising agency. That is his business. That he is attempting to sideline him from their father’s business. The rant continues. Vijay lets Sonjay vent his feelings without saying a word in between. 

Seg 25

The father hears the commotion in the office. So do the advertising folks in the adjoining conference room. The agency head tells his team that they should head back to office. He swears them to client confidentiality with no reference ever to be made of the day’s events. They nod their heads in agreement and leave the room and the building. The agency head confers with Vijay’s secretary and leaves too. 

Seg 26

Father enters the conference room. Sonjay says he wants a share of the property. Just like that out of the blue. The father controls his mercurial temper that Vijay has often been exposed to when things go wrong. Father looks at Vijay. Vijay nods his head side-to-side imperceptibly signaling his father that this was not the time. 

Seg 27

Sonjay starts his rant again. How Vijay has made him a eunuch in the company. Impotent without any responsibility. Slowing assuming all responsibilities. Even the marketing responsibility that he has been handling so ably till now. Sonjay repeats his request that he wants share of the property. He wants to run his own ‘show’ and be his own ‘man’. Not be insulted before vendors like the advertising agency. 

Seg 28

Father at home with his wife. He shares what happened at the office. Wife says Sonjay is right. Nothing grows under the shadow of a banyan tree. The look on the husband’s face suggests that he is unclear which banyan tree his wife was referring to – himself or Vijay – who by now was practically running the company. The nature of the expansions the company was making was driven by hi-tech which was beyond the ‘old man’s’ understanding. Of course, he understood money well and still had a say on investments made. 

Seg 29

Sonjay meanwhile had notched up a huge debt with the betting mafia. They were after him to make good. Vijay had no issues with Sonjay’s lifestyle. It was part of the work he did unlike Vijay who was either in overall at the factory or in suit with banks and other lenders. 

Seg 30

For a while though he had begun to sense that something was wrong, but he simply could not put his hand and mind on it. Also, he started taking on Sonjay’s responsibilities at office because Sonjay was not in office – nor was he available to consult – as he was asleep. The taking over of the responsibilities was so gradual that Vijay at one point was handling all Sonjay’s responsibilities since he had mastered it. Sonjay was not missed until the storming of the conference room the day before. 

Seg 31

Vijay without informing his parents decides to engage a detective agency to report of Sonjay’s movement and activities. 

Seg 32

It is during one such recce event when Sonjay gets badly roughed up outside a bar by some thugs. He is left bleeding on the road. One set of detectives – former IB and CBI officers – pick up Sonjay and bundle him into his car after retrieving the keys from his pant pocket before the crowd can react. Another set follow the thugs.

Seg 33

The IB officers contact their colleagues active in service to put a tap on the calls from their area (done illegally, of course) to track the caller and receiver numbers. The thugs stop outside a huge mansion with several security guards at the entrance – some with guns. The IB officers know the house and the man. Badshah was an underworld don who became respectable by fighting elections and was the local MLA. 

Seg 34

One of the sleuths, Brig Ribeiro, retired from the military police takes Sonjay to his home. He lives with his daughter Genevieve who is newly minted doctor. He asks her if she can tidy up this chap - clean up and dress Sonjay’s wounds and put him to bed. She makes some comment about ‘onward salvation army’ to which Brig gives her ‘please’ look. 

Seg 35

Brig gets on the phone and reports to Vijay all that has happened. He tells him that Badshah the betting czar’s men had messed up Sonjay who is being treated at his home by his doctor daughter. Brig asks what is to be done with Sanjoy. Vijay says he will come to pick Sanjoy right away. 

Seg 36

Vijay lands up at Brig’s place. One person follows him. A hefty fellow, in one swing, he lifts Sonjay on to his shoulder and takes him to the van which has a stretcher and belt to hold people down. 

Seg 37

Vijay takes Sonjay to a hospital-cum-de-addiction centre run by a friend of his. He briefs his friend that some criminal elements are after Sonjay. He thought the centre was a good place to hide him for a bit and get him off alcohol and drugs as well. 

Seg 38

He asks his friend to mask Sanjoy’s identity in the centre register and go easy on removing the bandage from his face so that he stays unrecognized. It so happens that Genevieve is interning at the de-addiction centre as her specialization is related to addictions of all sorts. 

Seg 39

Vijay calls up the DCP – Dy Commissioner of Police – a batchmate and family friend – and tells him about the situation that Sonjay has got himself into. The DCP tells Vijay that Sonjay has made a bad choice – a feared hoodlum and a politician with a vote bank. 

Seg 40

Vijay asks the DCP if he should lodge a complaint with the police station. The DCP advices against it. No witness will come forward to dispose. Furthermore, you will bring attention on yourself. In any case, when they find out that Sonjay has gone missing, the DCP tells Vijay to expect a call from Badshah. DCP asks Vijay if he is willing to be the bait to snag this ‘respectable’ don. 

Seg 41

Vijay thinks of his peaceful existence with a sound business and a loving family with two small kids. He thinks of his younger brother. He is aware of the consequences of what the DCP is suggesting. He says, yes. He will be the bait to get his brother out of this mess. 

Seg 42

The DCP’s team in mufti as telephone linesmen secure both the homes with CCTV around the house, the streets leading up to it and Vijay’s office. A inner jacket is designed for Vijay which is both bullet proof and conceals a recording machine that gets operated when the zip is played around with – down fully or down and up – just in case the jacket has to be removed. 

Seg 43

Two weeks into Sonjay’s disappearance a stir breaks out at Vijay’s factory. His transportation / logistics workers demand a pay hike. Soon a scuffle breaks out between the troublemakers and the loyal workers of the company. 

Seg 44

Badshah the MLA turns up at the spot to survey the situation. He is accompanied by the local SI. The SI and the cops get hold of the loyal workers and put them in the lockup. Vijay learns of this and knows that the problems have begun. 

Seg 45

The logistics strike starts upsetting his deliveries and shortages show up at the retail end. Consumers start switching to the alternatives available. For the first time the company in all its existence must report quarterly losses. 

Seg 46

Vijay gets a call on his mobile. They say they know at any point in time where his parents, wife and children are. They are not interested in him or his family. They want to get hold of Sonjay. Alternatively, Vijay can pay off Sonjay’s debts of Rs 50 crore. The man says in their business it is 5% interest per day. In a few days it can become Rs 100 crore. 

Seg 47

Back at the centre Sonjay is able to kick his addictions under the tender care of Genevieve. He still keeps a face plaster on except at night when he is going to sleep or when completely alone. The reach of the don is far and wide.  

Seg 48

Sonjay discloses to GV how from predictive analytics by which he could predict a winner and bet accordingly, how the game started getting fixed and he just slid on to the other side racking up a huge debt to the underworld. To pay off the debt he has been borrowing heavily from his celebrity friends. Soon he found that he was seeing less and less of them and more and more of a different lot of people. He thought he could pay them all by getting his share of his father’s property and business. 

Seg 49

Vijay’s secretary informs him that he has a visitor. It is MLA Badshah. Vijay asks him to be shown in. Vijay adjusts his zip on his inner jacket. Badshah comes to the point without much off a hello. He says you have lost over Rs 500 crore in the last quarter due to the disruption of your supply chain. He said he can solve the problem. Cost: Rs 100 crore. 

Seg 50

Vijay asks Badshah what surety he can give. Badshah says his word is the law. Vijay asks him what assurance he can give that it will not happen again. Badshah asks Vijay whether the company pays taxes to the government. Vijay confirms they do. Badshah says that is all there is to it. Some quarterly tax must be paid to him. And life will go on peacefully. 

Seg 51

Badshah without bothering to conclude the discussion asks about Sonjay. That he has not been seeing him around at the bar and restaurant. Vijay asks him which bar and restaurant. He says casually the biggest and best in town around the corner. Vijay says he is not the drinking type, so he does not know the B&R Badshah is referring to, but glad to know that it belongs to Badshah. 

Seg 52

Badshah gets up to take leave. He says we will meet tomorrow at the cricket stadium. Let us have a drink at his special member box and watch the match. And yes, please bring the money in your car and leave the key behind. We offer valet service here. 

Seg 53

Vijay says you own the cricket stadium too. Badshah says silly man. You must get out sometime and have a life instead spending all the time sitting behind the desk. You do not have to own the cricket stadium. Only the committee that runs it. See you tomorrow. I will not visit again. If you do not show up the strike will continue. We will also help you find Sonjay. Badshah says he understands that Sonjay was last seen outside his restaurant. We are looking for the people who took him away. 

Seg 54

Vijay drives in at the appointed time. A valet takes his key and drives the car out. Vijay meets with Badshah in the member box. Badshah tells Vijay that Sonjay was exceptionally good in predicting the matches with his special analytics skill. He was so good that he made our life easy. I also learnt to predict what will happen during the match. Watch in the third ball of the over the batsmen will knick the ball straight into the hands of third slip. 

Seg 55

Badshah exults when it happens exactly how he predicted it. We owe Sonjay a lot. He owes us a lot too. Sonjay using his analytic skills told us which player is vulnerable. He told us which player must be told what to do so that people watching never suspect that anything is wrong with the way the match or the player played the shot. We do not need people wiping ball with a handkerchief and all that nonsense. We have a whole lot of players from Ranji Trophy onwards on whom we have a full dossier to fix matches for the next whole year. We need Sonjay for the next world cup. That is a Rs 50,000 crore betting haul. 

Seg 56

Badshah phone rings. He says he has got to go. Enjoy the match and the food. The key is with the concierge. Just tell your car number and they will bring the car to you. 

Seg 57

Badshah reaches his restaurant and heads towards his office. His men are there. He opens the bag to check the money. The men look funny. He says what is the matter with you. Brig Ribeiro emerges from behind a secret door. He asks Badshah if he was looking for him. The DCP walks in with a police posse. He tells his officer to check the marked notes. Officer confirms. Get the tape from the CCTV. Round him up and take him away from the backdoor. 

Seg 58

Media screams of the arrest; the tape of the money being seized is played again and again; the cricket fixing commentary is unleashed. The don’s business of Bar & Restaurant, malls and multiplexes and are listed out. Cricket stadium committee members and players are seen rounded up for investigation across the country. 

Seg 59

Sonjay comes home with GV and Brig Ribeiro. He is joined by Vijay and family. Vijay walks to hug Sonjay. Sonjay bends down and touches Vijay’s feet.

 

Curtains.