In the following question, a sentence is given in Indirect speech. Out of the four alternatives, select the option that correctly expresses the same idea in Direct speech: Mr. Rao told Mr. Mehta that he had to go to the town that day.

Introduction / Context:
This question asks you to recreate the most natural Direct speech form corresponding to the Indirect sentence: Mr. Rao told Mr. Mehta that he had to go to the town that day. You must identify the original words spoken by Mr. Rao and how he addressed Mr. Mehta.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- Speaker: Mr. Rao. - Listener: Mr. Mehta. - Reported content: he had to go to the town that day. - Tense in reported clause: past form "had to". - Time expression: "that day" in Indirect speech.

Concept / Approach:
In Direct speech, Mr. Rao would refer to himself in the first person as "I" and to the day in question as "today". When the sentence is reported from a later point in time, "I have to go" becomes "he had to go" and "today" becomes "that day". Mr. Rao is directly addressing Mr. Mehta, so his name appears in the form of an address at the beginning of the quoted sentence. The modal expression "have to" usually becomes "had to" in Indirect speech when the reporting verb is in the past tense.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Change "he" in the reported clause back to "I" for Direct speech because Mr. Rao is referring to himself. Step 2: Change "that day" to "today" because in Direct speech speakers refer to the current day as "today". Step 3: Reverse the backshift from "had to go" to "have to go". Step 4: Include Mr. Mehta's name as a form of address in the quotation: "Mr. Mehta, I have to go to the town today." Step 5: Attach the reporting clause: Mr. Rao said, "Mr. Mehta, I have to go to the town today."

Verification / Alternative check:
Reporting the Direct sentence "Mr. Rao said, "Mr. Mehta, I have to go to the town today.", we obtain: Mr. Rao told Mr. Mehta that he had to go to the town that day. "I" becomes "he", "have to" becomes "had to", and "today" becomes "that day". The mention of Mr. Mehta is represented by the object of "told". This matches the given Indirect sentence exactly in meaning, confirming option C as correct.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A does not explicitly address Mr. Mehta and therefore does not fully account for the phrase "told Mr. Mehta" in the Indirect sentence. Option B keeps "that day" inside the Direct speech, which is unnatural because speakers say "today" when referring to the current day. Option D uses "will have to", which changes the time and modality compared to "had to" in the reported sentence.

Common Pitfalls:
Students often forget that time words like "today", "yesterday", and "tomorrow" usually change in reported speech, so they must be reversed when going back to Direct speech. Another pitfall is ignoring vocatives (names used in direct address) in the original sentence, which often reappear as indirect objects of the reporting verb. Paying attention to these small but important details makes it easier to match Direct and Indirect forms accurately.

Final Answer:
Mr. Rao said, "Mr. Mehta, I have to go to the town today."