“Hi. I am Raj. Naam toh suna hoga?”
Many years ago, Shah Rukh Khan had spoken that (now immortal) line in DDLJ and charmed a million hearts.
Now barely a month after completing the shooting for his new film, SRK approached the immigration desk at Newark airport and spoke the (new immortal) line;
“Hi. My Name Is Khan” with the ‘naam toh suna hoga’ implied in his dimpled smile.
“Khan is it?” said the decidedly ‘un-charmed’ officer “Can you come with me please”
“But my name is Shah Rukh Kh... Kh...Khan” he said and this time adding “You must have surely heard of me?”
“NO. I have NOT heard of you. Now go sit there till I call you” said the villainous officer pointing to a small room packed with people like a sack of potatoes.
And in India all Hell broke loose.
But inspite of his “I was victimized because My Name Is Khan” proclamation (of hurt and insult) & endorsement (of his aptly titled new movie, ‘My Name Is Khan’), my own guess is that all the anger has nothing to do with perceived racial profiling and all that crap.
No. Not at all.
SRK is livid not because he was detained as his surname is Khan.
SRK is enraged not because he was apprehended due to his being Indian.
SRK is angry because he was not Recognized.
SRK who, when Googled, gets more hits than Cruise, Pitt & Jolie. Combined!
And now some twit is saying ki naam nahi suna hai…. Just Imagine….
For a celebrity like SRK (and to give him credit, he is THE Superstar) nothing is worse than not being recognized and treated like a VIP. Nothing can deflate their egos faster and more surely than anonymity. All celebrities claim they treasure their privacy but infact they would probably wilt and die without the spotlight constantly on them.
Recognition is their own private brand of heroin & cocaine.
A few years ago in Kathmandu I was chatting and waiting with my cousin on the pavement outside as my sister shopped at one of the yearly shoe sales. After waiting for what seemed like hours (and knowing my sis it probably was hours) I decided to go in and extract her from the mountains and mountains of shoes.
This particular shop has a full glass front with a glass door and as I reached in to grab the door, a familiar gentleman came out smiling and grabbed my extended hand and shook it well and good.
“You must be very happy to meet me” he declared with his smile expanding into a satisfied grin by now and with my hand still firmly in his grip.
More confused than happy and with a creased forehead very quickly replacing my own smile, I asked, what I thought was the obvious question;
“I’m sorry, Have we met before? Do I know you?”
Now it was the turn for his smile to vanish as he literally threw my hand away. Then with a look bordering on absolute disgust and maybe even astonishment, he began to strut away to a waiting taxi. A few steps away he stopped, turned and quite literally puffed up his chest and in a deep, deep voice said imperiously
“I’m Udit Narayan Jha.”
And with a final look of contempt he walked away to his car even as his disbelieving head continued to nod in bewilderment.
Mujhe nahi pehchanaa….. Just Imagine!
As SRK told CNN-IBN immediately after his release, during the 2 hours (which the U.S now says was precisely 66 minutes) that he was delayed he tried to convince the immigration officer of who he was and that he was there to be the Chief Guest at an Independence Day Function, that there were many people asking him for autographs and that he even knew Hillary Clinton.
The officer simply refused to take his word on it and decided to check and verify for himself.
He was never arrested or even detained as was widely claimed by a hyper Indian media.
He was never arrested or even detained as was widely claimed by a hyper Indian media.
As soon as his papers were found and confirmed he was let go.
Now is it really such a big deal if SRK is delayed for some time?
Now is it really such a big deal if SRK is delayed for some time?
Is 66 minutes on a stiff chair too much to bear in between his first class flat bed and his limo?
IIIIIIIIIIIIII don’t think so.
But the deal is that the immigration officer did NOT recognize him.
IIIIIIIIIIIIII don’t think so.
But the deal is that the immigration officer did NOT recognize him.
HIM! SRK! Global Superstar!
And trust me, with celebrities, that is always a BLOODY BIG DEAL.
You & Me??? We get delayed everyday. What the heck... we are the aam aadmi, the mango people.
But Celebrities never like to think they are Mangoes or God forbid...... Potatoes.
Till next time....
luv
Vish
contact me at vishalsubba@hotmail.com
Bulls Eye Vish. If we were a reasonably sensible nation, we would have seen the incident for what it is, instead of having even politicians pushing for a "tit for tat" treatment of foreign nationals.
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But then again like you say, the EGO rules.