SRK detained at US airport again

AT LOS ANGELES AIRPORT

WASHINGTON: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was briefly detained at the Los Angeles airport on Thursday, the third time in recent years, possibly for a close matchwithanentry on theUnited States terror watchlist.

An exasperated Khantweeted that the detention “really really sucks”, drawing an apology from a US state Department official. In a second tweet, Khan said he played Pokemon while awaiting his clearance.Theactor,whose2010filmMy Name is Khan dealt with racial profiling in the United States, was eventually allowed to go.

“I fully understand & respect security with the way the world is, but to be detained at US immigra- tion every damn time really really sucks,” the actor tweeted.

As the news quickly circulated on social media, US ambassador Richard Verma apologised to SRK on Twitter for his detention at the airport. “Sorry for the trouble at LAX @iamsrk. We are working to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Yourworkinspiresmillions,including in the US,” Verma tweeted.

Nisha Biswal, US state department’s assistant secretary on south and central Asian Affairs, also tweeted to Khan that she was “sorry for the hassle”, adding that US diplomats too faced such situations. Shah Rukh thanked both of them for their “concern” and said he didn’t expect to be above protocol.