Mehreen Kaur questioned by the US authorities
She was stopped by officials of the US Department of Homeland & Immigration at Vancouver International Airport, Canada.
After arresting producer Mogudumidi Kishan and his wife Chandra, the organisers of a sex racket with Telugu actresses, the American police are seriously scrutinising all Telugu film stars travelling to the US.
One of the people recently grilled by the American authorities is Mehreen Kaur. The actress, who travelled to Canada after wrapping up her upcoming Telugu film Pantham, was travelling from Vancouver to the US for a three-day trip to meet her family when she was stopped by officials of the US Department of Homeland & Immigration.
When contacted, Mehreen confirms that she was questioned by officials upon revealing that she was a Telugu actress
“I am shocked. It was so embarrassing,” Mehreen says, adding, “I was constantly travelling and wasn’t aware of the emergence of news regarding such illegitimate activities.”
The actress is especially upset that she was questioned for no reason apart from her profession. “As an actress, I have got my recognition from the Telugu film industry. It is my bread and butter. When I revealed that I was a Telugu actress, I was questioned for 30 minutes,” she says.
Mehreen says that she was asked about her purpose for visiting the US as part of the inquiry. The authorities also wanted to know if she was aware of the ongoing issue.
“The immigration officials politely told me that there was a serious racket that they were investigating and that they were questioning everybody from the Telugu film industry travelling to the US. I told them that I visited both Canada and the US often because I had family there,” says the actress, adding, “Although they apologized for the inconvenience, they said that they would continue to question people until all those involved in the racket were taken to task.”
Having gone through that ordeal, Mehreen is concerned that the actions of a few have damaged the reputation of the entire Telugu film fraternity. “Their impression of Telugu actors is really embarrassing. As an artiste, I felt it was a very awkward situation,” she says.