Complaints Filed Against Gere, Shetty

Three lawyers filed complaints in Indian courts against actor Richard Gere and Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty for kissing at a public function, a news report said Wednesday.

In his complaint, attorney Poonal Chandra Bhandari accused the actors of committing "an obscene act" in a public place, which India's conservative society cannot tolerate, Press Trust of India said.

Two other lawyers filed another complaint in a court in Ghaziabad, a town on the outskirts of the Indian capital, against Shetty and private television channels for showing videos of the kissing incident, the news agency added.

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Photos: Culture Clash

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Such cases against celebrities often filed by publicity seekers are common in conservative India. They add to a backlog of legal cases in the country that has nearly crippled the judicial system.

The complaints filed Tuesday came a day after angry crowds in several Indian cities burned effigies of Gere after he wrapped Shetty in his arms and kissed her several times on her cheeks during an AIDS awareness event in the Indian capital.

On Tuesday, Magistrate Dinesh Chandra Gupta, in the northwestern Indian city of Jaipur, ordered private television news channel NDTV to provide the original videotape of the incident by next week, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Reena Chaudhry said she would hear that complaint on April 18.

Photographs of Gere, 57, embracing Shetty, 31, and kissing her on the cheek were splashed across front pages of newspapers Monday in India a country where public displays of affection are largely taboo.

Shetty tried to end the controversy by saying that the hug and the kiss were not obscene and that the public was overreacting.

On Wednesday, her representative, Dale Bhagwagar, declined comment on the court complaints but said Shetty was paying a price for being an international celebrity.

"The media should concentrate on the promotion of the cause of AIDS awareness rather than making an issue out of kisses," Bhagwagar told The Associated Press.

[deepali1]

what a bunch of *** in the comments
sorry to know that ppl are so dumb and uninformed
female castration? where did u get ur info from ?
r u mixing africa and saudi arabia(ur best oil pals) with india???
OK a mere kiss wd go unnoticed in page 3 but the dance move and sweeping her off her feet and multiple kisses were too much for the conservative mindset plus everyone wants fame and names mentioned in papers so do those lawyers who put up the legal case(one more to the list of cases pending hearing), 24 hrs news media for higher trps infact provokes and sometimes aid the fundamentalist to burn effigies and protest by airing this *** live and most unemployed and uneducated are happy to remove their daily frustration in this manner so as to get their proverbial 3 minutes of fame, nyways in comparison to the liberal and free thinking Mumbai where bollywood actually exhists this can be called indias wild west as delhi borders uttar pradesh where state govt is ruled by patrons of muslim or islamic fundamentalists and illiteracy and intolerance and feudalism is high.

[tucson23]

This is what the Evangelicals want America to be like, too--mindless social conservatism without any real basis or internal consistency.

[olebd]

Where's Jesse and Al! This is an outrage! Gere needs rehabbed and quick!

[landres-2009]

My immediate reactions were that Gere committed a mistake in a culture where he should have known better; he has traveled to India many times. More importantly, on a personal level, I would be mortified if I were his wife. Although the kisses were on her cheeks, he obviously was relishing them. He deliberately embarrassed the actress; she was totally taken off-guard and should not be sanctioned in any way. Gere needs to publicly apologize to the country and to the actress as well as to his wife. Apparently, he has not yet shed his role as the inappropriately audacious Clifford Irving.

[ajaxrose1]

With all the cr@p they actually have to worry about in that third world cess pool, THIS is what outrages them? Mutilate the women, but don't show them any affection. Freaks.

[patwilliams1118]

Apparently, it is acceptable to pour kerosene on a woman in India and set her on fire but not to kiss her on the cheek! Sheesh - what's wrong with those people?

[olebd]

Only in Bollywood!

Isn't this the same country that practice female castration?

It's a wonder they're okay with her having a career in the first place.

[nygirl14]

Are they serious? These folk need to figure out how to stop overloading ferry boats, how to stop crashing trains, how to clean their water system and get the wild cows off the roads before they worry about somebody kissing in public.

And, by the way, isn't this the same chick who caused a brouhaha on Big Brother? She needs to stay her butt at home and stop causing problems with her ignorant countrymen!