Shah Rukh Khan, the Indian film star who has been the face of top western brands such as Pepsi, Compaq, TAG Heuer and Nokia, was held this weekend for protracted questioning at a US airport, igniting ire among south Asians and US Muslims.

The incident, which dominated Indian newspapers and TV channels on the independence day weekend, came as Mr Khan was in production of My Name is Khan, a feature film about an autistic Indian Muslim treated as a terror suspect in the US after the September 11 terror attacks.