Shah Rukh Khan was not stopped by customs officials at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport if recent reports are to be believed. It was earlier reported that SRK, who was returning from Dubai, was stopped after expensive watches were recovered from his possession and he had to pay Rs 6.83 lakhs in custom duty. However, a new report states that he was stopped after covers of watches were recovered from him. The actor was returning from Sharjah where he was attending the Sharjah International Book Fair.
Times of India quoted a senior customs officer of Mumbai airport as saying, “Shah Rukh Khan and his team were asked to pay duty for goods they were carrying. There was no penalty or interception as is being reported by the media. Everything being said on social media with regards to this case is a factual mismatch.”
The source also informed that SRK was not carrying expensive watches. The items were watch winder cases. “Then, Ravi Singh, who is from SRK’s security team (Ravi is Shah Rukh Khan’s trusted bodyguard) was escorted with one bag, which had the goods for payment of duty along with one customs officer to Terminal 2. Over there, Ravi paid the customs duty of Rs 6.88 lakhs (calculated as per the customs duty of 38.5 percent).”
The officer added, “This process should not have been labelled as an interception because these interceptions happen on T2, where there is a large volume of passengers. In fact, after this incident, airport and customs authorities are now contemplating installing duty services and personnel at the GA terminal as well, to avoid such confusion in the future.”
Meanwhile, King Khan was honoured at the Sharjah International Book Fair with the first Global Icon of Cinema and Cultural Narrative award. The ceremony was attended by several fans. The actor was felicitated with the award for his contribution to the cultural landscape, and development in the field of writing and creativity.
On the work front, Shah Rukh Khan is gearing up for the release of Pathaan, which will be his comeback on the big screen after his 2018 film Zero. Pathaan also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham in pivotal roles and will release on January 25. Next, SRK will be seen in Jawan for which he has collaborated with director Atlee and actress Nayanthara for the first time. Following that, he has Dunki in the pipeline with Rajkumar Hirani and Taapsee Pannu.
