Shah Rukh Khan detained for 2 hours at Newark Airport in US

New Delhi: Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan was on Saturday questioned for two hours at the Newark airport in the US over his surname and was freed only after Indian diplomats intervened.
The Indian government and entertainment industry reacted furiously after the 43-year-old actor, 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 mobile telephone.
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.
The incident happened as the hugely popular actor, whose fans number millions in India and abroad, was on his way to Chicago to attend an event related to India's Independence Day.
Other Bollywood stars like Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan too are set to attend the function. "They checked me because I was an Asian," the actor said. "They wanted to know why I came to the US and where I am staying."
Shah Rukh's manager Niloufer Qureshi earlier told IANS over telephone from Mumbai: "He was detained because his surname is Khan. He was kept until officials from the Indian embassy intervened."
15/08/09 Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times

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Categories: Airports Aug 2009, Foreign Aug 2009