Very interesting article! Finally, it is good to see a media person not treat a Bollywood actor like he is God. Now I am even angrier about the holier-than-thou indignation that SRK and many others expressed at him being questioned at some length at port of entry. It is well known that there are many connections between the criminal underworld and Bollywood - both in and out of India. But it did not occur to me that this may be why SRK was stopped. Instead they were screaming about racial profiling and accusing the US authorities of picking on him simply because of SRK's last name. Look at yourself SRK. You are judged by the company you keep.
Indian authorities should also do this. But the system in India is gutless and corrupt, and so they hassle ordinary citizens. Sanjay Dutt, for example, is a convicted felon, and still there are people who worship him and he wants to be in politics.
What is happening to India? On the one hand there is this economic boom. On the other hand the social, national and environmental structures have never been more vulnerable to collapse. We can blame Pakistan all we want, but we have to also look brutally honestly at India itself for the problems it has. This SRK incident at Newark is symptomatic of a larger problem in India.
Shah Rukh Khan Detained at US Airport
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jai_in_canada
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jayakris
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Re: Shah Rukh Khan Detained at US Airport
Aha ... DAILY SHOW to the rescue! .. Now we have closure on the whole story .. Here is SRK story from them .. Jon Stewart and Aasif Mandvi at their best!!
http://tweetmeme.com/bar/146722061
Really, that's all you need to know!! Thanks, DAILY SHOW, for putting SRK and the clueless Indian media in their proper places!
Jay
http://tweetmeme.com/bar/146722061
Really, that's all you need to know!! Thanks, DAILY SHOW, for putting SRK and the clueless Indian media in their proper places!
Jay
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mugu
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Re: Shah Rukh Khan Detained at US Airport
It is typical of the Indian media to first make a big deal out of such incidents and then start attacking the very same person whom it wanted to project initially as the wronged person.
I don't know what has been said in the US media but I believe, seeing a few clippings on Indian TV of US programmes, that there had been a lot of humour and sarcasm.
I agree that US has every right to protect its citizens by questioning people with "doubtful sir names". If someone can even attempt a survey about how many such cases are dealt with by US authorities at various international airports, the percentage of Asians in such instances, the percentage South Asians, the percentage of Muslims in such instances, I am sure, it would explain what SRK had been saying all along.
Unlike what has been stated here, I saw TV reports in which US authorities were quoted to confirm that SRK was question for a little over one hour. Maybe the whole exercise took two hours since his luggage had not arrived or was not traced immediately. But the questioning went on for more than one hour.
Celebrities bring to the fore such instances where foreign authorities might be behaving irrationally with everyone. You can always defend it by saying "this is the way we do things and you can do nothing about it" and one will readily accept that argument.
This does not mean Indians have a VIP culture and they love VIPs/Celebs to be treated int his fashion. The traffic jams in Delhi caused by VIP movement, the blockades at airports etc when VIPs are travelling etc do bring out the worst reactions from the public.
This surely looked different, not because SRK is a celebrity in India and the US agencies failed to recognise him, but because he said that he was picked because his name happened to be 'Khan'. Nothing has been reported so far to suggest that this was untrue.
I think a country which couldn't prevent a few aircraft deviating from their charted path to zoom in on the Pentagon and the WTC will surely feel unsafe when 'Khans", 'Mohammads' and 'Mehsuds" try to enter their country. Do they actually gain anything by subjecting them to hours of questioning?
In the earlier incident of President Kalam being asked to remove his shoes in Delhi, even though the former President himself didn't make an issue out of it, people were outraged in general. The question then was will the US feel it would be okay to search President Bush and his family in Delhi airport if they were on a private visit?
Does any one have any account of how the American VIPs including Hollywood stars are treated in foreign countries and whether there had been any reaction to any alleged detention?
The US authorities have detained or questioned excessively or searched several Indian personalities by now including Aamir Khan (here we go again...Khan...) George Fernandes, Dr Kalam and now SRK. If traffic can be brought to a complete halt for several kilometers in Delhi when a US dignitary (even former Presidents) is visiting India, there is bound to be some outrage when an Indian celebrity is treated in this fashion in the US, just because his name happens to be Khan.
I repeat SRK said he was saddened that they detained him because his name was Khan. He has said in interviews on return that he understands the US has to be strict with its security. He says he will have to cope with such instances as long as his work takes him to that country, but he wouldn't want to go there again and again. If possible he wouldn't want to go there at all.
The Indian media did play it up. It is fashionable here to play up such stories when Bollywood stars and cricketers are involved. In the US, I guess, the mainline media will play it up if any of their political leaders are involved or if a snub comes from a Communist or an Islamic nation.
I don't know what has been said in the US media but I believe, seeing a few clippings on Indian TV of US programmes, that there had been a lot of humour and sarcasm.
I agree that US has every right to protect its citizens by questioning people with "doubtful sir names". If someone can even attempt a survey about how many such cases are dealt with by US authorities at various international airports, the percentage of Asians in such instances, the percentage South Asians, the percentage of Muslims in such instances, I am sure, it would explain what SRK had been saying all along.
Unlike what has been stated here, I saw TV reports in which US authorities were quoted to confirm that SRK was question for a little over one hour. Maybe the whole exercise took two hours since his luggage had not arrived or was not traced immediately. But the questioning went on for more than one hour.
Celebrities bring to the fore such instances where foreign authorities might be behaving irrationally with everyone. You can always defend it by saying "this is the way we do things and you can do nothing about it" and one will readily accept that argument.
This does not mean Indians have a VIP culture and they love VIPs/Celebs to be treated int his fashion. The traffic jams in Delhi caused by VIP movement, the blockades at airports etc when VIPs are travelling etc do bring out the worst reactions from the public.
This surely looked different, not because SRK is a celebrity in India and the US agencies failed to recognise him, but because he said that he was picked because his name happened to be 'Khan'. Nothing has been reported so far to suggest that this was untrue.
I think a country which couldn't prevent a few aircraft deviating from their charted path to zoom in on the Pentagon and the WTC will surely feel unsafe when 'Khans", 'Mohammads' and 'Mehsuds" try to enter their country. Do they actually gain anything by subjecting them to hours of questioning?
In the earlier incident of President Kalam being asked to remove his shoes in Delhi, even though the former President himself didn't make an issue out of it, people were outraged in general. The question then was will the US feel it would be okay to search President Bush and his family in Delhi airport if they were on a private visit?
Does any one have any account of how the American VIPs including Hollywood stars are treated in foreign countries and whether there had been any reaction to any alleged detention?
The US authorities have detained or questioned excessively or searched several Indian personalities by now including Aamir Khan (here we go again...Khan...) George Fernandes, Dr Kalam and now SRK. If traffic can be brought to a complete halt for several kilometers in Delhi when a US dignitary (even former Presidents) is visiting India, there is bound to be some outrage when an Indian celebrity is treated in this fashion in the US, just because his name happens to be Khan.
I repeat SRK said he was saddened that they detained him because his name was Khan. He has said in interviews on return that he understands the US has to be strict with its security. He says he will have to cope with such instances as long as his work takes him to that country, but he wouldn't want to go there again and again. If possible he wouldn't want to go there at all.
The Indian media did play it up. It is fashionable here to play up such stories when Bollywood stars and cricketers are involved. In the US, I guess, the mainline media will play it up if any of their political leaders are involved or if a snub comes from a Communist or an Islamic nation.