New Delhi - One of India's most famous film stars, Shahrukh Khan, was detained and questioned by immigration officials at a US airport for more than two hours, news reports said. Khan was on his way to Chicago to attend a function to mark India's Independence Day but was detained at the Newark airport in New Jersey, IANS news agency reported.
"He was detained because his surname is Khan. He was kept until officials from the Indian embassy intervened. Now he has been released," Khan's manager Niloufer Qureshi said from Mumbai.
"I was taken to a room for questioning. They said my name kept popping up on the computer," Khan said on a telephone interview on NDTV news channel.
He said after about an hour, he asked the officials if he could make a call. "They said it was not allowed from here but they could make an exception. I called a friend who contacted an Indian embassy official who came and vouched for me," Khan said.
"I am assuming this country is paranoid with a certain section of religion in the world. This has happened to me before. This is not the first time."
India's Foreign Ministry said its embassy in the US was investigating the incident.
US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer said Khan was a global icon. "He is welcome in the US."
Khan, one of the Indian film industry's biggest stars and worth millions of dollars, is a household name in India and among Indians abroad.
Incidentally, Khan's latest film My Name is Khan is set against the September 11, 2001 terror attacks and examines their impact on an Indian Muslim living in the US.
The film, shot largely in the US, is near completion and US-based Fox Star Studios has secured the global distribution rights for a deal which industry insiders estimate to be about 20 million dollars.
The film is jointly produced by Khan and director Karan Johar.
