VISA

Date: 20th march'07. A thorough professional, me, with a smile on his face and confidence in his gait, walks into the den called THE AMERICAN EMBASSY.
From what i have gathered, B1 visa interview ia a cakewalk and i should face no problems.
After waiting in a line for about two hours it's finally my turn. I greet the a suspicious-looking official with a smile and a good-morning. The official in turn nods and says good morning to you too. How has been your day?

Well, thats a toughie? How has been my day... lets see, got up at 6 in the morning, had to shave to look formal, missed my breakfast because cook doesnt arrive till around 9 and i had to leave by 8 to reach on time for my 9:30 interview appointment. Then after reaching there, i am separated from my beloved mobile..two hours spent without her were like a torture.. then an agonizing wait for two hours in a line to appear before a person, going by whose looks you wont even feel like talking to him on any other day...

But anyways i suck all that and with a gracious smile i tell him that its been a good day so far.
He checks my papers, asks some banal questions and after around 5 minutes tell me, thank you sir...your interview is over...but i am sorry, i cant grant you a visa. Suddenly my face is all red and i am perspiring heavily. I ask for reasons and he tells me that he is not satisfied with my documents. I try and squeeze in some more information but he tells me coldly that the interview process is over and i can leave. I somehow manage a smile and greet him good afternoon (thinking not very deep inside, screw you asshole).

Date: 1July'08.A thorough professional, me, with a forced smile on his face and a dejavu feeling, walks into the den called THE AMERICAN EMBASSY.
Last interview is still fresh in mind. There are two windows for B1 visa interviews. Standing there in the queue waiting for my turn, i am trying to guess which of the two interviewers will i go to and with whom do i stand a better chance of getting a VISA this time. One of the guy looks very staunch and cold, lets called him Mr. X, while other looks very friendly and warm, Mr. Y.

Next turn will be mine. There is one person at each window. Person at Mr. X's window had left later. So i was kinda expecting and desperately praying that i be interviewed by Mr. Y. But then chair kills faster than a rope.

The interview at Mr. X's window was very short lived and going by that person's face color, result was easy to predict. And i was asked to cross the red line on the floor and proceed towards Mr. X's window.

A million thoughts were going through my mind. If god had granted me a wish at that time, i would have asked that please turn the red line into a lakshman rekha, so that i am not able to cross it till Mr Y is free for next round. But then it's me. Luck and i love screwing each other.

Same old fake smile, same old greetings, same old questions.....and guess what....same old result...and i am baffled?

WHAT DO THESE GUYS WANT FROM ME?

I ask for reasons and i am told that you are just a week old in your new organization , you have applied for an emergency visa(i had to travel within a week of joining, so had applied for an emergency visa) but you dont qualify for one...so effectively your company has mis-used the emergency visa procedure...also he was not convinced that as a new joinee its absolutely essential for me to travel to US for initial training and some meetings (project i was to work on was going on in 5 different countries for the same client and all the project people were meeting in US for a face-to-face interaction and discuss there understanding and learnings so far).

The verdict was given, i can appeal again (in the same court, probably against the same judge) 120 days later. But i think i am gonna pass.

VISA says in its add.."GO GET IT"

Please tell me how?

Singh Is King

Akshay is king............ true beyond doubt. I no-plot, utter-nonsense movie made definitely-worth-a-watch by our very own Akshay...

But it would be wrong to ignore other performances that made this movie hilarious..

Mr. Udaas with his rib-tickling nostalgic incidents

Jave Jaffery a.k.a Pappi. His almost-blind performance and comic dialogues to hide his apparent inability are great. His dance with a statue at the start of the movie and later during the song SINGH IS KING (where he keeps pointing his finger towrads a wall) were hilarious. This guy seriously is one of the most under-rated actors in bollywood.

Sonu Sood a.k.a Lucky. Guy looks very handsome and post his temporary paralysis becomes a literal push-over...from King to a Ungli-baba. The scenes where he is used as a passing tray between other characters were really funny.

Om puri a.k.a Rangeela with his thed-punjabi accent gives a good performance.

Katrina Kaif is there with her curves and dance sequences. She is looking really hot in thsi movie.

And now to the King.....its amazing how this actor can turn a silly non-sensical scene into a hilarious one. He has become a pro at making people laugh with his gestures and comic timing. No wonder he is one of the top-paid actors currently. He carries the film single-handedly for the first 45-50 minutes, before others arive on the scene. Scenes of panchayat, wedding song are all amazing.

Film loses some grip in last 25-30 minutes as the wedding day arrives but a great first half and a good 25-30 minute run at the start of second half make up for most of it.

All in all a great movie... definitely the best bollywood comedy i ahve watched till date.

P.S: A sincere thanks to my beloved friend BD, who accompanied me to this movie. Two punjabis at a movie about Sikhs.... deadly combo. No wonder we had a hell of a time.