People News
Richard Gere causes riots in India over Shetty kiss n' hug
By DPA
Apr 16, 2007, 14:45 GMT

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.