Bollywood star downplays detention

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Saturday downplayed being questioned at a U.S. airport, saying it was part of a necessary but unfortunate procedure.

Khan, one of the Indian film industry’s biggest stars, is in the U.S. to promote his new film, “My Name is Khan,” which is about racial profiling.

He told the Press Trust of India news agency that he was detained because his name came up on a computer alert list at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. However, U.S. customs officials told the Associated Press that Khan was questioned as part of a routine process that took 66 minutes.

“I told them I am a movie star,” Press Trust quoted Khan as saying.

The reported detention made top news on TV stations in India.

Khan told reporters in suburban Chicago on Saturday that he did not want an apology from the U.S. government. Asked about what happened, he simply said: “I think it’s a procedure that needs to be followed, but an unfortunate procedure.”

Khan made his comments after appearing at an Indian festival in Rosemont and did not mention the incident in his remarks to the crowd.