Sharukh Khan Detained At US Airport

Sat, Aug 15 08:33 PM
New York/New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS) In an ironic twist of fate, Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan, whose latest film 'My Name is Khan' has been shot in the US, was Saturday questioned for two hours at Newark airport over his surname and was freed only after Indian diplomats intervened.
The Indian government and the entertainment industry reacted strongly after the 43-year-old superstar, named by Newsweek last year as one of the world's 50 most powerful men, revealed how he was detained and stopped from even using his cellphone.
Speaking to CNN-IBN channel on telephone from the US, Shah Rukh appeared to shrug off the embarrassing episode saying he had suffered similar treatment previously too.
Shah Rukh had been in the US for quite some time shooting 'My Name Is Khan'. The film is about a Muslim (Shah Rukh Khan) who suffers from Asperger syndrome, a form of autism which impacts social interaction abilities. He is arrested as a suspected terrorist in post-9/11 Los Angeles after the authorities mistake his disability for suspicious behaviour. Also starring Kajol, the film is scheduled for a 2010 release.
Shah Rukh had been in India for a while and was on his way to Chicago to attend an event related to India's Independence Day when the Newark incident happened.
'They checked me because I was an Asian… They wanted to know why I came to the US and where I am staying,' Shah Rukh said.
Shah Rukh's manager Niloufer Qureshi earlier told IANS: 'He was detained because his surname is Khan. He was kept until officials from the Indian embassy intervened.'
Asked about the same, Shah Rukh, who is married to Gauri Chibber, a Hindu, said: 'Certain countries have issues with my name.' He quickly added: 'I am very proud of my name.'
In New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said India has taken up the issue with the US embassy and the consul general of India in New York is in touch with Shah Rukh.
'The matter was taken up with the US embassy,' Prakash said.
In a statement, US Ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer said: 'We are trying to ascertain the facts of the case - to understand what took place.'
Shah Rukh was a 'global icon' and 'he is a very welcome guest in the United States. Many Americans love his films,' the envoy added.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni denounced Shah Rukh's detention in no uncertain terms.
'I don't think that this manner of detaining (in the name of religion) is justified. But in the US, several examples have surfaced where frisking takes place more than required,' she told reporters in New Delhi. 'There should be a tit for tat response.'
Describing Shah Rukh as the 'pride of India', Overseas Indian Affairs Minster Vayalar Ravi expressed surprise he was detained at the airport.
'Shah Rukh Khan is the pride of India. I am quite surprised that he was detained in the Newark airport,' Ravi told IANS on the phone from Kochi.
Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar, a close friend of Shah Rukh, said in Mumbai: 'I am shocked and upset. I am feeling terrible.'
Others like Priyanka Chopra and filmmaker Kabir Khan too have expressed concern towards the incident.
The Government on Saturday reacted to Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan’s detention at the Newark International Airport in US for two hours by taking up the matter with US authority.

Reacting to the incident, India’s foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said that Ministry of External Affairs has taken up Shahrukh Khan’s issue with the US Government, Times Now report stated.

“US has asserted us, they will ascertain the facts,” said Rao in the report.

Khan was detained for about two hours on Saturday morning at the airport in New Jersey, USA, where he had arrived to attend a South Asian related event.

Khan was released after Congress MP Rajiv Shukla spoke to the authorities in the US and the Indian consulate.

He was detained after his name flashed on a computer and was asked several questions about the purpose of his visit.