In the last week of June, Mona Singh took a week off from Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin after a full year of acting. Having agreed to be the chief guest at private shows on a cruise, Mona was looking to have a blast in Vancouver.
Mona Singh
"But I will remember the trip more for the ordeal I underwent during my return journey, rather than anything else," says Mona. It took the actress 72 hours to reach Mumbai from Vancouver, a journey that would normally take not more than 24 hours.
Airport-hopping
Jassi narrates her nightmarish experience. "While going there, I went via Mumbai-Milan-New York-Anchorage. The cruise was waiting at Anchorage and I was taken to Vancouver. But while returning, I was supposed to travel Vancouver-Seattle-Chicago-Milan-Mumbai.
The Vancouver-Seattle flight got delayed and I got stranded at Vancouver airport for five hours, at Seattle airport for 12 hours, at Chicago airport for five hours, and finally, after a three-hour wait, when I was boarding the aircraft from Milan to Mumbai, they announced that the flight had been cancelled." The airline gave no reason for the cancellation.
Consequently, Mona had to change her plans, because she had to be back for Jassi.
"I took a flight from Milan to London. From London, I boarded an Air India flight to Mumbai. Then too, I didn't get a direct flight; it was via Ahmedabad. But I had no choice. I didn't have a visa, else I would have returned from Milan via Frankfurt."
Luggage lost
Mona lost a large part of her luggage in transit. "I lost so many things that I had shopped for enthusiastically. I kept crying at the airports," she rues.
"Thank God I was booked in business class and got a proper bed to rest on. But I did not sleep a wink. To add to my misery, wherever I landed, it was daytime. I did not see night even when my plane finally touched Mumbai — it was 4 pm." The very next day, Mona had to report for the Jassi shoot.
Never say never
Mona says this was the first time she went abroad alone. "I didn't know who to call and what too do. I was walking like a zombie. I vowed never to travel by Alitalia again," she says.
Ironically, within a few days of her return, Mona was again booked on Alitalia. "Sony wanted me to go to London for an assignment. I had no choice," she laughs.
No respite in sight
"I thought I would be able to rework my contract with Sony when the serial received an extension some time back. But it's not happening that way; the script demands me to shoot 23 days minimum," reveals Mona
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