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Richard
Gere's on-stage kissing and hugging of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty
during an AIDS awareness function here triggered a plethora of protests
in several towns Monday against the "obscene" act, with some people
even burning effigies of the Hollywood star.
The
function, organised Sunday evening at the Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar
here, saw Gere, Shilpa and brawny Bollywood actor Sunny Deol
participating in the programme to raise AIDS awareness among the
trucker community.
While celebrating the 'Seena Taan Ke' event
to highlight the contribution of truckers and the importance of safe
sex practices, Gere, overwhelmed by Shilpa's appreciation, held her
hand and kissed it. He later hugged her tightly, bent over her and
planted several kisses on her cheeks in full public view.
A giggly and embarrassed Shilpa said: "Yeh thoda zyada ho gaya tha (This was a little too much)."
The
kissing episode has raised the hackles of several conservative groups,
with reports of protests coming in from Kanpur, Varanasi (both in Uttar
Pradesh) and Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Jaipur.
"This is an
intolerable and obscene act. It is against the values, culture and
traditions of the nation. Gere must apologise," said a protester at
Indore.
"This act has hurt the sentiments of people. This should
not have happened publicly," said another protester. People came out on
the streets in hundreds to protest and burned the effigies of Gere.
They are demanding that he apologise to Shilpa and the country.
In
the HIV-AIDS programme, organised by the Transport Corporation of India
(TCI) Foundation, the social arm of Group Transport Corporation of
India and the Hero Project, Shilpa had lavished praise on Gere just
before the kissing episode took place.
"I thank Gere that he
took out time to visit India. It is appreciable to see how intensely he
feels for this issue. And we all must recognise his efforts and give
our contribution in the best possible way, for this great cause," she
said, addressing the crowds.
Shilpa had made international
headlines a few months ago when British TV star Jade Goody hurled
racist abuses at her on the reality show "Celebrity Big Brother".
Dale
Bhagwagar, spokesperson and publicist to Shilpa, said the media should
concentrate on the cause of AIDS awareness rather than make an issue
out of Richard Gere's kisses.
Gere has been associated with
the Heroes project - a three-year national initiative by him and
Parmeshwar Godrej - that aims at reducing the stigma about HIV/AIDS by
educating people and advocating behavioural change.
According to the TCI foundation, 40 percent of the country's five million truck drivers are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.
Around 4,000 truck drivers were also part of the 'Seena Taan Ke' programme.
Indo-Asian News Service
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