Who does he think he is?

What, really, is Shah Rukh Khan complaining about? His 90 minutes of 'distress' at a US airport has got his new film, My Name is Khan, publicity that couldn't have been bought even with an advertising blitz worth crores. To put things in perspective: What was the Newark incident about?u00a0 A Muslim's experience in post 9/11 America.

And what's the film My Name is Khan about? A Muslim's experience in post 9/11 America! Ha!

And Khan suddenly had newspaper editors, television channels and even the government doing their bit for his next film without so much as lifting a finger. And having got the world talking about it, our Khan is now saying let things be, and that he doesn't want an apology and that though he hates the idea of stepping on US soil, he's gonna do it for the love of his fansu00a0.... Yeah right!

Khan's case is a bit like a pampered celebrity saying he's had to wait for AGES to get a passport renewed or his medical insurance cleared. So what, man?

It happens to the rest of us ALL the time.

For instance, a friend living abroad would complain about how he'd be refused every time he tried to send money home through the Western Union network. The fact was his name was Omar Sharif, which also happened to be the name of a terrorist on the US' forever-growing list of suspects. And Western Union is strict about who's sending how much and where, given that its networks have been used by terrorists to transfer money. Moreover, being singled out doesn't only happen to Muslims.

It happens to Al Gore, a former US vice-president, in his own country. It happens to a Bob Dylan. It happens to Christian pilgrims in Israel. Sure, it's annoying, but it's a small price to pay if you really care about your safety and it should be reassuring to know that someone is doing his/her job well.

That's not a reassurance that comes out of Indian airports, though. Forget terrorism, even the "screening" for swine flu victims was an apology when I entered Bangalore International Airport in May. Two women in white asked questions and kept ticking off the answers perfunctorily: Cold, madam? Fever? Sore throat? I'm curious: Did anyone at all say 'yes'?

Signing off, why did Shah Rukh have to wear a pair of jeans tattered at the knees? Ok, we've heard that many people in Washington do that when they go to the bank just so that the muggers think they're poor and don't get them but let's be fair. If you were an immigration officer and had this man wearing torn jeans say he's a superstar, what would YOU do?