Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan stopped at US airport

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has expressed his disappointment at being “detained” by US authorities at Los Angeles International Airport.

It is not clear why Khan was detained, or for how long.

The US ambassador to India has apologised for the detention and said authorities were working to ensure it did not happen again.

In 2012, Khan was detained for 90 minutes at the White Plains airport near New York.

In 2009, he was stopped for two hours at Newark airport. He was released after India’s embassy intervened.

Khan, who flew into Los Angeles on Friday, tweeted:

But, the actor added, there was a brighter side to the “detention”:

Although there was no comment from immigration officials, the US State Department’s assistant secretary on south and central Asian affairs, Nisha Biswal, tweeted to Khan, saying she was “sorry for the hassle”, adding that US diplomats also face this situation.

Later, the US ambassador to India, Rich Verma, apologised to Khan. 

Some Indians wondered why one of Bollywood’s biggest stars was routinely detained at US airports.

In 2012, the actor arrived on a private plane and was on his way to Yale University for a function when he was stopped.

An Indian government minister said at the time that this “policy of detention and apology by the US cannot continue”.

US customs and border protection authorities later expressed “profound” apologies for the incident.

Khan had later made light of the incident and joked about it.

“Whenever I start feeling arrogant about myself, I always take a trip to America. The immigration guys kick the star out of stardom,” he told a gathering of students at Yale University.

Khan has appeared in more than 70 films and is considered one of India’s most recognisable and popular celebrities.

BBC