India is furious over Gere and Shetty kissing · 2007-04-17 14:44
TV news bulletins in India repeatedly show American actor Richard Gere, 57, kissing the 31-year-old actress and the Celebrity Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty during an Aids awareness rally.
As religious fundamentalists and Hindu nationalists in the country consider any display of public affection taboo, crowds burn posters of the couple in protest at their behaviour.
The fact that the pair is not married only worsen the situation, one more aggravating factor is that Gere is a non-Hindu foreigner.
The pair had appeared at a press conference in New Delhi as part of a campaign to preach safe sex to truck drivers in India, the country with the world’s largest proportion of HIV sufferers.
Then Richard Gere kissed Shilpa her on her hand and cheek. Nationally the reaction was of violent disapproval.
“He did not do anything obscene. He apologised to me and told me to tell the media that he apologised,” Shilpa Shetty told the reporters.
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