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Richard Gere causes riots in India over Shetty kiss n' hug
Apr 16, 2007, 14:45 GMT
India’s main opposition party Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) workers burn an effigy of Hollywood superstar Richard Gere and posters of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty during a protest in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, 16 April 2007. THIS IN THE COUNTRY THAT PENNED THE KAMA SUTRA?????EPA/SANJEEV GUPTA
New Delhi - Richard Gere's kissing and hugging Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty during an AIDS awareness function triggered protests in India Monday over the 'obscene act' with people burning effigies of the Hollywood star, officials and media reports said.
Gere and Shetty participated at an entertainment function in New Delhi on Sunday evening to raise AIDS awareness.
During the event, Gere hugged Shetty tightly on the stage, bent over her and kissed her repeatedly on the cheek. Organizers said Gere did this to prove to that kissing alone does not spread AIDS.
But the episode created a furore on Monday as several conservative and Hindu groups held protests in New Delhi and cities in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan states.
The demonstrators burnED posters and effigies of the stars and said that the kissing act was against Indian culture.
Hardline Hindu activists from the Shiv Sena party stormed Shetty's movie sets in India's entertainment capital of Mumbai and shouted slogans against her 'offensive behaviour'.
Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena and Muslim activists staged protests in Varanasi city in Uttar Pradesh against what they said was an 'attack' on India's cultural ethos.
'This is an intolerable and obscene act. It is against the values, culture and traditions of the nation. Gere must apologise,' a protester told the IANS news agency.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party also disapproved of the act saying it was against Indian culture. 'Such a public display is not part of the Indian tradition,' Prakash Javadekar, spokesman of the BJP said.
Reacting to the protests later in the day, Shetty lashed out against the Indian TV channels for exaggerating the issue, saying Gere had tried to strike a dance pose with her and had kissed her on the cheeks.
She said Gere had called her over phone following the protests and apologized saying he did not want to hurt the sentiments of Indians.
'I'm shell-shocked. The matter has been blown out of proportion by the TV channels which has been broadcasting it (the footage) through the day. They shouldn't waste airtime over such a trivial matter,' she said.
She praised Gere for his nine-year long dedication to raising AIDS awareness in India and for his love for the country. 'We should thank him for for his dedication,' Shetty said adding India had the second- largest number of HIV/AIDS cases worldwide.
Shetty made international headlines earlier this year when perceived racist comments against her from Jade Goody, a fellow contestant of the British TV reality show Big Brother, were widely condemned by people. Shetty emerged winner of the show.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
shameless ppl having no jobs...they need to do something to keep them from being bored...
Richard G. went way over the line in his actions on stage. When will these entertainers learn of foreign customs before they make fools of themselves?
foreign customs? Oh please, think outisde the square. It was all a bit of fun. Open your eyes, there are more pressing issues happening around the world. Silly people with closed minds.
Such a rediculous reaction by a nation that's supposed to be becoming more intelligent. It really confirms that India is a huge nation of small underdeveloped minds and no capacity to see the world for what it is. I am ashamed to be an Indian, one more time. Everyone could see it was a friendly and sincere gesture of appreciation. That is not a kiss but a peck. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET RID OF SUCH TABOOS and accept life and normal human feelings as a normal emotion??
This is just another reason why it might be best for the US to just isolate itself from all other countries (with exceptions of Canada and some Western European countries [France, UK, etc.] except for the purposes of trade (which, more & more, can be done by computer). It is getting too easy to get people up-in-arms angry at us. Yes, Gere should have known (assuming he didn't know) that public displays like this are frowned upon in India, but the fact that he did so then results in burnings in effigy, marches, and court filings indicate that we are just too different culturally, and it's best to just keep ourselves at a safe distance.
In the land from where Kamasutra originated, the population is 1.2billion.
Ask youself if this population explosion has happened using the ancient crystal ball or is the whole nation fcuking
Is this what the BJP / Shiv Sena or the protestors saying;
A kiss is just a kiss
A fcuk is just a fcuk
BUT
A blowjob is 25bucks
Grow up India, time to move ahead.
Kissing and Hugging are not allowed in Public?
It's just another way to demote females!
For a society that has been deeply damaged by colonialism can one think of a more offensive image of a white guy grabbing a daughter of India and forcing himself upon her? It is so symbolic. It is right in line with the image of the white colonist forcing himself upon a country and just taking whatever he wants.
Richard Gere should pay the ultimate price for this.
What bothers me however is those who would blame Shilpa Shetty for this.
Too often women victims of rape in India are blamed for what happened like they wanted the rape to happen or it was their fault the rape happened even when the truth might be that the rapists brutalized them and they couldn't stop the rape from happening.
While of course Richard Gere didn't actually rape Shilpa Shetty, I still see this whole 'Blame the Woman Victim' dynamic in place. From what I saw from the video Shilpa Shetty did nothing to cause Richard Gere to act the way he did, and was in fact as shocked as everyone else was that he would act in such a disgraceful manner.
We need to defend this daughter of India, not blame her for this white man's assault upon her.
page: 1
SApr 16th, 2007 - 16:34:58
That is pretty much the stupidest thing I've heard in a while. These protesters really know how to pick serious, hardhitting issues. And what's with all the effigy burning lately. Come on.
-S, A Muslim living in the UK.
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