So Virat Kohli shows off a new hairdo. Rumour has it that he visited Toni&Guy, a tony salon that has seven franchises in Melbourne alone. The curious newshound in you — yes, even this is news these days — is desperate to 'interview' the stylist who did the job. You then request the cabbie to use his brains or the GPS to figure out the nearest Toni&Guy franchise from The Langham Melbourne. That's where the teams are put up. He says it could be the one located in Melbourne Central Shopping Centre. That's a wowing mall linked to a train station. "Chalo, jaldi chalo," you say instinctively. Thankfully, he's Punjabi. Just then, the mind starts playing games with you. What if he had visited another franchise? So, you call up The Langham Melbourne. You ask the lady on the phone where the nearest Toni&Guy salon is. She doesn't know. Damn! You proceed to Melbourne Central. "Yehi hoga, sir.
Pucca," the cabbie reassures you. You feel reassured. Turns out he's not Punjabi. He's from Uttaranchal. How does it matter? You read up on Toni&Guy on www.toniandguy.com.au. The price list is impressive. It's A$87 for a 'cut and blowdry'. You presume Kohli went for that. Hang on, it's A$87 if it's by a stylist. A top stylist's services would have cost him A$95. Opting for style director would have made him poorer — that's not the right word, but still — by A$112. As of Friday evening, that's Rs 5,469.13. You realise that's more than your annual kharcha at the barber shop. How does it matter? The cabbie pulls up at Melbourne Central. You proceed to the directory and look for Toni&Guy. It's not there. You seek a girl's help. She tells you that you are in Emporium Melbourne Shopping Centre. Melbourne Emporium is linked to Melbourne Central which is in turn linked to the train station. That's even more wowing. So you walk up to Melbourne Central. The directory tells you that Toni&Guy is 'Shop 239' on 'Level 2'. You are quietly happy. This could be it. You find Toni&Guy. Two ladies greet you at the front desk. They are smiling at you. They are also probably wondering what you are doing there. That's because you have no hair to cut and blowdry. You enquire if a "cricketer from the Indian team" visited them on Thursday evening. The smiles make way for smirks. "Were you the one who called up asking about this?" You say no. Actually, it was a friend of yours. How does it matter? "Sorry, sir. We have a privacy policy. We don't reveal such things," one of ladies says.
The 'story idea' falls flat. You thank her for asking you to get lost. She smiles again. You then flirt with the idea of clicking a picture of the salon. You give up soon enough. So did Kohli actually visit this franchise? How does it matter?
