India vs. Richard Gere over kissing Bollywood actress

The BBQ Pit
21

I saw only the video shown on The Daily Show, but my reaction to that was that he was persistently grabbing and kissing her as she was trying to maintain her composure and get away from him while keeping her place on stage – an impossible task. I remember thinking that he must have been drunk to not recognize her efforts to escape and have the sense to just let go of her. And that was long before Stewart’s punchline.

Public displays of affection between relative strangers are as welcome in India as I’d imagine they would be at, I dunno, I’m at a loss for an analogy, maybe an AIDS conference/symposium? Oh, right. Anyhow, Gere put a young woman at grave personal risk by indulging himself in violation of a very well-known prejudice. Boo.

22

to both India & Richard Gere, both of you, leave the lady alone!

23

Okay, then, in that case, viva la pittance!

24

Would it change their opinion if we pointed out that Richard Gere is gay?

d&r

25

I’ve been wondering about this. The controversy is being presented as a public obscenity issue but how much of the real anger is being caused by the ethnic issue? Would the protesters calling for Gere’s arrest be as angry if it hadn’t been an American man kissing an Indian woman?

26

A kiss on the cheek is quite continental
But we burning your effigy

“[Judge Dinesh] Gupta earlier viewed television footage of the event, which he called “highly sexually erotic,” saying the pair violated India’s strict public obscenity laws.”

The things I have seen.

27

His career was flagging, and he wanted to die in a manner that was memorable?

28

I am prepared to edit Rihard Gere’s Wikipedia entry to the following…

Richard Gere was an actor, an outspoken practicing Buddhist, and a martyr for the cause of sexual liberation in India. As ordered by an Indian court of Law, he was torn limb-by-limb by four horses as he shouted, “Freedom!!”. He was reportedly reincarnated as a Siberian tiger.

29

Fact is, it’s a different culture. I think a lot of the extreme reactions are stupid - America is my adopted country and I like the open-mindedness - but we get pretty freaked out over stupid sexual things, too. The bar is just at a higher place. Fer example, we can write out all kinds of crimes but Og forbid we write a story involving a less-than-18 YO - the horrified gasps/looks/comments I’ve gotten from people are appalling.

Dervorin speaks truly that a lot of it has to do with the BJP, too. But I don’t think all of the blame can go there. Remember that India was a subject of the British Crown for 300+ years until quite recently. I would find it extremely hard to believe that the Christian way of thinking had no influence on the current culture. I have no data to back it up, it’s just an opinion, but I think it has some basis.

Don’t get me wrong, though, I still think the whole thing is stupid. But Richard Gere is kind of a jerk.

30

A photograph of this incident was on the front page of a popular newspaper here in India. A largish photograph placed so that its the first thing that strikes the eye when you see the paper. The TV “News” channels took it up and blared the sh*t out of it for a few hours. They are responsible only for assaulting your brain and eyeballs you see. So thats the set up. Now lets examine the players.

Richard Gere - on an AIDS mission to India and till now doing some good work. If nothing else he has raised the profile of the campaign and got some media attention. In sum - i beleive his contribution is positive.

Shilpa Shetty - Excellent figure, good for nothing otherwise, extremely irritating on screen. Desperately needs publicity.

Activists/politicians/protestors - * … yawn … *

Media retailers - They need “news” - manufacture if neccesary.

Court which sent out the arrest warrants - I admit, this throws me off a little. I cant beleive this has even been admitted for a hearing. The Judicial system takes YEARS to resolve routine cases. How did they manage to get a judge to act so quick ??

The media story has already been played out. This pitting is a few days late, the issue has no relevance [never had in the first place] for the general population of the country. Its a non-issue which has been manufactured for public consumption. The protestors and the effigy burners are available for hire and we have elections in a few key areas which make effigy burning neccesary.
A word with you FriarTed…

When i read this the first time i found it offensive, the ‘semi-naked deities’ were not ‘fondling’ each other - they were having sex. Or engaged in an act of procreation which has a spiritual resonance. The “dicks” and the “cunts” we worship at our shrines are for me symbols of male and female energy. I’d rather that they not be trifled with by being dragged into a Gere-Shettty farce thank you.

On second reading, i beleive you were just writing stuff to mark the contrasts in times and so on … if thats the case, please disregard the words above , but the point still holds. “India” is not outraged over the kiss, neither is the country cruelly persecuting Ms.Shetty. The courts will do nothing in due course of time.

We are in fact desperately glad someone in the UK will have her. Did you know that Germaine Greer wrote a snarky peice about her and got flamed for it? :smiley: Shilpa Shetty 1 Germaine Greer 0 . I couldnt beleive it!!!

31

I think im a thread killer …

32

The country is irrelevant, you don’t do that to someone you don’t know, especially in public. He was a total (probably drunk) asshole no matter where it happened. Only exception is if they planned it out together.

33

An Indian woman with a column in our local paper thinks the real issue isn’t the kiss, it’s that they were at a rally promoting condoms for truck drivers, which pisses off the Hindu equivalent of the religious right. Any comments?

34

That’s how I heard it as well. I think it was an Eastern Indian on the Daily Show, of all places. But he seemed to know what he was talking about.

35

and to think truck driving was gonna be my next occupation to look into, and now I hear prostitution is not too far behind it? hrmm?

anyway, Gere overstepped his bounds, and Ms. Shetty should’ve shoved him off. BTW is gere still married, he was really wanting to get it on with her, he practically climbed on top of her! :stuck_out_tongue:

I saw she was trying to remain composed throughout all the kisses and it was clear she kept on her smile but Gere overstepped his bounds IMO.

Now death threats and such too far. And perhaps that is what Richard was doing, just getting a rouse of the ever risingly passionate elders, jazzing it up just for the benfit of those absurd death threats.

Hope the repercussions aren’t too severe for the ones most vulnerable. I hope the truck dirvers still get their condoms after this.

36

This is sig material.

Enjoy,
Steven

37

Maybe they just wanted to get back at him for flashing his Visa card and buying up all their birds. (YouTube link)

38

Indian cinema is ridiculously prudish. People kissing onscreen is very rare, even in romance movies. That being said, you’d think a country well known for its child prostitutes might cut Richard some slack.

39

Not that I care one way or the other, but … Richard Gere is gay?

Amazing what you lose track of living outside the US.

40

What a backwards country.

Clearly they’re not watching our good example. Remember when we reacted so calmly and rationally to a minorly titallating Super Bowl Halftime show a few years ago?