SRK’s name lands him in trouble, gets detained at Los Angeles airport
Shahrukh Khan
On Friday, actor Shah Rukh Khan was detained at Los Angeles airport by the US immigration department officials. According to reports, the ‘Chak De’ actor was detained the airport because a man with a similar name is on the US no-fly list.
Following the incident, the actor later took to his Twitter account to share the news with his 20 million plus fans. He wrote, “I fully understand & respect security with the way the world is, but to be detained at US immigration every damn time really really sucks”
I fully understand & respect security with the way the world is, but to be detained at US immigration every damn time really really sucks.
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) August 12, 2016
On a lighter note, the actor also said that he caught Pokemons.
The brighter side is while waiting caught some really nice Pokemons.
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) August 12, 2016
After the actor’s experience became a ‘trending’ topic, US ambassador replied to the actor, apologizing for the trouble faced at LAX.
Sorry for the trouble at LAX @iamsrk. We are working to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Your work inspires millions, including in the US.
— Rich Verma (@USAmbIndia) August 12, 2016
In response, the actor tweeted
No trouble sir, respect the protocol & not expecting 2 b above it. It’s just a tad inconvenient. Thx for ur concern. https://t.co/zQspvxnXsl
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) August 12, 2016
The actor later told TOI, “I told them I was a movie star and had recently visited the country for the shooting of my film. Nothing seemed to convince the immigration officer. There were other immigration officers who even vouched for me but this particular officer did not listen to anyone. I even told them I had an invitation from the South Asian community and was there to attend an event.”
Officials from the US told a leading TV channel that they only have access to a person’s name during immigration checks, which makes distinguishing between two people of the same name difficult.
This was the third time the actor has been detained by a officials of a US airport. Prior to this, SRK had been detained at New York and New Jersey airports.
Back in 2012, when the actor was on his way to Yale University to address the students, he was detained at New York airport for 2 hours. He later told students, “Whenever I start feeling too arrogant about myself, I always take a trip to America. The immigration guys kicked the star out of stardom.”
The incident led to a massive outrage, which subsided after US Customs and Border Protection wrote to India’s New York Mission and apologized for the actor’s experience.
In 2009, the actor was stopped at Newark airport because his name was flagged by the system.
