
Richard Gere kisses actresses all the time in movies. It is nothing new for him. However, the hot weather of
You know the media likes this kind of scandals and a kissing scene of just few seconds was broadcast hours after hour and by this time, almost everyone in India knows who Richard Gere is. All the
Naturally, many Indians did not enjoy the kissing scene in an AIDS awareness program. Some, Indians disliked this more than others and in civilized society, you can show your dislike in only one way- by filing lawsuits. This is what has happened now.

In his complaint, attorney Poonal Chandra Bhandari accused the actors of committing ``an obscene act'' in a public place, which
Two other lawyers filed another complaint in a court in
Such cases against celebrities _ often filed by publicity seekers _ are common in ultraconservative
The complaints filed on Tuesday came a day after angry crowds in several Indian cities burned effigies of Richard 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
So, you can easily understand that Richard Gere is now the most talked person in






For a society who has been deeply damaged by colonialism can one think of a more offensive image of a white guy grabbing a daughter of India and forcing himself upon her? It is so symbolic. It is right in line with the image of the white colonist forcing himself upon a country and just taking whatever he wants.
Richard Gere should pay the ultimate price for this.
What bothers me however is those who would blame Shilpa Shetty for this.
Too often women victims of rape in India are blamed for what happened like they wanted the rape to happen or it was their fault the rape happened even when the truth might be that the rapists brutalized them and they couldn't stop the rape from happening.
While of course Richard Gere didn't actually rape Shilpa Shetty, I still see this whole "Blame the Woman Victim" dynamic in place. From what I saw from the video Shilpa Shetty did nothing to cause Richard Gere to act the way he did, and was in fact as shocked as everyone else was that he would act in such a disgraceful manner.
We need to defend this daughter of India, not blame her for this white man's assault upon her.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 22, 2007 7:53 PM | Permalink to Comment