Afternoon drama in Dubai: Minissha Lamba's airport woes continue

Minissha Lamba and airports don't seem to go together. Some months ago she was detained on the Mumbai Chatrapati Shivaji international airport.

Now on Wednesday afternoon Minissha found herself in an even worse, more harrowing situation at the Dubai international airport where an immigration officer named Khalifa Mohamad apparently decided to make an example out of her.

According to Minissha, this immigration officer not only detained her, but also confiscated her passport and refused to listen to his senior who asked Khalifa to let her go. Instead he asked Minissha to "shut up and sit there" or he threatened to deport her.

It became a veritable tamasha with dozens of people on the airport gawking at the heated exchange among the spitfire actress, the rude and stubborn immigration officer and his senior trying to pacify both the vocal parties.

Recalling the experience from Dubai the shaken actress said, "I still don't know what this gentleman's problem was. I had all the proper immigration papers. He asked me for my hotel-booking reference details which I said I didn't have on me.

I smsed someone who was waiting outside the airport to receive me, for the information and was then trying to show the information to the officer on my phone when he blew his top and started to yell. "

Minissha was shocked and couldn't follow what the man was saying. When she tried telling him to calm down he told her to shut up or he'd deport her.

The shocked humiliated actress tried arguing back. But she was told imperiously and rudely, "Go sit there. " And her passport was snatched away from her.

Sobbed the actress, " I didn't know where I had to sit. I didn't what the problem was. I just felt I was better off being deported rather than going through this ordeal.

Can you imagine I was traveling alone and in an Islamic country where men are known to feel insulted when women raise their voices. I was terrified. "

Finally a senior officer intervened. But Mr Khalifa Mohamad was still in no mood to let her go.

Says Minissha, "Can you believe it? He refused his senior's order. He kept gesticulating at me and threatening me.

There I was, all alone with no passport in a foreign country being initimidated by man whom I suspect I had in some way, provoked. "

It took all of the incensed immigration officer's senior colleague's sotto-voiced persuasion to get Minissha out of Khalifa Mohamad's clutches.

"This officer took me in his room, got my passport stamped and escorted me out of the back entrance of the airport. I still don't know what I had done to offend the otherofficer, or why I was treated this way.

But when I return to Mumbai I intend to take up the matter at the highest level. "

Before she was whisked out by the thoroughly-apologetic officer, Minissha was smart enough to rush back and note the offensive immigration officer's name.

On a lighter note Minissha quips, "This year has not been a good year for me at airports. Maybe I should only travel by train until the astrologers say otherwise. "