|
SRK held at
Newark-NJ airport, questioned
New York: Bollywood superstar
Shah Rukh Khan was detained and questioned for two hours at the Newark
Airport near here on Saturday.
The 43-year-old actor was
detained by immigration officials because his name was part of a common
checklist prepared since the 9/11 attacks.
The officials wanted to know
why Khan was visiting the U.S. and posed other such questions, after his
name popped up on the computer screen at the counter.
He was let off at the intervention
of Indian Consulate officials here.
“I was really hassled at
the American airport because of my name being Khan... It was absolutely
uncalled for... I felt angry and humiliated,” said Khan, who was heading
to Chicago to take part in an Independence Day celebration.
“It is a Muslim name and
I think the name is common on their checklist,” he said.
In New Delhi, the government
took up the issue with the U.S. embassy which said it was ascertaining
details about the incident.
U.S. ambassador Timothy J.
Roemer described Khan as a “global icon,” who is a welcome guest in America.
The actor said he was told
he had a "common name" and hence the questioning was required.
“It was in Newark where I
was detained for questioning. It was because they said my name was common
to some name that popped up on the computer. They were asking me silly
questions like if I knew someone in the US who could vouch for me, if I
could give them numbers of people they could get in touch with,” he said.
“I had all the documents;
they were asking me where I was going to be staying. I gave the name of
FOX people with whom I had finalised a deal a few days ago as contacts.
I kept on giving numbers. They wanted to know why I came here,” he said.
Shah Rukh said the officers
wanted to check his baggage but since it had not arrived, he was taken
to a room where other people were also waiting for a second check on their
visa.
He said he sent messages
to his home, his secretary and also to Congress MP Rajiv Shukla, who informed
the Indian embassy, whose officials came to his rescue.
“I was taken to a room where
many people were awaiting a secondary check on visa, most were Asians.
In fact many officers were reluctantly vouching for me, some people were
asking for autographs and a Pakistani fan even said he knew who I was.
But the officers said it was procedure and kept taking numbers from me.
They told me you can’t use the phone in this area. I sent a message home
and to my secretary and Rajiv Shukla. It took almost two hours. However,
they did not take my fingerprints,” he said.
Asked if he felt angry, the
actor said he felt bad “for the people in the room”.
|
“I did feel bad for a lot
of people in that room, I know because I had an escort and someone would
recognise me, I will get out. Others may face more trouble,” he said.
He also refered to ex President
APJ Abdul Kalam's frisking episode.
“I have extra security because
of my name. I can handle this but when you have someone as respectable
as an ex-president getting frisked, I am nobody,” he said.
Shah Rukh also admitted that
while he didn’t mind going to the US for work, it was always an inconvenient
journey for him. "I am glad my family was not there, this has happened
to me earlier. I am a shy, scared traveler and I really have to hold back
my sense of humour. It certainly does well for people whose names are known,
for others its trouble. My guard was also denied a visa apparently because
he too had a common name”. |
Through the chat with CNN-IBN,
Shah Rukh never lost his sense of humour and kept coming up with his characteristic
quirky ones. "I think my face scares people, I will try and change the
way I look," he said. He also said his son Aryan asked if he had "been
caught". " I told him, not yet son".
THE NAME IS KHAN
Incidentally, Shah Rukh
Khan’s upcoming releases include Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan which touches
on the issue of racial profiling and discrimination faced by a certain
minority community in a post-9/11 world.
The Fox-STAR Studios will
finance and distribute the film, reportedly spending Rs 100 crore (Rs 1
billion/$20 million) in the process.
SRK's
sex video
SRK
Mannat
“I’m shocked and upset...feeling
terrible for Shah Rukh,” said Karan Johar, after his friend actor Shah
Rukh Khan was detained at a US airport for having the last name ‘Khan’.
Actress Priyanka Chopra
also tweeted, “Shocking, disturbing and downright disgraceful. It’s such
behavior that fuels hatred and racism. SRK's a world figure for God’s sake.
GET REAL!!”
In an earlier post on
Independence Day, Karan wrote, Freedom...underrated...often misused...and
always taken for granted...respect it and honour it...today and forever!”
Music director Vishal
Dadlani (of Vishal-Shekhar fame) also posted, “This is plain silly!! I
mean, a quick internet search would tell them what they need to know about
SRK!! Paranoia breeds stupidity, I guess!”
Meanwhile, Shah Rukh
told a channel, “The US has developed religious paranoia over the years.
My guard was also denied a visa because he has the same last name as mine.
They said I can’t use my phone.”
Shah Rukh was detained
for over two hours at the Newark airport, New Jersey. He was released after
Indian embassy officials vouched for him. He was in the US to attend Independence
Day celebrations.
The star, who is currently
filming for My Name is Khan, underwent "humiliating" questioning even as
he told authorities he was an Indian celebrity. His bodyguards were also
grilled.
Several Bollywood celebs
are in the US for I-Day celebrations, including Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor
and Saif Ali Khan.
|
|