INDIA: Irate fans protest against Richard Gere kissing Shilpa Shetty during AIDS awareness event

Record ID: 1374211

  • Title: INDIA: Irate fans protest against Richard Gere kissing Shilpa Shetty during AIDS awareness event
  • Date: 19th April 2007
  • Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (APRIL 15, 2007) (ANI) INDIAN FILM ACTRESS SHILPA SHETTY SITTING DOWN, TALKING TO ACTOR RICHARD GERE DANCERS PERFORMING ON STAGE AUDIENCE ANOTHER GROUP OF DANCERS PERFORMING ON STAGE SHETTY AND GERE SEATED MORE OF THE DANCE PERFORMANCE AUDIENCE GERE AND SHETTY ON STAGE, SHETTY SPEAKING INTO MICROPHONE, THE TWO HOLDING HANDS, GERE HUGGING AND KISSING SHETTY ON THE CHEEKS AND THEN GETTING ON ONE KNEE ON THE SIDE OF THE STAGE PEOPLE AT THE EVENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) RICHARD GERE, ACTOR, SAYING: "I love India so much that I want to help with HIV/AIDS here, as you know we have been doing this for a long time. We have met many different people all over India. One of the groups, in partnership with groups working hard in the area are the truckers, the truckers' organisation and the truckers themselves, whose responsibility is to work on the issue and be part of the solution and not a part of the problem." TRUCKERS DANCING GERE SEATED IN AUDIENCE
  • Embargoed: 4th May 2007 12:33
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA9F8U70FUANPI8544VJE8E8ES2
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: The hugging and kissing of Hollywood actor Richard Gere and Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty at an event to promote safe sex and raise AIDS awareness among a high-risk group raised controversy in India.
    Gere had an impromptu hug and kiss on Sunday (April 15) with Shetty, the winner of "Celebrity Big Brother" reality TV show in Britain this year, in an anti-AIDS drive among truckers in India, the country with the world's largest number of people living with HIV.
    Shilpa's fans said in a conservative society like India, such public display tantamount to vulgarity.
    "Richard Gere has kissed Shilpa Shetty in New Delhi during an AIDS awareness campaign. It is vulgar������� these things don't happen in India. They may happen in foreign countries but not in India. He should apologise to Shilpa and the rest of the country as well," said an angry fan on Monday (April 16).
    The AIDS awareness show created a flutter as Indian media hooked on to Gere holding Shetty in a deep embrace, planting, close to a dozen kisses on her cheek, a taboo and perfect masala for Hindu radicals.
    Thousands of truckers in India cheered wildly as Gere kissed Shetty on her cheeks during the event.
    India has around 5.7 million people living with the virus, according to the Untied Nations and thousands of truckers are HIV-positive.
    The show, organised by a voluntary group also included Bollywood star Sunny Deol. Deol is known for his role as an honest truck driver in the Bollywood film Gadar (Mutiny). But the hit of the 90-minute show was undoubtedly Gere.
    Gere asked the truckers to avoid the disease by behaving responsibly and having safe sex.
    "I love Indians so much that I want to help it with HIV/AIDS here, as you know we have been doing this for a long time. We have met many different people all over India. One of the groups, in partnership with groups, working hard in the area are the truckers, the truckers' organisation and the truckers themselves, whose responsibility is to work on the issue and be part of the solution and not a part of the problem," he said.
    Officials say old-fashioned and inefficient management within the government's National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) was the main obstacle to success. They further say in the worst-case scenario, the virus could spread to infect 3 percent of India's billion-plus population in the next 5 to 10 years, up from 0.9 percent now.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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