I told them no. If I had told them that I had been to Afghanistan, they'd have freaked out. Two other passengers on board refused to fly with us. So they were asked to deboard. So you see post 9/11 persecution comes with its inbuilt safety measures. But I honestly think a part of the global fear is justified. We can't blame people for being paranoid after what has happened.

Irrfan Khan: More than the physical torture, it's the wounds of humiliation that never heal after you undergo such a horrific experience. It happened to me on two occasions. I was detained in New York and Los Angeles airport for secondary interrogation. I was outraged. I was told to quietly come into a room for questioning and identification verification. I wasn't allowed to talk. When I tried to ask why I was being treated this way, I was told to keep quiet. I wasn't allowed to use my phone. They said, 'No, you just sit down.' All because my name was Irrfan Khan. You can't argue or rationalise.

On a second occasion this time in New York, when I was detained I blew my top. I told this big Black American guy, 'Please clear the confusion about my identity once and for all. Or don't provide me with a visa. I don't want to come back to the US.' The guy wanted to know if it was a threat. I was taken aback. Mira Nair had to intervene. She advised me to never counter-question them. This is the free spirit of America. This 90-minute detention changed me completely. Can you imagine what a 90-day detention can do to an innocent man thrown into jail?

Dilip Kumar: After hearing these atrocious accounts who wants to travel to such a stupid place when our beautiful India offers Kashmir's jannat and Kerala's luminous glory? God forbid, if we have to go to such a country.

Eijaaz Khan (TV actor): I've gone through similar experiences a couple of times in the US. While all my friends breezed through immigration I was questioned and had to give the address I was staying at, and for how long. My whereabouts were even checked by them later. This was after 9/11. I guess this kind of treatment is to be expected by us Khans. We've to take it in our stride.