My Name is Khan movie post: Shah Rukh Khan & Kajol
I saw the news and I had flashbacks to hearing Rizwan Ahmed aka Riz MC dropping beats at the London Mela in 2006 and rapping to his latest track: the satire and controversial infested “9-11 Blues.â€
So with hate groups on the rise and President Obama being forced to drive The Beast, we haven’t really moved past the post-9/11 state of racism in this country, have we? Furthermore, our President is the most protected President in American history and I know some people who are more concerned about his safety than whether he’ll do his job.
If he’s assassinated, like John F. Kennedy, he can’t do what we want, now can he?
So this brings me full circle to the issue of Bollywood super legend Shah Rukh Khan being detained Saturday at the airport in Newark, New Jersey.
In a state where the vast majority of the minority are South Asian people, where people from India and Pakistan were vouching for the man, a man that some worship as a God, you mean to tell me, Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration had NO idea what was going on?
Give me a break. No seriously, give me a break and call me a chick with the brain made of cookies. Chocolate chip, preferably.
This is a classic case of what I like to call post-9/11 racism.
Take it or leave it, but it’s there and it took Bollywood’s biggest star (some say even bigger than Amitabh himself) to shed light on the issue eight years after the fact.
Rizwan Ahmed could tell you about it. He was detained back in 2006, after filming a film called The Road to Guantanamo, hence, “9/11 Blues†was born.
Just because it’s common, just because it still happens and just because the airport officials are ignorant does not make it right.
And I just highlighted the problem: ignorance.
Homeland Security and TSA are hiring ignorant people, who lack basic education and are being paid very poor salaries to run their operations on the ground level.
That’s when stuff like this happens.
How many times, on a domestic flight, have you gone through security and had the weirdest crap happen to you? And I call it crap, rather than stuff, because it is – it is utter crap.
People fear what they do not understand – so why don’t we educate them, is my question?
Shah Rukh Khan alongside other Bollywood Superstars Kajol, Hrithik Roshan, and Kareena Kapoor (whose family is in the Guinness Book of World Records for longest film dynasty EVER). Promo photo for film K3G.
Do you want to know what the headline was for Times of India?
“My Name is Khan? Too bad. SRK feels the heat of American paranoia.â€
Ironically, “My Name is Khan†is the name of an upcoming Shah Rukh Khan film that tells the story of an innocent Muslim’s experience being mistakenly identified as a terrorist in the United States in the wake of 9/11. Khan will play a man with Asperger syndrome, which makes his behavior erratic. The fictional Khan of the film, sets out on a trip to find President Obama to persuade him that he is not a terrorist. The film has been picked up by American film company Fox Searchlight for international distribution after its release in 2010.
A friend of mine said this was possibly a publicity stunt because of the nature of Khan’s new film. But, I don’t believe that. And the film’s producer, Karen Johar, spoke out against that notion as well:
“It’s upsetting because I got a text message this morning asking me if it was publicity plug for my movie.
(Sarcastically) I mean, if I had that much power over the Homeland Security, why would I allow Shah Rukh to go through something like this?â€
Shah Rukh Khan in the film Swades at NASA.
I mean seriously, think about it – would King Khan really put himself through that? And if so, would Homeland Security and TSA really go along with it?
I highly doubt it. Remember, we are America the Paranoid, we wouldn’t dare let cameras, much less a stunt or experiment through our gilded security halls.
That’s make the situation that much more real.
It’s bad US-India relations, it’s bad US-Muslim relations, it’s bad US-rest of the world relations – it’s just bad public relations.
And talk about fueling the fire on both sides, Miss World 2000 and Indian female Superstar, Priyanka Chopra got to her Twitter on Saturday and summed up the situation:-
And FYI, besides for what Karen Johar said, know this: Shah Rukh Khan doesn’t need more publicity.
Shah Rukh Khan next to his wax figure.
In terms of ticket sales and number of films produced per year, Bollywood is the largest film industry in the world. At their forefront is none other than King Khan. So outrage, is an understatement to what some people felt when they heard the news.
King Khan is one of 2008’s 50 Most Influential People in the World according to Newsweek magazine, his statue is hanging out in London’s Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, with another at the Musée Grévin in Paris. He’s also a recipient of the Order des Arts et Des Lettres via the French Government and when the people from Slumdog Millionaire wanted one of their own for the Golden Globes this year, they chose their largest star to present the film with Frieda Pinto – him.
Introduced as, “The King of Bollywood,†he’s so popular that in India they were even debating whether the Slumdog Millionaire actually needed him to push the film. There is a lot of rock star power that comes with his name, so do not think otherwise.
Dear President Obama,
I think it’s time for another Happy Hour at the White House.
Sincerely,
Me xx.
No kidding…right?
In case you were curious, below are some of Shah Rukh songs and a movie scene for you:-
The infamous rain scene from the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai:
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Sasha Muradali runs the ‘Little Pink Book’ . She holds a B.S. in Public Relations from the University of Florida (’07) and an M.A. in International Administration from the University of Miami(’08). She loves Twitter and all things social media, so you should find her @SashaHalima.
Copyright © 2009 Sasha H. Muradali. All Rights Reserved
I agree, what happened to him is disgraceful. But instead of complaining about how it shouldn't have happened because “he's such a big star”, he should highlight the injustice that anyone remotely Middle Eastern or “brown” goes through at the airport, especially men. He should not have been detained, and he was probably treated rudely which isn't right. BUT HE WAS ONLY DETAINED FOR 2 HOURS. Give me a break- I know people that have been detained for days- and they don't even have Indian or Pakistani passports.
As as a Muslim, I can say that not many people know “Khan” is a Muslim name- your average American person would not know that. If anything, they would assume that it was spelled “Caan.” My name is a typical Muslim name and yet the majority of Americans don't know that. To be fair, that works to our advantage because my family doesn't usually have problems at airports, despite being of Pakistani descent.
This is an issue that is extremely sensitive, and it angers me to no end that a select handful of stupid, ignorant, and hateful men who call themselves “muslim” (but in fact are not because what they're doing is in fact against the religion) have ruined it for the majority of peaceful Muslims. At the same time, I'm supportive of extra security because there are more crazy people out there and I'd rather be safe than sorry. I don't know what the solution is, but I agree that racial profiling has to end.
Here's my thing: as a minority woman, my name shows up on the no-fly list. Is it a hassle? Yes. Have I been searched and questioned before? Sure have.
It happens everyday. This is why the U.S. is trying to enable new laws that make you put your birthdate and other information so that they aren't detaining and questioning people.
This is a terrible situation and it usually takes famous names to bring it to light.
In complete honesty, the entire situation has gotten out of hand in my opinion.
But in the case of SRK, it's uncalled for. I'm not saying he's “special,” I'm saying that we shouldn't have ignornant people on the ground who don't know any better.
What happened to him, would be like Brad Pitt going to India and the same thing happening.
It's uncalled for in any situation, in my opinion. My dad might have come from a foreign country, but I am a US citizen with no record whatsoever. I shouldn't be patted down or have to go through extra security because my name is ethnic. That was the exact reason given to me by a TSA agent.
Would it be considered ignorant to say it's uncalled for just in his case? I think its uncalled for all around.
I think the post 9-11 mentality has helped to create an environment of fear in general about anyone seen as “other” (i.e., different from me) The last administration fueled that fear and made policy based on fear. We still see it in too many forms: fear of other races, fear of marriage equality, fear of minorities. It's tragic, but too true.
Fantastic post covering lots of different hot topics…could've easily been three separate articles – very nice work.
The part that specifically resonated with me was the security issue. I've traveled through and lived for months at a time in countries that are a far greater target of terrorism and it's always been handled in a far more logical, safe, and efficient way than what we see here.
Yes, the US has unique when it comes to security. Between it's size, length of the border and sheer volume of people coming in that's apparent. But 1 to 1, at the security gate my first thought shouldn't be “I bet this guy would rather be doing anything other than his job.”
Exactly. I have nothing to add, you've hit the nail on the head.
It's horrible. I feel like we are living in a coutry that has gone beyond paranoia and is embarassing us to the rest of the world by sheer stupidity.
This is an extreme example, for sure, but an example nonetheless of how utterly foolish our system has become.
SRK's situation would be like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie going into India and having THAT happen to them.
Exactly — you are on the ball when you said, “But 1 to 1, at the security gate my first thought shouldn't be “I bet this guy would rather be doing anything other than his job.”"
That's part of the problem: the 1 to 1 employees are underpaid, they don't care, they are poorly educated and are part of the problem for our airport's issues.
SRK is an extreme and obviously high-profiled case. But the fact that this happens purely based on the fact that someone has the last name “Khan” or isn't white or looks “different” is absurd.
It needs to stop. The only way to move forward is to stop the nonsense that is holding us back.
Excellent work here, Sasha!
My personal experience in TSA mayhem is fairly limited as a caucasian man. However, if I don't shave a few days before a flight, I definitely get the stink-eye from security.
I was appalled when Yusef, the man formerly known as Cat Stevens, was removed from a plane because he was on the no-fly list several years back. The man wrote “Peace Train!”
The fact of the matter is that someone that wants to do harm to anyone could be any gender, nationality, ethnicity or religion.
To say “You look kinda sorta like people who did bad things before, thus we think you may intend to do bad things” is a grievously-flawed logical leap.
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