This news has been all over the Indian press but not so much here. Short version: India's version of Brad Pitt / Matt Damon / Bruce Willis was held up -- again -- on arrival in the US by Homeland Security officials, because his last name is the ever-suspicious "Khan." As a reader puts it:I haven't seen much of any attention paid to US airport security detaining Shah Rukh Khan (right), one of Bollywood's biggest stars, for 2+ hours at Newark Airport on his way to accepting a major award [as a Chubb Fellow] at Yale. University officials had to intervene on his behalf to get him released. Imagine the uproar if another country detained Brad Pitt. Very embarrassing.This is what we are doing to ourselves, in the name of "security." More coverage here and here. A typical story, in Al Jazeera, began:
He is one of the most famous men on the planet. Adored by millions. His films are almost always box office smashes. But when Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan travelled to the US on Thursday, he was detained by security for two hours while they checked out his "status".As everyone in India seems to be pointing out, the particularly awkward nature of this episode is that one of Khan's recent films was My Name is Khan, about a Muslim who travels to Washington to tell the U.S. president that despite his name he is not a terrorist. Arrrggh.
For what it's worth, here is an Atlantic item on how Shah Rukh Khan's expanding fame -- even in the U.S. -- shows a new level of success for Bollywood.
The 9/11 attacks have damaged America much more in the years since then than they did that day.
