Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan
Bollywood star Shah Rukh "King" Khan was apparently detained by U.S. immigration authorities in Newark, N.J., resulting in an embarrassing international incident.
Oddly enough, the incident mirrors the plot for Khan's latest movie with Fox Asia Studios, "My Name Is Khan," which focusing on the story of a "Muslim man's travails in the U.S." and comes on the heels of Continental Airlines frisking former president of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at the Delhi airport earlier this year.
Khan was reportedly interrogated for two hours on Friday upon his arrival from India to the U.S.
"Khan is a Muslim name, and I think the name is common on their checklist," the actor told the CNN-IBN television channel. "I was waiting for my bags. I thought it was nice of them to take me to another room, but that was apparently a second check. I had my papers in order."
According to media reports, Bollywood and Indian government leaders have requested an investigation, while the American ambassador to India, Timothy J. Roemer, released a statement saying: "We are trying to ascertain the facts of the case, to understand what took place. Shah Rukh Khan, the actor and global icon, is a very welcome guest in the United States. Many Americans love his films."
Khan was said to be heading to Chicago to participate in an India Independence Day celebration there along with fellow actors Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif and Bipasha Basu. He is quoted as saying it was a “little embarrassing” when asked about the detainment.
Comments
The opinions posted so far are quite alarming. However, we all have an opinion and each one is infinitely valuable. We have to see all sides and realize that there are really people out there that are incredibly ignorant. Profiling is a reality. I myself was "profiled" and detained and interrogated IN FRONT OF MY WORKPLACE! I'm a brown person and I had a backpack and what really is troublesome to accept is that there were several others stopped but none interrogated and none of them were female, none were blond and blue-eyed. Brown people need to stand up every single time something like this happens. Don't let the authorities get away with this injustice. SPEAK UP!
CUBATOURS.US
It's regrettable that racial profiling happens... I am surprised that someone as internationally famous as SRK would get detained in the US...
"Detained" and "Interrogated"
Gimme a break.
""Khan is a Muslim name, and I think the name is common on their checklist," the actor told the CNN-IBN television channel. "I was waiting for my bags. I thought it was nice of them to take me to another room, but that was apparently a second check. I had my papers in order."
Sounds like he was really brow-beaten.
So what? It appears that he is a terrorist sympathizer anyway. We should have kicked him out.
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