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Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan held at Newark Airport; claims racial profiling due to Muslim name

BY Larry Mcshane
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Saturday, August 15th 2009, 12:32 PM


Singh/AP

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan


A Bollywood superstar cited as one of the world's 50 most influential men claims he was racially profiled by security at Newark Airport.

"I was really being hassled, perhaps because of my name being Khan," actor Shah Rukh Khan charged Saturday, a day after he was detained for two hours.

"These guys wouldn't let me through."

The 43-year-old "King of Bollywood" said he was waiting for his bags Friday when security pulled him aside after his name popped up on a computer screen.

"I was really taken aback," he told an Indian television station.

"I did not want to say anything just in case they took everything wrong, because I am a little worried about Americans because they do have this issue when your name is Muslim."

Khan - named by Newsweek last year as one of the top 50 most influential men in the world - was heading to Chicago for a celebration of India's independence day.

He recently signed a deal with Fox Star Studios to finance and distribute his new movie, "My Name is Khan" - the story of a Muslim man mistaken for a terrorist in post-9/11 America.

Source: NewYorkDailyNews

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