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British
media went to town Tuesday with stories on Hollywood star actor Richard
Gere's "multiple embrace" and repeated kisses of Bollywood's Shilpa
Shetty, who became famous here after her victory on the "Celebrity Big
Brother" show. 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 in several parts of "conservative" north India and the
Bollywood actress' angry 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 'over-reaction' 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."
Indo-Asian News Service
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