Title: NoX
Author: Harshil
Draft date: 2025
ACT 1
.FADE TO: #1#
Black. BITS PILANI, PILANI
Black. NoX
INT. SAKET'S ROOM - NIGHT #2#
A very short short of Rishit, tied up, blindfolded, and his head hung over backward. He lifts his head up, then drops his head to his front again.
Make sure that there is a significant contrast of color space and brightness.
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. AKSHAY - AFTERNOON #3#
There is a big box of knives in the frame.
Black. Day 1
Rishit is seen crouching and inspecting the knives.
Black. RISHIT
Tanay comes into the frame.
TANAY
Bro ek aur?
RISHIT
Wo uh- abhi vala chaku nhi bigadna mujhe.
INSERT: In the forest-like area behind Cvr, Rishit is looking at a map.
BACK TO SCENE
TANAY
Bhai tere paas already 2 nhi h?
Tanay takes a can of coke and puts it in the basket near Rishit.
Rishit sneers.
RISHIT
I'll just... sdikhata hu tujhe. Free hai iske baad tu?
Rishit puts a sharp-looking knife in the basket
TANAY
Nope. TU clubless hai. martial arts practice hai aur phir ek GD (insert club name) ki.
RISHIT
Ek ghanta h na, kafi hai.
TANAY
Kafi h mtlab?
RISHIT
Ye khatam krte h pehle.
Rishit takes his wallet out, and gives cash to the cashier. // Cashier actor?
TANAY
Toh. Bta ab.
RISHIT
Ha wo actually-
Scene cuts when they get out of the exit.
CUT TO:
Black. Day 0
INT. RISHIT'S ROOM - NIGHT #4#
RISHIT is seen rummaging through his cupboard.
His bed is full of the contents of the cupboard.
Rishit sighs.
He half closes the cupboard door but stops. He opens it again. He looks at a particular groove. (See Illust.1)
He stretches his hands towards it. The shot changes to outside the cupboard, and we see him holding an old pen drive.
He examines it closely. It’s a plain, silver pendrive with no markings.
RISHIT
What's... this?
CUT TO:
INT. RISHIT'S ROOM - CONTINUOUS #5#
We see Rishit in front of his laptop. He is looks at the pendrive, then his laptop, again at the pendrive. He puts it in.
RISHIT
What the-
Show the list of files on the screen as in List-1. The thumbnails aren't visible for obvious reasons. Rishit is in list mode of file explorer.
RISHIT (V.O.)
Aaand it's a porn collection. Room pop bhul gaya shayad idhar.
Rishit pulls the pendrive out. He pauses.
RISHIT (V.O.)
Ek min. Boys hostel mei kon porn chhupa ke rakhta hai?
Rishit plugs the pendrive back in.
We can see his scrolling quickly. He stops, sorts by type, and scrolls with a bit less speed.
RISHIT
Ah!
Rishit clicks on a file named "naughty_library_study_session.txt"
White. The image of the map is provided in this drive itself.
White. It is a frame in one of the videos.
White. Find the truth if you feel you're worthy of it.
Rishit changes the tab back to the folder and starts scrolling through the picture files.
He stops.
RISHIT (V.O.)
Filenames really aren't helping, dude. Ek hi tareeka hai.
Black. 3 hours later...
CUT TO:
INT. RISHIT'S ROOM - CONTINUOUS #6#
We see Rishit, with the screen away from us. He looks tired. He suddenly moves towards the spacebar and clicks it. The frame switches to behind Rishit's head and we can see the map on the screen.
Rishit gets up, gets to the door, takes his jacket off and wears it. He leaves.
CUT TO:
Black. Shreya
Black. Day 1
EXT. GD BIRLA STATUE - EVENING #7#
A group of students are wearing a hairnet, and have a broom with them. SHREYA is one of them. There is a torn poster with "STRIKE" written on it.
GROUP LEADER
We'll start from Saraswati mandir. Group 2, go west, and Group 1, that is, my group, will go east.
SHREYA (V.O.)
Why did I miss so many meets? I wouldn't have been forced to do this yrr.
Shreya's group (group 1) is seen moving.
CUT TO:
Shreya is seen picking up a Coke can. She is moving towards a dustbin. She stops. We see a few small puppies running into a thick bush.
Shreya looks intrigued.
She throws the can and moves towards the puppies.
She crouches and tries to look into the bush while looking excited. She finds a few puppies sleeping. A metal box is also shown with the puppies.
GROUP LEADER
Shreya! What are you doing?
SHREYA
I uh, found something.
GROUP LEADER
Just throw it, we're done here.
Shreya stands up and moves towards her group.
CUT TO:
INT. SHREYA'S ROOM - LATER THAT EVENING #8#
Shreya opens her door and enters her room.
She immediately falls on her bed.
SHREYA
Phew.
She opens her phone and starts scrolling.
Prerna enters the room. She has wet hair.
SHREYA
Tuna naha kaise liya?? Geyser toh kaam bhi nhi kr rha!
PRERNA
I'm more surprised ki TUNE, nahi nahaya.
Shreya sighs
SHREYA
It- Okay so first of all, thoda sa hi kach-
PRERNA
Yeah yeah whatever. Samajh gayi.
Shreya shrugs.
PRERNA
Anyways, do you wanna solve a riddle?
CUT TO:
EXT. SKYLAWNS - EARLIER THAT EVENING #9#
Black. Tanay
Tanay is at the skylabs counter. He orders a cold coffee. He takes a sip.
Prerna comes into the frame.
PRERNA
Bhaiya ek [insert drink name. coffe ke alawa].
TANAY
Practice bunk kr rhi aaj?
PRERNA
Tujhse toh jyada hi regular hu mai. Tu kya kr rha hai?
Tanay finishes his coffee. He hands the glass to the counter.
TANAY
Aaj lite le rha hu. Dimag aur sharir dono use up ho chuke hai.
PRERNA
Aisa kya kar liya?
TANAY
Rishit ka ek treasure hunt sa kuchh tha. Ek riddle mili h.
White. Start 420
White. Face the sun
White. Stop when blocked
PRERNA
Ye kaisi riddle hai?
Prerna is done with the coffee too. She hands it over to the counter. Both of them start moving towards the exit.
TANAY
Apparently apne campus ki ek location hai.
PRERNA
Ek toh kause treasure hunt ki baat kr rha hai? Email toh koi aye nahi?
Tanay shrugs.
PRERNA
Kya hn (Imitates Tanay's shrug)
Both of them walk out of the frame.
CUT TO:
INT. SHREYA'S ROOM - LATER THAT EVENING #10#
Show this shot again -
PRERNA
Anyways, do you wanna solve a riddle? Bits ke andar koi jagah hai iska answer shayad.
SHREYA
Puchh.
PRERNA
It goes like this - Start 420, Follow the light at sunrise, and stop when blocked. Samajh aya kuch?
SHREYA
Ye kya chutiya si riddle hai?
Prerna shrugs.
Shreya hangs her head behind, while sitting on the chair. Show the camera in front of her face.
FLASHBACK TO:
The frame has the scene where the couple was seen smoking by Shreya. It should be from her perspective. The couple quickly tries to put their cigarettes out because Shreya's group members are behind her. Keep this shot quick.
BACK TO THE PRESENT:
Shreya quickly jolts towards her phone and starts tapping. She is seen opening the map app.
PRERNA
Actually kuch pata chala kya?
SHREYA
(While typing)
Shayad 420... Refers to canabis, ie. Cnot. Ek senior ne kaha tha.
PRERNA
Damn.
Shreya zooms and finds cnot.
She aligns the map wrt N. And then traces towards the left side.
SHREYA
Shiv gan-
Shreya pauses. She raises an eyebrow.
PRERNA
Shiv Ganga? Ye hai kya answer?
Shreya isn't responding.
SHREYA (V.O.)
Isn't Shiv Ganga... where I saw that box in the bushes?
PRERNA
Thik hai tu?
SHREYA
Yeah yeah, I'm fine.
Frame pauses on Shreya's face for a moment.
FADE TO:
Black. RISHIT
Black. Day 2
INT. LTC - MORNING #11#
We see a shot of Rishit in the class, barely managing to stay
awake.
CAMERA ZOOMS IN on Rishit, while the background sounds become
muffled but loud. (Not really sure how to explain this, an
example needs to be provided.)
SMASH CUT TO:
.MONTAGE - RISHIT SEARCHING FOR THE SECOND CAPSULE #12#
// Incomplete.
// - [] Add more shots
// - [] How does Rishit tear the map?
It's silent. The forest-like area is visible.
Rishit is looking at the map. The place marked on it is where
he's standing.
CUT TO:
Black. Tanay
INT. TANAY'S ROOM - AFTERNOON #13#
Tanay is on his bed. His phone chimes. It's a message from an unknown number. He clicks on the notification. It's from "~shreya"
Tanay raises an eyebrow.
White. Hi.
We see the message in Tanay's phone as well. The same for the following messages.
White. I'm Shreya.
White. I got your number from Prerna. You probably don't know me.
White. I want to know about the riddle you asked Prerna.
Tanay looks flustered and confused.
We hear the door open. It's ANSH.
ANSH
Up for T.T.?
TANAY
Yeah uh... Thode time baad ata hu
ANSH
Mera.. Lab hai. 40 mins mei.
TANAY
Thik hai I'll be there in 5
Ansh is seen leaving the room.
ANSH (O.S.)
Thike
Tanay sighs. He moves toward his bed and falls on it.
Tanay looks back at his phone.
He begins typing.
Rishit walks in.
RISHIT
Does S9 accept cash?
ANSH
Most probably, ha
RISHIT
Oh btw Ansh ne kaha ki agar T.T. Ke liye jane wala ho toh khud ka paddle leke ana.
ANSH
Okay, sure.
Rishit leaves.
Tanay looks at his phone again.
Grey. Sure, it went like this.
Grey. Start-420, and Follow the light at sunrise. Stop when blocked.
White. I know the riddle. Mili kaha pe ye?
Grey. Uh.. sidha Rishit ko puch le ig. +91xxxxxxxxxx
White. Thanks!
CUT TO:
INT. TANAY'S ROOM - AFTERNOON #14#
Another small shot.
A shot of Ansh gurgling and dying, without revealing that it is Ansh.
Make sure that there is a significant contrast of color space and brightness.
CUT TO:
INT. HOSTEL HALLWAY - AFTERNOON #15#
// This scene might feel redundant but I feel like showing it from this perpective might be nice too.
// And it is about a 16 sec clip prolly so I doubt it might be hard to fit in.
Ansh is seen coming from the opposite direction.
ANSH
Hey if you're going to Tanay's room, tell him that he would need to bring his own paddle for TT, in case he's coming.
RISHIT
Okay-
Ansh hurries away
Rishit opens the door.
RISHIT
Does S9 accept cash?
CUT TO:
Black. Day 3
Black. Shreya
EXT. SHIV GANGA - MORNING #16#
Shreya is standing in front of the bush.
She leans forward and takes the box out. She opens it. It has something written on the inside of the lid.
"Find the truth if you feel you're worthy" is written on the box with a permanent marker. There is a poorly placed QR code. There is also a map in it.
Black. Find the truth if you feel you're worthy of it.
CUT TO:
INT. SHREYA'S ROOM - LATER THAT MORNING #17#
SHREYA (V.O.)
... What the hell?
We see Shreya in her room, sitting at her desk.
A Base-32 encoder-decoder website is open on her laptop. The following text is supposed to be flashed on the screen, and it should also be partially visible on the laptop.
White. Seems like you managed to decrypt this.
White. If choosing base 32 instead of base 64 threw you off, my plan worked.
White. Take the map in the first box, merge the maps and look for the final piece at the centroid.
Shreya leans forward,puts her hands over her face.
We hear the door opening. Camera pans to the door.
PRERNA
Sem chalu mushkil se hua aur abhi lectures skip krne lagi?
Shreya leans back to normal and turns towards Prerna lazily.
CUT TO:
INT. BIO LAB - EVENING #18#
// Change location maybe, according to feasibility.
EXT. FD3 - LATER THAT EVENING #19#
// same issue
// Skylawns is beautiful, and the path in front of it may be used for the discussion where Rishit and Shreya exchange information.
// Saket is suspicious slightly here. I.e give him a reason to be wary of Shreya and Rishit.
ACT 2
INT. COMMON ROOM - EVENING #20#
Tanay and Ansh are playing TT.
The scene starts with an ongoing rally between them. Ansh is sweating.
Tanay smirks
Ansh misses. He smiles and picks up the ball. He passes it to Tanay.
Tanay serves.
TANAY
Btw kuch btane wala tha tu?
ANSH
Wo uh- Baad mei akele mei btaunga.
TANAY
(smirks, sarcastic)
Aisi kya private baat karni hai tujhe?
ANSH
Chal jayega pata
Tanay misses.
Tanay shrugs and picks up the ball.
CUT TO:
EXT. SARASWATI MANDIR - MORNING #21#
// check what the saraswati mandir is like, during the day.
Black. Day 4
Black. Shreya
Shreya has a map in her hands.
-
on the pathway
-
inside the small garden like area
-
gd birla statue
-
on the stairs
CUT TO:
INT. RISHIT'S ROOM - LATER THAT MORNING #22#
Rishit enters his room
SHREYA (OVER PHONE)
Dikh rha h kuch?
We see a shot of Rishit putting the pen drive in his laptop. He puts his phone on speaker and then on his table.
RISHIT
Ruk, abhi just pahucha room pe
SHREYA
Jaldi, jaldi.
RISHIT
Issey decrypt karne ke liye kya karna tha btw?
SHREYA
Woh uh- naughty library krke thi na ek text file? Usme check kr
RISHIT
Yep.
Rishit copy pastes the link and downloads it.
Rishit opens the app.
INT. SAKET'S ROOM - NIGHT #23#
Black. Saket
Saket's room should look like a proper drug dealer's room.
He looks anxious, and is seen vibrating his leg.
A loud knock is heard. Saket flinches. He waits for two seconds, and then gets up.
Another knock is heard.
SAKET
Aa rha hu be.
He opens the door. It's Ansh.
ANSH
(sweating, breath full)
Aur chahiye. Abhi.
Saket runs a hand through his hair, frustrated.
SAKET
Dekh. Parso hi diya tha maine. Itni jaldi khatam karega toh sahi mei mar jayega bhosadike.
// Not sure about how much profanity is allowed.
Ansh lets out a dry, bitter laugh.
ANSH
Mai iske bina mar jaunga agar aur nhi liya toh.
SAKET
Kya bakwas-
ANSH
Aisa hai toh btau kya tera woh karnama sabko?
Saket looks angry. He twists his fingers into a fist. He lets out a sigh.
SAKET
Thik hai.
Saket goes to his cupboard, takes out a plastic bag.
SAKET
Hadd me rehna lekin-
Ansh snatches the bag and then leaves. He leaves the door open.
Saket sighs again, moves towards the door. He slams it. The door bounces back. This time, he closes it normally, then locks it.
CUT TO:
INT. SHREYA'S ROOM - AFTERNOON #24#
Black. SHREYA
Shreya has her laptop open. The clock on the wall says 12:48. She is standing.
On the laptop, a terminal is open, which shows % of combinations tried.
// I might have to make a simple cli app for this, but I'll be leaving it for later.
She puts her hand on her forehead and sighs.
SHREYA (V.O.)
Well atleast Rishit baki ke adhe files ke liye kr rha hoga abhi.
Prerna gets up, picks up her bag.
PRERNA
Mai jaa rhi hu.
She leaves. After 4 seconds, She comes in again, picks up her keys, and leaves.
Shreya's phone rings. It is Rishit. She picks up the call.
SHREYA
Hello?
RISHIT (OVER PHONE)
Uhm, Bad news.
CUT TO:
INT. RISHIT'S ROOM - EVENING #25#
// Saket comes to rishit's room with the pretense of campaigning. Saket drops amic in his room.
INT. RISHIT'S ROOM - EARLIER THAT AFTERNOON #26#
Black. Rishit
Rishit is seen reading a textbook. He is on his desk. His phone chimes. The time on his phone is 12:34. He gets two new messages.
White. Stop looking for it.
Rishit glances at the phone. He picks it up, he raises an eyebrow. He touches the notification.
White. It's too soon.
Rishit starts typing.
Grey. ?
White. Look, I'm the one who planted those clues. I wanted it to be revealed.
White. But NOT THIS EARLY.
White. You're dealing with dangerous people, leave it be.
Rishit puts the phone down. He becomes more upright on the chair.
White. I didn't get enough time to hide myself, yet.
Rishit looks pale.
He picks up his phone again.
Grey. What do you want?
White. Just... stop. It's not even a warning. It's a request.
Rishit starts typing again.
Grey. Why don't you contact the authorities?
Gery. Or ask for help or something?
The messages remain undelivered. (only one tick)
CUT TO:
.MONTAGE - RETURN TO NORMALCY #27#
Black. Day 5
A shot of Rishit putting the pen drive into the groove that he found it in. He tosses the box on the ledge.
A shot of Shreya putting the second box in her closet.
A shot of Tanay playing TT with the wall.
A mute shot of Saket on the call, frustrated.
ON-SCREEN TEXT: Day 6 (Linger for 3 seconds while the other shots are being played)
Ansh is at his room. He is seen inhaling a last line. He falls unconscious. Tanay is sleeping.
CUT TO:
EXT. LTC - AFTERNOON #28#
Black. Shreya
// This might not be feasible due to multiple students coming out of the class together.
// Or a scene where Rishit calls Shreya?
// Or maybe a scene where Shreya gets a message from Rishit.
Shreya is walking away from the LTC with the other students.
Rishit is seen running towards Shreya in the background.
RISHIT
Shreya!
Shreya takes an earbud out and turns her neck towards Rishit.
RISHIT
ToTT this evening?
SHREYA
Evening nhi. Nirmaan meet. Kya hua?
RISHIT
Btaunga ToTT pe sab. 9 pm phir?
Shreya looks hesistant.
SHREYA
Uhh thik hai.
MATCH CUT TO:
INT. TOTT - NIGHT #29#
Shreya is waiting at the table near the beverages corner. There are two cups of coffee on the table. Rishit enters the frame.
RISHIT
Hey.
SHREYA
Bta ab.
Shreya takes a sip. While she is taking the sip, rishit answers. (i.e. Shreya hasn't finished taking the sip while Rishit's dialogue occurs. This will be clarified in the storyboard.)
RISHIT
Wo uh- Ek- Ek file bruteforce se khul gayi.
Shreya's eyes widen. The frame should feel uncomfortable. (As in, break the composition rules a bit, intentionally)
RISHIT
I know ki tu-
SHREYA
(Slightly loud)
Nahi
RISHIT
Par-
SHREYA
(Louder)
NAHI.
RISHIT
Dheere... Please...
SHREYA
Kya dheere? Kra tha na humne decide ki ispe aur koi discussion nhi.
// In "" Shreya is saying in a mocking manner.
// This scene is also supposed to tell us that Rishit did not mention about the danger previously. I will need to add a scene to clarify why rishit says "Bad News" in that scene.
Shreya sighs. Rishit looks like he is feeling awkward.
SHREYA
Karna kya chahta hai tu?
RISHIT
Okay toh kafi chize hai jo I feel ki tujhe btani chahiye mujhe.
Shreya raises an eyebrow.
RISHIT
Pehli baat. Ek file khul gayi bruteforcing karte hue. Wo ek list thi ki kon log involved hai ek particular group mei. Context ke bina kafi useless sa lagg rha abhi, but recently mujhe kuch Tanay ne btaya.
Shreya adjusts herself on the chair. Rishit pauses.
SHREYA
Aisa kya btaya usne
RISHIT
Okay so Tanay ka roommate hai ek, Ansh. Tanay ne usko ek baar call pe uh- Heroin mangte hue suna.
Shreya looks surprised.
SHREYA
What-
RISHIT
Yeah I was surprised too-
SHREYA
Koi dean ya waise ko btate hai phir aur kya. Khud kyu par-
RISHIT
Nahi. Puri story pta nhi chale tab tak nhi.
Shreya furrows her eyebrows.
SHREYA
Aree??
RISHIT
Dekh agar sirf ye dikhayenge toh seriously koi nhi lega isse.
Shreya sighs.
RISHIT
Please yarr, chances hai ki ye Tanay ke roommate ko bhi involve karta hai.
Shreya takes a deep breath
SHREYA
Nahi. Mai nhi kar sakti ye.
Shreya gets up and starts to leave. Rishit gets up after her.
RISHIT
Shreya!
Shreya looks back at Rishit, points a finger at him.
SHREYA
Nahi.
Rishit sits back down. The camera stays at the table while Shreya leaves. Another person gets up and starts to leave. It is SAKET.
Saket is looking at shreya leave. Camera is close to Saket.
FADE TO:
INT. SHREYA'S ROOM - NIGHT #30#
// Shreya finds drugs planted in her room, and a note. She can be proven guilty.
INT. SAKET'S ROOM - NIGHT #31#
// Edit this such that a senior member of the cartel is with Saket. This is heigten the stakes for Saket, while also revealing that the organisation's heirarchy a bit.
Black. Saket
Black. Day 9
Saket is on his desk, he is looking nervous. His hand in on his phone, a number is dialed in. He is about to press the Call button.
A knock is heard.
Saket turns off the phone and moves towards the door to open it.
It is Ansh. He looks very pale. His fingertips are blue.
SAKET
Abe- Bhai thoda limit mei rehne koi bola tha-
ANSH
(yells)
Tu bas naya batch de! Ab tak aa gaya hoga.
SAKET
Bhai-
ANSH
Mujhe. Wo. Batch. DE.
Saket stops, and sighs.
He moves towards his cupboard again and takes out another plastic bag.
Ansh is tries snatching again. Saket doesn't let go. Ansh pulls again, and Saket lets go.
Ansh puts it in his pocket and gets out of his room.
CUT TO:
INT. RISHIT'S ROOM - EVENING #32#
// Tanay invited Rishit for TT. RIshit quickly hides his investigation stuff. Showing it from Tanay's view might make this much more interesting.
// Rishit acts funny, as in he looks like trying to hide his stess.
Black. TANAY
Black. Day 10
INT. COMMON ROOM - EVENING #33#
Rishit and Tanay are seen playing TT.
RISHIT
Bhai nhi pasand mujhe TT. Maine kitni baar bola hai.
TANAY
Tu bas kuch din khel. Lat lag jayegi gandi wali, meri guarantee.
RISHIT
Har match harne ke baad dekhta hu kaise lat lagti hai.
Tanay sneers.
Rishit misses.
RISHIT
Dekha?
Rishit picks up the ball.
RISHIT
Anyways, DCC chalte h aaj. Chutiya sa dinner bana hai aaj.
TANAY
Sure.
They are seen moving out of the common room.
CUT TO:
INT. OUTSIDE TANAY'S ROOM - CONTINUOUS #34#
Rishit and Tanay are seen moving towards Tanay's room.
RISHIT
(While smirking)
Aur, progress kaise hai?
Tanay looks confused.
TANAY
Kaunsi progress?
RISHIT
Tujhe pata mai kiski baat kar rha-
We suddenly hear gurgling sounds. Rishit and Tanay look alarmed and rush towards the door.
They open the door.
Ansh is lying on the floor, gurgling. Foam is coming out of his mouth.
Tanay freezes. Rishit quickly dials a number.
RISHIT
RUK IDHAR, MAI BULA KE ATA HU LOGO KO.
Tanay doesn't respond.
Screen starts to fade.
Rishit rushes out of the frame. 2 seconds later a few guys come in, and take Ansh outside the room.
FADE TO:
ACT 3
INT. SHREYA'S ROOM - EVENING #35#
Black. Shreya
Black. Day 11
// A way to tell the viewers that rishit asks shreya to come to tott?
INT. TOTT - NIGHT #36#
// Rishit internally blames Shreya for the death of Ansh.
// When Rishit lashes out, show saket in the background turning his head. If not saket, show some other member of the cartel. Or maybe show the other member before, and then saket, now.
// Saket tries to poison Rishit here.
INT. SAKET'S ROOM - AFTERNOON #37#
Black. Sarthak
Black. 2022
Sarthak knocks on Saket's door. He opens the door.
INT. VANSH'S ROOM - NIGHT #38#
// Vansh is a level above Saket. And one below sarthak.
EXT. SKYLAWNS - EVENING #39#
Black. Day 12
Black. Shreya
// Shreya figures it out that maybe each character of the filename is to be converted to its ascii code.