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Celebs who got detained at the airport
Actors are perpetually engaged in drama. On screen and off it, too. Trust us, we are not saying this without reason. Recently, Bipasha Basu and Minissha Lamba were detained at the Mumbai airport.
While those nabbed cry hoarse over the fact that they are paying the price for being a celebrity the other side of the coin, the fact of the matter, is that the law is equal for all.
Here's a quick refresh of the famous faces that have caught the eye of the airport authorities
Bipasha Basu
Location: Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai
Scene: On her way from London, the hottie took the green channel and assumed nobody would notice her gigantic shopping bag. But the eyes of the custom are too sharp. They quickly detained the actress and news flew thick and fast.
As TV channels went overboard, the customs realised there isn't much to hold the actress in captivity for. Upon producing Rs 12,000 as duty, Bipasha was whisked out and right into the safe confines of her home.
Minissha Lamba
Location: Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai
Scene: This could have made for a perfect airport sequence of an Abbas-Mustan thriller. With a just-about okay Cannes appearance the Bachna Ae Haseeno gal was returning from the film festival when the customs smelled something fishy. Betcha, she was carrying undeclared jewellery worth around Rs 50 lakh.
When questioned, she told the officials she wasn't aware of the procedure. The actress was released only after 16 hours of interrogation!
Shilpa Shetty
Location: Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai
Scene: She was to embark on a Germany-bound flight when the immigrant officials swooped down on the actress.
Reason? A court in Alwar, Rajasthan, had issued a look-out notice to her disallowing her from travelling outside India. So much harassment only because of that infamous, impromptu kiss she shared with Hollywood star Richard Gere in the light of which obscenity charges were filed against her.
Obviously, officials at the Mumbai airport were unaware of the fact that Shilpa's name was cleared by the Supreme Court. It took a lot of convincing, proofs and papers for the actress to be let off.
Preity Zinta
Location: Chandigarh International Airport, India
Scene: The feisty lady boss of Kings XI Punjab was stopped from entering the security check of a Delhi-bound flight recently. She was on her way to the Capital to fulfil a professional commitment when the officials of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) asked her to show her identity proof to which Preity refused.
This led to a minor scuffle with apparently Preity refusing to budge. After a long and tiresome argument, Preity fished out the required papers and was set free to board her flight.
Shah Rukh Khan
Location: Newark International Airport, New Jersey, US
Scene: The most famous detainee yet, Shah Rukh Khan made it to most of the American newspapers when he was detained in the US. SRK was there to promote My Name is Khan.
The "angry and humiliated" superstar reasoned he was just being a victim of racial profiling and admitted to being hassled because his surname is Khan. Worse, detractors thought he was just pulling off one of those famous publicity stunts.
Mammootty
Location: JFK Airport, New York, US
Scene: The Malayalam superstar was America-bound in a British Airways flight for a good cause. He had probably never imagined that he would be intensely interrogated just because his full name is Muhammad Kutty Ismail.
This was the first time the actor had to go through special check in his 22 visits to the US so far. Unperturbed, the legend had told Rediff India Abroad in all his humility, "Every country has its laws and systems. We, too, have it. We should obey those laws."
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Location: Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi
Scene: This was a touchy matter, considering the sensitive stage at which the Indo-Pak relationship was. So, when the singer of such popular songs as Meri Ada Bhi, Tere Mast Mast Do Nain, Tum Jo Aaye and Sajda, was nabbed one Sunday evening with undeclared currency worth Rs 60 lakh, there was trouble. His passport was promptly confiscated and the police swung into action to investigate the source of the money.
He was only released after being in custody for a full day and some say this happened because of pressure from the Pakistani government. One hasn't heard much of the singer since.