OPINION

Gere-Shetty Kiss "Sexually Erotic"?

May 01, 2007
Sakshi Juneja

Yes we are Indians and we are morally bankrupt. I mean what else can explain the fiasco created over something as minute and insignificant as a "peck on the cheek". Couple of weeks back, actor Richard Gere kissed a bharatiya nari Ms. Shilpa Shetty on her hand and her cheek at a charity event, as for the news channels covering the event this bit of action was the only portion worth reporting - after all who really cares about the AIDS awareness campaign, HIV positive people and the hard work put in by the man considered the culprit.

Then we have our opportunistic political folks, waiting to jump into action since their large heads contain nothing but pea-sized brains. For them, burning effigies, shouting abusive slogans and disrupting day-to-day public lives, terms as serving the nation and fulfilling their political duties.


But one is truly at a loss of words when it comes to describing the Justice system of our so-called democratic nation. It's like the people running the law & order structure completely lack common sense and believe only in extremism. On one hand they allow criminals like Manu Sharma, Vikas Yadav and Santosh Kumar Singh walk away scot-free and on the other hand they issue arrest warrants for someone like Richard Gere, whose only crime it could be said was to come here with the noble intention of helping the needy and the poor.

Observing that their public kiss was "highly sexually erotic", a Jaipur court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant against Hollywood actor Richard Gere and summoned actress Shilpa Shetty for appearance on May 5. Dinesh Gupta, additional chief judicial magistrate, issued the order on a PIL filed by advocate Poonam Chand Bhandari, who complained that their public kiss during an anti-AIDS awareness event in Delhi was an "indecent representation" of sexual activities in a public place.

The magistrate, who viewed the video footage of the programme, observed that the attitude of the two film personalities was "highly sexually erotic" which had "transgressed all limits of vulgarity and have the tendency to corrupt the

society". He said Shetty's attitude was "cooperative" and she never restrained herself, but kept inviting Gere for the kissing episode which stretched on for a good while.

The court felt that Shetty was equally involved in an action that was impermissible under the Indian laws and which "denigrated" Indian culture, tradition and social values.


Seriously I wonder what goes on in the minds of people like Ms. Bhandari who prefers to invest her time in nonsensical issues rather than using her law education for relevant causes and then you have judges like Mr. Gupta who instead of squashing such ridiculous PILs, prefer to cater to them over thousands of others waiting in line for justice.


I simply can't comprehend on what basis the chief judicial magistrate found the "kissing episode" to be "highly sexually erotic"; I mean what did he see that we didn't, maybe somebody slipped him some porn instead of the actual footage. The only logical explanations behind such a thoughtless decision could be either the judge ain't getting any or he himself intends to plant a kissy on Shilpa's rosy cheeks or he prefers Mr. Gere's luscious lips on his own cheeks.


Hopefully the higher court would intervene and people like Gupta and Bhandari would be restrained before we end up making a mockery of ourselves in the international arena. But then again haven't we done that already?

Saakshi O. Juneja is an active blogger, feminist and overboard dog lover. Currently working as a Business Development Manager for a sportswear manufacturing company in Mumbai, India. Did graduation in Marketing & Advertising from Sydney, Australia. As far as blogging is concerned...is a complete Blog-a-holic.
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#1
Amrita
URL
May 1, 2007
10:13 AM

What other kind of erotic is there than sexual?

#2
kela
May 1, 2007
10:17 AM

the vasundharaje and kiran majumdar kiss was more erotic for me.That one was on the lips and not just cheek.that was something powerful and titillating

#3
shalini
May 1, 2007
03:24 PM

I totally agree with you! Indians are morally, intellectually and culturally bankrupt. That silly good for nothing judge should have a look at the khajuraho temples and order that they be teared down..they are erotic.. not a stupid kiss on the cheek! Time and again Indians prove that are useless!

#4
the mad momma
URL
May 1, 2007
03:51 PM

wow.. and the SIF contingent hasnt made an appearance yet.. has anyone called the hospitals?

#5
anon
May 1, 2007
11:51 PM

Ya, i called the hospitals. They got into a ruckus about money and who will be their leader to guide the mislead souls.

#6
Julia Jones
URL
May 3, 2007
06:02 AM

"The CDC estimates as many as 1.185 million HIV-positive individuals live in the U.S. Of these, between 25 -30% do not know they are infected".
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report 2004.
The need for condoms is growing as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) spread. Making condoms more accessible, lowering their cost, promoting them more to overcome social and personal obstacles to their use would save many lives. This will also reduce the enormous consequences and costs of STIs and unintended pregnancies.

So use condoms to protect your self from HIV/AIDS.Keepcondom.com is the most convenient place to buy condom online. The best online shop for all your needs.

Regards
Julia Jones
www.keepcondom.com

#7
Chandra
May 3, 2007
06:11 AM

Shalini: Time and again Indians prove that are useless!

Chandra: You a Paki or what?

#8
Chandra
May 3, 2007
06:15 AM

SJ: Yes we are Indians and we are morally bankrupt.

Chandra: Faltoo generalisation. Kucch dhakan faltoo kaam kar rahen hain aur aap pura desh ko gali dene pe tulay hua hon....aap unpe focus karo jo ye faltoo kaam kar rahen hain...sara desh ko gaali kyon de rahen ho.....Goray hain karke kya???

#9
Chandra
May 3, 2007
06:57 AM

Here is how it should have been described. Blame the fringe and stop abusing the entire nation. The below is from none other than Ms. Shetty


"But Shetty, 31, said the kisses had been "blown out of all proportion" and Gere "was just being very sweet."

"The MEDIA tends to get SLIGHTLY IRRESPONSIBLE at times but that's the price one has to pay for being a celebrity," she said.

"The MAJORITY of INDIANS DON'T FEEL THAT WAY . It was the LUNATIC FRINGE that took over.

rgds


#10
Amrita
URL
May 3, 2007
10:58 AM

Chandra - guess what? That's exactly what Gere said too.

#11
Chandra
May 3, 2007
12:45 PM

Lunatic fringe na?

#12
Twisted DNA
URL
May 3, 2007
09:42 PM

The whole episode is actually funny and scary at the same time. I am scared of fundamentalists. I blogged my take on the issue recently.

#13
Chandra
May 4, 2007
02:46 AM

Much hulla about nothing

I ran through the internet, TV and spoke to a few people. Here is my take

a. Most people I spoke with donot approve of the kiss. They feel it was inappropriate. (60-40 ratio)

b. People who donot approve of it wish the issue was closed. They think people must be real morons to file cases at court and burn effigies.

c. I ran through media reports about actual effigy burning. Number of incidents- 5 (average number of people I noticed was 15-20). However media characterized it as nationwide protests.

However the key thing to note is the level and quantity of exposure in all the mainstream media channels was far in excess to the importance of the issue. All the MSMs repeatedly showed

a. 2 incidents of effigy burning which was equated to nation unable to cope with the kiss

b. repeated clips of the now infamous kiss encouraging people to discuss this topic across the nation

To summarize, whether people approve it or not, the tolerance is much much higher than the media wishes to agree (they like it if it is controversial).
The number of and size of protests is not even fringe,it is what one would call...zero. Having said that, it does not mean that people liked what they saw, it is only that they have seen far worse things on TV (the new remix videos for example) to put up with a peck on the cheek.

My humble take.

rgds

PS: Poonam, the nut case advocate is a guy and not a woman :-)

#14
kela
May 4, 2007
08:56 AM

well who cares if cow belt hindus can't digest a peck on the cheek,such things are normal for christians from Goa and North-east while greeting a woman.I admit what Gere did was not just a peck nevertheless it was still just some harmless play-acting

#15
Chandra
May 4, 2007
12:24 PM

CHAPTER OVER

Rapid transfer for judge in kiss fiasco

DEHLI The judge who issued arrest warrants against actors Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty following protests by radical Hindu groups over an "obscene kiss" between the stars at a charity event, has been transferred from Jaipur to a distant small town.

Judge Dinesh Gupta, who issued the warrants following a complaint by a local lawyer, had been heavily criticised.

The Times of India reported the "routine" transfer of the judge to Kishangarh. (AP)

#16
kela
May 5, 2007
01:09 AM

well i am not surprised,the AIDS-AID juggernaut of India has a lot lot lot of INFLUENCE :-D

#17
Shazzy
May 21, 2007
11:57 PM

All the comments posted here by the people on this issue are same. Looks like they all endorse such obscenity and kissing in public. All things which are not good for the society at large should be opposed. The problem with this new generation indians is that they are not indians at all. These idiots are britishers and westerners in Indian skin. You people do not represent India. Remember Urban India does not represent India. It only represents the colonialist and overcomsuptive mentality of the west. Real India is in the 500,000 villages where people are still ethical and honest. They have high morals and they are far more modern (holistic) than the so called modern society of Urban India (Western Influenced).

These commentators think that obscenity and kissing in public should not be a cause for concern. You people are still apes and mindlessly like aping the west. I want to ask you all... You would like a foreigner or anyone kissing your sister or mother in public or private?

Remember India is not a totally materialistic society like the west. It is driven by spiritual ethos and values. Here we should respect woman as our mother or sister.

These acts of kissing in public arouses our carnal desires and takes us further away from our spirit and pollutes our minds.

This is highly detrimental to our country and its future (children). Do you want a Bill Clinton to be the future of our country or a pure soul like the Mahatma? The choice is yours.

#18
Aaman
URL
May 22, 2007
04:04 AM

Please note that comment #17 was in English, a 'Western' language.

Bill Clinton for President! - that's my new sig.

#19
smallsquirrel
May 22, 2007
04:52 AM

Aaman... I think I just hurt myself laughing!

Yo, Shazzy... that's a British name! And I would *LOVE* a foreigner to kiss my mom in public! Bring it!

#20
Jawahara
URL
May 22, 2007
06:58 AM

I totally agree with Shazzy. Great response, Shazzy.

I mean really, we should all take a lesson from villages about morality and ethics. Aaah, in my gaon, you can get beheaded for less. Dekho, Mr. Gere is a malech-type person and he dared touch our sister Shilpa ji...we would make him sit on a donkey, blacken his face and take him around the village. Before the beheading, of course.

But we'd have to be done by 3 because that's when we're executing a boy and a girl who ran away together. Different sub-castes you know? Very, very bad. We were laughing so hard when the stupid couple believed their parents when they told them all was forgiven.
Then tomorrow, very busy schedule...we're getting together for a little gang rape of a lower-caste women. Then some chai-shai at the chai ki dukaan.
See how moral and ethical we are? You city folk wish you were like us.

#21
Chusu
May 22, 2007
08:27 AM

While I don't have a problem with kissing, kissing in public, Richard Gere, Shilpa Shetty or Richard Gere kissing Shilpa Shetty, after seeing a clip of the actual kiss that all the fuss was about I did think Gere went a bit overboard. He was practically drilling into her neck...eww.

But please, don't listen to the lunatic fringe as Shilpa puts it. They don't have anything better to do so they blow these kinds of things out of proportion and make us look mightly stupid in the process. I'm sure the common man in India either doesn't know much about this brouhaha and/or doesn't care.

#22
Sanam
May 22, 2007
08:34 AM

@ Chusu.

Spot ON. I think the people who are perturbed by this episode are the moral police personnel. The common really sensible indian gives it a damn.

#23
Guts
May 22, 2007
01:40 PM

Even though i may not agree with Shazzy on his/her views...But I have respect for his/her views.

@18 onwards...why exactly are you the way you are. I am "really" interested in knowing what makes you think Shazzy is wrong. Try to come up in with a most basic assertion you can make. Why do you think moral policing is wrong. Why do you think village people are not culture oriented or are any fools?

Do you think ablity to let one strip on road will make india any progressive. I mean those are really my questions(as basic as that). Do you realise that there is no such thing as unquestioned freedom?

I do not want all of you to come shouting at me. I am just interested in your reasoning by which you concluded all the above things. One at a time please, let us start with say 19 onwards, 18 being owner of the site as I read on the home page of this website.

#24
Amrita
URL
May 22, 2007
02:13 PM

Guts, there're quite a few articles on this site that answer your questions. pls read them.

#25
Guts
May 22, 2007
03:43 PM

Thanks...

Even if I scan through past posts on this forum, the chances are high I may not find a reason but just some assertions along with regular jargons, hyperboles and some mis-directed hatred like some comments above.

Secondly sometimes a Q and A style happens to satify your doubts much more easily if the questions are well directed and answers are clear, lucid, to the point and answered with a healthy and lively attitude.

Nevertheless I shall give it a shot. Any tips?

#26
AM
May 23, 2007
12:01 AM

From the video its obvious Gere is being playful....and playing to the gallery....he ends his act with a flourish on one knee.

i've heard more than one woman say that she'd give an arm or a leg to sleep with Gere:))...so the aesthetics don't really matter:))..especially the "drilling into the neck"....Gere himself said...."My clumsy attempt at a 'Shall We Dance' move was a naive misread of Indian customs and I assure you nothing more.".....

Gere,born August 31,1949(age 57)needn't have worried about his act being "clumsy".....the judge found it "sexually erotic"....for someone voted sexiest man alive in 1999 its a tacit confirmation that he hasn't lost his touch:)

#27
Temple Stark (CCE)
URL
September 28, 2007
02:41 PM

Didn't the actress just get arrested today?

Economic progress is not the only goal in India is it?

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