Draft: Mitha Pukur

Story 01: Episode 01

The episode begins with a lot of hue and cry at village home at the break of dawn. the youngest of the child at that house is suffering bad. someone needs to take him to a doctor, but where the hell is money! then one of village elders come and offer the water from Mitha Pukur, the local holy pond that has turned holy suddenly a year back, and people are getting miraculously cured just by drinking the water.

Zara, a fearless TV reporter in her pursuit to do a news feature series on the unknown in Bangladesh arrives at the spot to investigate. All she find out is people praising this blessing and presenting first witnesses to miracles. No one ventures to provide her with reason, though she manages to make friends with a young and aspirational village youth, Zaman, who tells her that the elders believe the Djin come to the pond in the night to bless it. He also explains that there are two kinds of Djins - the good ones and the bad. And, incidentally the good ones hate the sight of unrelated women, and therfore it's forbidden for women to go to the pond in the night.

With curiosity burning in full throttle, Zara decides to take a look the pond in the night. But, all they find is vigilante group guarding it zealously, with Zaman at the helm. Zaman first wants to talk her away from the pond. But, she proves to be tough nut to crack. And, in the ensuing struggle she get badly injured by a meat-cleaver, and ends up being chased by an angry village mob.

While running through some thickets, suddenly another person leaps out of a bush,and drags her back to bush with her mouth clasped shut with his hand. Pinning her down securely, he whispers, "you idiot, don't shout and don't run. the sound you make is giving your position away like you were beating a drum to announce where they can get away." When the man releases the hand over her mouth, she whispers back, "Who are you?" The guy gives a suppressed giggle and answers, "A friend, for now, who wants you to be alive. Can't really vouch for tomorrow, though."

The episode ends on that note of surprising twist.

Story 01: Episode 02

The second episode begins that the same house where the child was sick at the beginning of the first episode, and Zara has come to interview the family. This is the first case she met in her tour to village where the miracle cure didn't work. She is surprised, and goes out to a village elder to ask for the reason. The elder just shrugs, and say that the water has no effect on minors who are uninitiatied yet to the mysteries of the world. While Zara comes out of the elder's house she meets Zaman, who is repents at his hurting Zara so bad. Looking at her crude bandage, he offer her a glass of holy pond water to get her cured fast. Too afraid to refuse, she drinks the water.

When Zaman goes back, another person appears, who obviously is a city man. Laughing at zara's inquisitive looks her whispers, "do you recognize my voice now?" Zara finds that this is the man who saved her life last night, and he is a psychologist doing a research on the unexplained, or to be more precious to prove that the unexplained is is so because of ignorance only. Amir, the research psychologist, Zara, and Zaman with fewt of his friends take the sick child to the nearest doctor. And, on the way Amir explains the power of placebo is healing, with the help of his laptop and wireless internet connection, making a convert out of Zara, who becomes sad feeling her big investigative report series has been nipped in the bud. He also manages to make Zaman and his friends quite skeptic, as he explains that placebo is depended on the strength of faith, and that's why the children are seldom cured.

With a heavy heart Zara leaves the village together with Amir, who managed to tend to her injuries in a more scientific way, declaring that the delay in proper treatment may result is several weeks to heal, and scars would remain sans a serious plastic surgery. On the way Zara requests him to do something about the itching inside her bandage. When Amir attempts to change the bandage he discovers in utter disbelieve that the injury has healed completely, and there's not the slightest of blemish on Zara.

Coming back to the town they both wonder - was it really a mass hysteric dependence on placebo, or was it really a miracle.

Note: I believe, Zara needs a camera person to operate as a TV reporter. I hope to develop the camera person as comic relief and a sidekick, like the kid taxi-driver in The Temple of Doom.