Shah Rukh Khan, one of India’s top film actors, was detained when he arrived at Newark airport. According to Reuters, the incident is causing an uproar among his fans:
Khan, 43, one of India’s best known actors, was enroute to Chicago for a parade to mark the Indian independence day on Saturday when he was pulled aside at Newark airport Friday, he said.
“I was really hassled perhaps because of my name being Khan. These guys just wouldn’t let me through,” he said in a text message to reporters in India.
After a couple of hours’ interrogation, he was allowed to make a call, he said, and he got in touch with the Indian consulate who vouched for him and secured his release.
“Absolutely uncalled for, I think. I felt angry and humiliated,” said Khan, who had just finished a month-long shoot in the United States for his upcoming film “My Name is Khan,” which is about a Muslim man’s experience with racial profiling.
A U.S. consul official in India told a television channel they were inquiring into the matter.
As news of Khan’s detention broke on Indian television channels, which have played up attacks in Australia on Indian students, fans and actors began posting angry comments on the Internet.