SRK’s airport holdup = publicity stunt?

King Khan himself is denying that his run-in with U.S. immigration officials in New Jersey was a publicity stunt for Karan Johar’s new movie My Name Is Khan.

American immigration officials had the audacity to detain the Bollywood royal after he landed at Newark Airport in New Jersey on Saturday. SRK, who was naturally confused and baffled as to why they would think him shady in any way, “was allegedly frisked and kept waiting for hours in the airport while authorities checked his visas and reasons for visiting America.” (WENN, IMDb)

It seems our Baadshah was stateside to take part in celebrations for India’s Independence Day (isn’t this the one day you’re supposed to be in, I don’t know, India?), but now the publicized incident has created an uproar among fellow Bollywood stars, and a very passionate reaction from SRK himself!

Speaking to an audience at the Taj Mahal hotel in Atlantic City, Khan took time to “reflect” on his embarrassing experience:
“I was treated shabbily just because I happened to have Khan as my last name…I have travelled throughout the world for my shooting and also as brand ambassador for all major products but I have never been treated like this before…I think it is a procedure that needs to be followed. But it is an unfortunate procedure.”

But let’s hear from the other side…
US Customs and Border Protection spokesman Elmer Camacho said, “the allegations happen to be incorrect. Part of the inspection process is to examine the baggage. However his bags were not available due to the airline not loading them on the flight he arrived on. That is why his inspection took longer as the airline could not provide his bags for inspection. His documents and papers were checked, which were found to be in correct order…The entire process ended in a little over one hour. The procedure was handled in a professional manner and there was no evidence of Khan being pointed out because of his name or Asian identity.” (gobollywood.com)

So was it just sheer coincidence that SRK’s new movie (which reunites him with Kajol for the 18th time) “deals with the difficulties facing Muslims in the US following the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001?” (digitalspy.com)

Shah Rukh counters, “It’s not a publicity stunt. It’s not about my upcoming movie. I know that the media has made it an issue.”

Well whether it was or not, tons of publicity is to be had now!