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| Shahrukh Khan dances with Yale student Natalia Khosla |
The US immigration authorities apologised for the incident, but that did not seem to pacify New Delhi that reacted sharply, telling Washington this “habit of detention and then apology” won’t do.
Shahrukh, who has millions of fans in India and around the world, was detained at New York’s White Plains airport for two hours as he arrived to visit Yale University.
He was honoured at the Yale as a Chubb Fellow, joining a distinguished list which includes former presidents George W Bush, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter and authors Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, and Toni Morrison.
The immigration authorities allowed him to go only after his hosts intervened and took up the issue with the department of homeland security in Washington, said sources.
Sensing public outrage in India, the US customs and border protection authorities later expressed “profound” apologies over Shahrukh’s detention. Khan’s name was “flagged” in the system and the airport officials needed approval of senior authorities to clear him, it clarified.
India was upset, especially as this was the second time the actor was being detained at a US airport in the last three years, and told the US off, demanding that it must stop this pattern of detention and apology.
In August 2009 too, Shahrukh was stopped at the Newark airport and was released after two hours at the intervention of the Indian consulate in New York.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, who is in Moscow to attend a trilateral meeting of India, Russia and China, asked India’s ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao to take up the issue with US authorities.
“This has become a habit of detention and then apology, this cannot continue. We need an assurance that this won’t happen again,” he said yesterday.
While Nita Ambani, the wife of tycoon Mukesh Ambani, and the rest of their group were cleared immediately, Shahrukh was allowed to go only after his hosts intervened and took up the issue with the department of homeland security in Washington, said sources.
Intervention by the consulate seemed to have ensured he was let off.
Sources in New Delhi indicated that if this pattern continued, the government may now consider extending the same treatment to US citizens visiting India.
Shahrukh, who has starred in a film My Name is Khan that unravels racial profiling in the US after the 9/11 terror attacks, said he felt “insulted and humiliated,” but continued with his engagements and chose sarcasm to hit back.
Talking to students, Shahrukh, dressed in a chic black suit, thanked Ambani for getting him to the US after a long flight. Then he was “detained at the airport as always,” said Shahrukh adding with a smile, “it was nice, as it always happens. Whenever I start feeling too arrogant about myself, I always take a trip to America. The immigration guys kicked the star out of stardom,” he said.
“But I always have my small victories even in such circumstances,” said Shahrukh. “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,” he said.
“I was really hassled at the American airport because of my name being Khan...It was absolutely uncalled for...I felt angry and humiliated,” said Shahrukh, who was then heading towards Chicago to participate in an Independence Day celebration event. “It is a Muslim name and I think the name is common on their checklist,” he had then said.
As part of the Yale Chubb Fellowship, Shahrukh attended a reception and dinner at Timothy Dwight College at New Haven Connecticut with over 120 Yale students including members of the South Asian Society at Yale, before taking a return flight on Thursday night.
There was much anger in India over what Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajiv Shukla called “inappropriate and uncalled for,” detention of Shahrukh.
“I think whether it is Shahrukh or former president of India (A P J Abdul Kalam), if you know the identity of the person and if you have already established the identity of the person, then it is completely uncalled for and inappropriate,” he said.
“It has become a policy of the US that first they do it and then they apologise,” said Shukla, while asking the US to review its security system.
However, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tried to play down the incident on Twitter, saying: “Honestly what’s the big deal?? This airport detention thing happens all the time & to all sorts of people. Get over it.”
Meanwhile Oscar-winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty condemned the superstar detention. “(SRK) detained at NY emigration. It’s evident that because he has a Muslim name, that too d day Yale university gave him a fellowship,” Pookutty wrote on his Twitter page. “This is discrimination and they must stop this. SRK is so cool about it and he laughed it off. But it’s not that simple, they need to look inward,” he added.
Actor charms Yale students
Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan enthralled the students of Yale University as he came to the Ivy League institution as a Chubb Fellow, one of its top honours.
A crowd gathered outside the Shubert Theatre early in the afternoon and as the day progressed the line snaked around the corner.
Fans travelled from as far as Alabama and California to join with members of the New Haven and Yale community to hear Shahrukh speak to a capacity audience of about 1,700.
Shahrukh charmed the crowd as he spoke to them about success and failure and how to live life to the fullest. He encouraged young people to find fulfilment in creativity, to learn to laugh at themselves and to never become cynical about their lives.
“Failure is a fiendish friend that can lead to success by teaching one to be pragmatic, to work harder, and to be true to oneself,” he said, adding that the true strength of one’s friendships is tested in the face of strong adversity.
Shahrukh emphasised the importance of young people appreciating and cherishing their parents’ love.
“Whatever you do, whichever mistakes you make, your parents are your best friends,” he said.
The lecture took a light-hearted turn when Shahrukh danced his signature ‘Chammak Challo’ moves with Yale student Natalia Khosla.
“This is the most fun I have had in months!” Shahrukh said.
Shahrukh was introduced by Yale student Isha Ambani, who is president of the South Asian Society at Yale and participated in a conversation onstage with Jeffrey Brenzel, Yale dean of undergraduate admissions and master of Timothy Dwight College, the Yale residential college that administers the Chubb Fellowship; Yale College alumna Sarika Arya; and Yale Law School student Nihkil Sud.
As part of the Yale Chubb Fellowship, Khan attended a reception and dinner at Timothy Dwight College with over 120 Yale students.