The film set was louder than Vikram had imagined.
Cameras moved on tracks, lights burned hot, and dozens of people shouted instructions at once, yet everything followed an invisible order. Each person knew their role, their timing, and their hierarchy. It reminded Vikram of a factory floor, except here the product was emotion instead of metal.
Kiana walked beside him with practiced ease.
She did not dress like a celebrity today. There were no sunglasses or dramatic gestures. She wore simple jeans, a white shirt, and confidence earned through years of surviving an unforgiving industry.
"This is controlled chaos," she said as they paused near a monitor. "Once you understand it, it becomes predictable."
Vikram nodded. "Every system is predictable once you map its incentives."
Her production team waited nearby, watching him carefully. They knew who he was. The Bitcoin story had traveled. The auction had confirmed it. Now they wanted to see whether he was another rich man chasing glamour, or something else entirely.
Inside a temporary office, the walls were covered with storyboards and schedules. The producer spoke first, choosing his words carefully.
"Kiana wants to make a film that is not designed only for box office numbers," he said. "It is personal. Risky. Studios will not touch it."
Vikram skimmed the proposal calmly. Budgets, timelines, creative freedom clauses. He read it like an engineering blueprint.
"What happens if it fails?" Vikram asked.
The room tensed.
Kiana answered instead of the producer. "Then it fails honestly."
That answer mattered.
Vikram closed the file. "I will fund it," he said. "But the creative control remains with the director and lead."
The producer blinked. "No interference?"
"Influence does not require interference," Vikram replied. "Results speak louder when they are unforced."
Contracts were drawn quickly. The numbers were large enough to silence doubt. Bank transfers followed.
The system activated smoothly, its presence calm and precise.
[TRANSACTION DETECTED: MEDIA INVESTMENT (₹180,000,000.00).]
[CALCULATING REBATE... HIGH-INFLUENCE SECTOR IDENTIFIED.]
[BONUS MULTIPLIER APPLIED.]
Funds returned instantly, amplified and clean.
Vikram felt no thrill.
This was positioning.
As they stepped back onto the set, Kiana studied him differently now. "You are not here for fame," she said.
"No," Vikram replied. "I am here because stories shape power."
She smiled faintly. "Then you chose the right industry."
As cameras rolled again and actors took their places, Vikram watched from the sidelines, understanding the deeper mechanics at work.
Money entered politics quietly.
Media entered minds permanently.
The system had opened another gate.
And Vikram walked through it without hesitation.