Stars: Victims of racial profiling

Of late, more and more of our celebrities are being given a hard time at foreign airports while their icons enjoy demi-god status when they decide to visit our country. Is it prejudice or stars are mere mortals in foreign shores? Here are a few harassed stars... Shah Rukh was on his way to Chicago to attend a function to mark India's Independence Day when he was reportedly interrogated for over two hours after American immigration officials spotted the 'Khan' in his name. King 'Khan' was released after Congress MP Rajiv Shukla spoke to the authorities in the US and the Indian counsulate. The actor was detained after his name flashed on the computer. He was asked several questions about the purpose of his visit. His hand baggage was checked. He was not allowed to even make a phone call for nearly an hour.

'John Abraham' may be a name common in the West, but that did not not stopped airport authorities from detaining our star John Abraham. According to reports, John was stopped at the New York airport by FBI agents who wanted to know why he had been to Afghanistan. Now, obviously they had never heard of 'Kabul Express', the movie!

Recently Neil Nitin Mukesh had a reality check when he flew to the US for shooting Yash Raj's 'New York'. Neil was reportedly 'too fair' for American immigration authorities and they found it hard to believe that a man of such fair complexion could be of Indian origin. Even Googling his name was not deemed enough proof of his star status.

Critically acclaimed actor Irrfan Khan had his own brush with high-handed American immigration officials, not once but twice, before 'Slumdog Millionaire' brought him international fame. His experience bears an uncanny resemblance to the way that Shah Rukh was reportedly treated all because his name had 'Khan'.

In 2002 megastar Aamir Khan was strip searched and interrogated at the Chicago airport.

Malayalam superstar Mammooty has also been briefly 'separated for questioning' by security officials at the JFK International Airport in New York. Reportedly it was the official name on his passport 'Muhammadkutty Ismail' that sent immigration officials in a tizzy.