Khan you say "Publicity stunt"?

Shah Rukh Khan was held for 66 minutes at the Newark airport in the US because his name came up on immigration's security alert system. Angry fans burned a U.S. flag in protest Sunday. And you shouldn't be surprised.

You see, in India, Bollywood stars like SRK are like gods, who should not be treated like the masses. Why not enforce a "tit-for-tat" policy toward Americans traveling to India? suggested a cabinet-member in India. This idea makes me want to laugh out loud, having lived in India.

Go ahead, I say. Detain Americans. Keep them from coming in. I wish you all had done that to me!

"No ma'am. You aren't allowed in this country. You must return to your country." My reaction would have been like, "Really!!?? OH DARN!"

My question is, why is it that it is ok to profile middle to low-income, hard-working muslim men but not a muslim superstar? Why is any profiling ok?

I have become cynical. I wouldn't be surprised if this was just a publicity stunt for the movie he just made in the US. Khan’s next film, "My Name is Khan", is about an innocent Muslim’s experiences of being mistakenly identified as a terrorist in the United States in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

All I can think of is how Amitabh Bachchan (my idea of a true bollywood "god") would have reacted to the situation. With a wry smile, I believe he would have taken it in stride and minimalized the whole thing. Probably would have endeared himself to the immigration officer and been let go after 20 minutes.

Some people are like this also.