Shilpa Shetty..Richard Gere - KISS  

Posted by Ks

Bollywood's Shilpa Shetty... Hollywood's Richard Gere - Controversial KISS


[Richard hugs Shilpa]
The notorious forcible kiss...
June 1975) is an Indian film actress and model. Since making her debut in the film Baazigar (1993), she has appeared in nearly 50 Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films, her first leading role being in the 1994Aag.
Although she went through years of decline during her career, Shetty was willing to reinvent herself quite often. Her performances in Dhadkan (2000) and Rishtey (2002) were appreciated, while her portrayal of an AIDS patient in Phir Milenge (2004), won her many accolades. Her younger sister Shamita Shetty is also a Bollywood film actress.
Shetty has been embroiled in various controversies including suspected mafia links. In 2006 she was issued with a warrant on charges of obscenity. After taking part in the British Celebrity Big Brother TV show in 2007, Shetty was crowned the winner with 63% of the final vote, after an international racism controversy involving her and fellow contestants Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd.
This was followed by her comeback to films in 2007 when she acted in two successive movies, Life in a... Metroand Apne, with her performance in the former drawing positive reviews. Shetty thus re-established her status in the film industry.
Shilpa Shetty was born in a strict and traditional close-knit family that hails from the matrilineal Bunt community of Tulu Nadu. Although she was born in Tamil Nadu, she describes herself as a Mangalorean.
Shilpa currently lives in Mumbai with her parents and younger sister Shamita Shetty, who is a budding Bollywood actress. They worked together once in the film Fareb(2005). At 5 ft 10 inches (178 cm), she is one of the tallest actresses in Bollywood.
Shilpa with her sister Shamita and their parents
On April 15, 2007, Shilpa was kissed several times in jest on the cheek by Richard Gere during an AIDS-awareness event.
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 and promotion of AIDS awareness.
The kiss, considered an attack on India's cultural and moral values, prompted protesters-alleged members of the right-wing Hindu nationalist group Shiv Sena-to beat burning effigies of Gere with sticks.
Others set fire to glamour shots of Shetty. People demanded an apology from her and threatened to ban her movies in the state. Shiv Sena leaders denied involvement in the protests, but Shiv Sena member of parliament Sanjay Raut observed that the protests are "just a manifestation of the anger of the general public" and that there was "nothing wrong with expressing contempt at such an act"
Similar protests broke out in other cities, including Varanasi, Hinduism's holiest city, and in the northern town of Meerut, where crowds of hundreds of thousands chanted "Down with Shilpa Shetty!" Star News Office was also attacked. The protests did not take any violent turn and the situation was quickly brought under control with some activists being detained.
Shilpa responded to these protests by saying "I understand this (kissing) is his (Gere's) culture, not ours. But this was not such a big thing or so obscene for people to overreact in such a manner. I understand people's sentiments, but I do not want a foreigner to take bad memories from here."
On April 26, 2007 an Indian court in Rajasthan issued a warrant for Shetty and Gere's arrest.
The legal action against both Shetty and Gere has been suspended by the Indian Supreme Court until the court decides on the case's proper jurisdiction.
Gere has since expressed regret for causing any offense and Shilpa has stated: "so much has been blown out of proportion".

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