What happened to Soha Ali Khan who was supposed to fly to Locarno to attend the screening of her Bengali film "Antar Mahal"?

The well-mannered, habitually professional young actress was expected to turn up at Locarno Thursday when her film was to have its first public international screening.

Soha was naturally very excited about her first foray into the international arena and had excitedly announced her plans to fly to Locarno via London. So what happened?

The "Antar Mahal" team at Locarno - comprising director Rituparno Ghosh and producer Jaya Bachchan - were left in the lurch at the eleventh hour when the film's leading lady failed to show up, sources told IANS.

The leading man Abhishek Bachchan was tied up with his shooting, though he was keen to attend the screening.

With no member of the cast present to address the international press at Locarno, the director and producer made a last-minute rushed effort to get Bengali actress Rupa Ganguly, who plays Soha's sister-in-law in "Antar Mahal", to fly down.

Within hours her visa, air ticket and relevant papers were arranged and Rupa saved the show.

But why did Soha shy away from Locarno so suddenly? Apparently because she was not provided airfare to Locarno.

But, according to the organizers of the Indian delegation in Locarno, "Locarno is a festival where everyone pays his or her own way. That's the way things work over here. We have all paid for own tickets."

To be fair to the young actress, her high level of professionalism must have seemed compromised when a basic requirement (free air passage) was denied to her.

But she did miss out on her first brush with international glory.