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MUMBAI: From the beginning of his career, director Vidhu Vinod Chopra has received praise. Vikrant Massey's film 12th Fail, his most recent movie, just hit theatres. He tells a unique story in an interview about how, in 1979, he went to the famous Oscars awards event in the US without a passport, without a visa, and with no money.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra talked about a remarkable moment from 1979 in a recent interview, when he learned that his 1978 documentary short, An Encounter with Faces, had been nominated for an Academy Award. As the filmmaker first told his father about the wonderful news, his father was unable to fully understand his son's excitement because there was no monetary reward.
The Parinda director said, "Jab Oscar ke liye nominate hua, na ticket tha na visa tha na passport tha. Toh ja to sakte nahi the videsh isliye seedha Dilli pahuch gaya Advaniji ke darbaar mein Oscar see bas ek hafta pehle. Advaniji ne mujhe Air India ki ticket di, 20 dollar per day ka batta dia, aur visa to nahi dilwa sake par passport unhone 6 mahine ka bina police verification ka do din mein dilwa dia (When I was nominated for the Oscar, I didn’t have a ticket, a passport, or a visa. So, I couldn’t go for it. I went to Delhi and met Advani ji. He provided me with an Air India ticket, USD 20 per day for expenses, and although he couldn't secure me a visa, he managed to expedite the passport process, granting me a six-month passport without the usual police verification)."
Chopra went to the Mumbai office to get the US visa he needed, but it was a Saturday, and the Oscars were on Monday. Speaking in English, the security guy said, "No no, come back on Monday."
The director of Mission Kashmir was not amused by this and became very vocal about it. At that moment, an American man wearing a dapper white shirt got notice of the incident and inquired about the situation. Chopra claimed that in order to attend the Oscars, he urgently needed a visa.
"Can you prove it?" he said. Chopra produced newspaper articles to show that he was not lying. This man invited Chopra inside, even though it was his day off. He gave him a three-month, single-entry visa one hour later. And just like that, Chopra was at the Oscars thanks to the visa and Advani ji's ticket.
The filmmaker also disclosed that he didn't have the money to buy a formal suit for the occasion, so he showed up to the ceremony in a white kurta-pajama.
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credits – Pinkvilla
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