Shah Rukh humours US security after absurd check

Read more in next  week's EE (out April 20)

BOLLYWOOD actor Shah Rukh Khan was detained at a New York airport for over two hours by immigration officials after arriving from India in a private plane with Nita Ambani, to address students at Yale University yesterday.
While Nita, wife of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, and the rest of their group were cleared immediately, Khan was stopped and was given immigration clearance only after about two hours, sources confirmed.
The 46-year-old Khan was to address a press conference at 2pm and deliver his lecture at 4 pm at Yale University.
However, he arrived for the press meet three hours behind schedule and his hour-long lecture started at about 6 pm.
"Whenever I start feeling too arrogant about myself I always take a trip to America. The immigration guys kicked the
star out of stardom," Khan said with some sarcasm addressing the students at the University.
 He added that he always has his "small victories" even in such circumstances.
 "They (immigration officials) always ask me how tall I am and I always lie and say 5 feet 10 inches. Next time I am going to get more adventurous. (If they ask me) What colour are you, I am going to say white," Khan said.
Earlier, when informed about Khan being held up at the White Plains airport in New York, Yale University
officials "contacted and spoke with officials at the Department of Homeland Security and Department of US Immigration and Customs in Washington," the sources said.
They added that Khan was "very very upset" at the episode and it "took time for the university officials to make him comfortable again.
The actor, who flew back to India last night, had visited Connecticut-based Yale University, which had conferred him
with its prestigious Chubb fellowship. As part of the fellowship, Khan addressed a gathering of hundreds of Yale students, parents, faculty and other members of the Indian-American community at the Yale campus.
 Before beginning his address to the students, Khan, dressed in a chic black suit, said that it had been a long flight and thanked Ambani for getting him to the US.
 Ambani's daughter Isha is a student at Yale and is also president of the South Asian Society at the university.
 Khan went on to say that he was "detained at the airport as always."
"It was nice, as it always happens," Khan said with a slight smile even as students in the audience gave out a large
sigh and booed the US authorities when they heard Khan telling them he was detained.
While Khan told the students he was stopped for about an hour and a half, sources said he was at the airport for over two hours.
They said he told them that this is not the first time he has been stopped at an airport in the country and this has
happened to him "three to four times before."
The most recent one was in 2009 when Khan was detained at the Newark Airport in New Jersey. (pti)

* pictured...Shah Rukh Khan
* More in next week's EE (April 20)

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