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India Is Furious Over Richard Gere
Don't look for "The Hoax" to do big business in New Delhi this summer. Angry crowds there and in several other Indian cities burned effigies of Richard Gere on Monday, after photos of Gere kissing Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty at an AIDS awareness event on Sunday surfaced in several Indian newspapers.
The public display of affection was considered against Indian tradition, and it wasn't just Gere who brought the ire of crowds; the Associated Press reports protestors chanted "Down with Shilpa Shetty!" in the city of Varanasi. On the bright side, sales of Richard Gere effigies skyrocketed over the weekend, and hit levels not seen since angry Cindy Crawford fans burned his likeness after their surprise wedding in 1991.
Angry crowds in several Indian cities burned effigies of Richard Gere on Monday after he swept a popular Bollywood actress into his arms and kissed her several times during an AIDS-awareness event.
Photographs of the 57-year-old actor embracing Shilpa Shetty and kissing her on the cheek at an HIV/AIDS awareness event in New Delhi were splashed across Monday's front pages in India -- a country where sex and public displays of affection are taboo.
In Mumbai, members of the right-wing Hindu nationalist group Shiv Sena beat burning effigies of Gere with sticks and set fire to glamorous shots of Shetty.
Similar protests broke out in other cities, including Varanasi, Hinduism's holiest city, and in the northern town of Meerut.
The two appeared at a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday to highlight the HIV/AIDS epidemic among India's truck drivers. In front of a cheering crowd, Gere kissed the giggling Shetty on the hand, then kissed her on both cheeks before bending her in a full embrace to kiss her cheek again.
"This is a bit too much," Shetty said after the embrace.
On Monday, Shetty tried to stamp out the controversy.
"I understand this is his culture, not ours. But this was not such a big thing or so obscene for people to overreact in such manner," she told the Press Trust of India news agency.
"I understand people's sentiments, but I don't want a foreigner to take bad memories from here," PTI quoted her as saying.
The spokesman for Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the kiss.
"Such a public display is not part of Indian tradition," said Prakash Javadekar, according to PTI.
Shetty, already well-known in India, became an international star after her appearance on the British reality show "Celebrity Big Brother" -- another controversial public appearance. A fellow contestant, Jade Goody, sparked international headlines by making allegedly racist comments to Shetty. Mobs took to the streets of India to denounce Goody, and Shetty went on to win the competition.
Gere's screen credits include "Chicago," "Pretty Woman" and "An Officer and a Gentleman."
The brouhaha in India over Hollywood actor Richard Gere's stage embrace with Shilpa Shetty has hit the headlines in Britain, where she continues to make news after her victory on the 'Celebrity Big Brother' show earlier this year.
Several newspapers published the picture of Gere embracing Shetty at an AIDS awareness event in New Delhi, along with a detailed account of the protests across India and the Bollywood actress' response to them.
In a headline titled 'Kiss that shocked India', the Guardian reported: 'Many saw the act as an outrage against Shetty's modesty and Indian culture, though Shetty dismissed the protests as an 'over-reaction' that made India look silly.
'Groups of men burned and kicked effigies of the actors in protests across India, including in the northern Indian cities of New Delhi, Kanpur, Meerut and Varanasi as well as in the central city of Indore.'
Under the headline 'Gere arouses Hindu ire over stage kiss', the Telegraph reported: 'Hindu nationalist groups objected to an onstage clinch between her and Richard Gere, the actor, during an AIDS-awareness rally.
'Gere jokingly grabbed her and planted several kisses on her cheek, to howls of appreciation from an audience of New Delhi lorry drivers. But members of the Shiv Sena organisation burned effigies of Gere in the streets of Varanasi, Hinduism's holiest city, and demanded that he leave the country immediately or apologise for his 'indecent conduct'.'
The Independent reported the event - 'Indians angered by Gere's passionate embrace with Shilpa' - saying: 'The evening was supposed to focus international attention on the sexual misadventures of India's famously promiscuous lorry drivers.
'Instead, it plunged Hollywood heartthrob Richard Gere into an unwelcome spotlight and re-ignited controversy surrounding Bollywood actress and Celebrity Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty.'
The report said: 'Television footage of the star of 'An Officer And A Gentleman' plastering Shetty in kisses has sparked violent demonstrations in India over the couple's allegedly loose sexual morals.
'While the multiple embrace went down well with guests at an open-air AIDS awareness event in Delhi on Sunday night - the audience and Shetty roared in delight at the star's affectionate greeting - it has caused deep anxiety among some.'
'Militants, fired up by repeated showings on India's many rolling news channels, burnt and kicked effigies of both actors in protests, claiming the overt kissing was a full frontal assault on the country's tradition of modesty and extra-marital chastity.
'Shetty defended the actor's behaviour - he swept her backwards in an embrace and repeatedly kissed her - insisting that Gere had done nothing 'obscene'. She described the protests as an 'overreaction' that made India appear 'regressive' in the eyes of the international community,' it added.
The Times reported the event - 'How Gere inflamed Indian passions with a stage kiss' - by saying: 'Angry crowds in the conservative north of India set fire to dolls representing Gere who, as a practising Buddhist, is a regular visitor to the subcontinent and prides himself on his adherence to local customs.'
The public display of affection was considered against Indian tradition, and it wasn't just Gere who brought the ire of crowds; the Associated Press reports protestors chanted "Down with Shilpa Shetty!" in the city of Varanasi. On the bright side, sales of Richard Gere effigies skyrocketed over the weekend, and hit levels not seen since angry Cindy Crawford fans burned his likeness after their surprise wedding in 1991.
Angry crowds in several Indian cities burned effigies of Richard Gere on Monday after he swept a popular Bollywood actress into his arms and kissed her several times during an AIDS-awareness event.
Photographs of the 57-year-old actor embracing Shilpa Shetty and kissing her on the cheek at an HIV/AIDS awareness event in New Delhi were splashed across Monday's front pages in India -- a country where sex and public displays of affection are taboo.
In Mumbai, members of the right-wing Hindu nationalist group Shiv Sena beat burning effigies of Gere with sticks and set fire to glamorous shots of Shetty.
Similar protests broke out in other cities, including Varanasi, Hinduism's holiest city, and in the northern town of Meerut.
The two appeared at a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday to highlight the HIV/AIDS epidemic among India's truck drivers. In front of a cheering crowd, Gere kissed the giggling Shetty on the hand, then kissed her on both cheeks before bending her in a full embrace to kiss her cheek again.
"This is a bit too much," Shetty said after the embrace.
On Monday, Shetty tried to stamp out the controversy.
"I understand this is his culture, not ours. But this was not such a big thing or so obscene for people to overreact in such manner," she told the Press Trust of India news agency.
"I understand people's sentiments, but I don't want a foreigner to take bad memories from here," PTI quoted her as saying.
The spokesman for Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the kiss.
"Such a public display is not part of Indian tradition," said Prakash Javadekar, according to PTI.
Shetty, already well-known in India, became an international star after her appearance on the British reality show "Celebrity Big Brother" -- another controversial public appearance. A fellow contestant, Jade Goody, sparked international headlines by making allegedly racist comments to Shetty. Mobs took to the streets of India to denounce Goody, and Shetty went on to win the competition.
Gere's screen credits include "Chicago," "Pretty Woman" and "An Officer and a Gentleman."
The brouhaha in India over Hollywood actor Richard Gere's stage embrace with Shilpa Shetty has hit the headlines in Britain, where she continues to make news after her victory on the 'Celebrity Big Brother' show earlier this year.
Several newspapers published the picture of Gere embracing Shetty at an AIDS awareness event in New Delhi, along with a detailed account of the protests across India and the Bollywood actress' response to them.
In a headline titled 'Kiss that shocked India', the Guardian reported: 'Many saw the act as an outrage against Shetty's modesty and Indian culture, though Shetty dismissed the protests as an 'over-reaction' that made India look silly.
'Groups of men burned and kicked effigies of the actors in protests across India, including in the northern Indian cities of New Delhi, Kanpur, Meerut and Varanasi as well as in the central city of Indore.'
Under the headline 'Gere arouses Hindu ire over stage kiss', the Telegraph reported: 'Hindu nationalist groups objected to an onstage clinch between her and Richard Gere, the actor, during an AIDS-awareness rally.
'Gere jokingly grabbed her and planted several kisses on her cheek, to howls of appreciation from an audience of New Delhi lorry drivers. But members of the Shiv Sena organisation burned effigies of Gere in the streets of Varanasi, Hinduism's holiest city, and demanded that he leave the country immediately or apologise for his 'indecent conduct'.'
The Independent reported the event - 'Indians angered by Gere's passionate embrace with Shilpa' - saying: 'The evening was supposed to focus international attention on the sexual misadventures of India's famously promiscuous lorry drivers.
'Instead, it plunged Hollywood heartthrob Richard Gere into an unwelcome spotlight and re-ignited controversy surrounding Bollywood actress and Celebrity Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty.'
The report said: 'Television footage of the star of 'An Officer And A Gentleman' plastering Shetty in kisses has sparked violent demonstrations in India over the couple's allegedly loose sexual morals.
'While the multiple embrace went down well with guests at an open-air AIDS awareness event in Delhi on Sunday night - the audience and Shetty roared in delight at the star's affectionate greeting - it has caused deep anxiety among some.'
'Militants, fired up by repeated showings on India's many rolling news channels, burnt and kicked effigies of both actors in protests, claiming the overt kissing was a full frontal assault on the country's tradition of modesty and extra-marital chastity.
'Shetty defended the actor's behaviour - he swept her backwards in an embrace and repeatedly kissed her - insisting that Gere had done nothing 'obscene'. She described the protests as an 'overreaction' that made India appear 'regressive' in the eyes of the international community,' it added.
The Times reported the event - 'How Gere inflamed Indian passions with a stage kiss' - by saying: 'Angry crowds in the conservative north of India set fire to dolls representing Gere who, as a practising Buddhist, is a regular visitor to the subcontinent and prides himself on his adherence to local customs.'
BJP got yet another thing to make political ambush on congress.... best of luck. 
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