You're missing the point, folks...
Apr. 27th, 2007 07:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silverthorneI've been keeping track of this, and even though I agree that there seems to be an over re-action, I also know that, hey, this is not our culture...
Original article here.
News
04/27/2007 05:48:37 EST GURINDER OSAN/AP Photo
Gere Downplays India Kissing Controversy
NEW DELHI - Richard Gere denounced a small right-wing minority in India whose complaints and protests led to a judge issuing an arrest warrant against the Hollywood star for violating the country's strict public obscenity laws.
Judge Dinesh Gupta issued the warrants Thursday in the northwestern city of Jaipur after a local citizen filed a complaint charging that a public kiss Gere gave to Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty at an AIDS awareness event offended local sensibilities.
"There is a very small right-wing, very conservative political party in India and they are the moral police in India and they do this kind of thing quite often," Gere told Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" on Thursday.
Gere said he was confident the issue would be sorted out.
"I don't know that any one has actually gone to jail, it has to go through a process. It goes to a reputable court and they throw it out," he said.
Under Indian law, a person convicted of public obscenity faces up to three months in prison, a fine, or both.
Gere, who left India shortly after the kissing incident, is a frequent visitor to India, promoting health issues and the cause of Tibetan exiles. The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has his headquarters in the northern Indian town of Dharmsala.
Legal experts agreed with Gere.
"The order is unsustainable and makes us look ridiculous," India's former attorney general Soli Sorabjee told the Times of India newspaper. "Magistrates should not act like Taliban moral police."
Last week, crowds in several Indian cities burned effigies of the 57-year-old star of "An Officer and a Gentleman," "American Gigolo" and "Pretty Woman" after he embraced Shetty and kissed her several times on her cheeks during an HIV/AIDS awareness event in the Indian capital.
Photographs were splashed across front pages in India, where public displays of affection are largely taboo.
The judge lambasted Shetty for not resisting Gere's kisses and ordered her to appear in his court May 5, the Press Trust of India news agency said.
Shetty, who is currently on a religious pilgrimage in southern India, was upset by the news, said her spokesman, Dale Bhagwagar.
"Shilpa wishes that people would focus on the real issue, AIDS awareness, and not three pecks on her cheek," Bhagwagar told The Associated Press, adding that she had not yet received any court summons.
Shetty, already well known in India, became an international star after her appearance on the British reality show "Celebrity Big Brother." A fellow contestant, Jade Goody, sparked international headlines by allegedly making racist comments to Shetty. Mobs took to the streets of India to denounce Goody, and Shetty went on to win the competition.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
You're in India. It's taboo to show affection in public. Guess what you did.
When the general populace starts burning you in effigy, then it's a pretty good sign that you really fucked up, whether or not the law and that country's liberal front support you. This is not a minor thing. Learn the culture, dammit.
When in Rome....
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no subject
Date: 2007-04-27 03:52 pm (UTC)This is nastier than you think.
Gere was revolting about this (I think). And it chaps my ass, that Shetty is being punished. She was doing her thing, and Gere was, imo, unprofessional and skeevy. But women assume the greatest liability, I guess. It's just...Gere was a bad bad guest.
I guess he's another one of those so-called enlightened people who's assery is cosigned by his understanding of his faith.
I agree with the poster at
See why I agree with that:
no subject
Date: 2007-04-27 04:33 pm (UTC)He broke taboo in a country that wasn't his (which means it's not within his 'rights' to fuck with it, but should be obligated to know the rules and/or expectations and follow them). If you're a guest in someone elses house, you don't use the handtowels to wipe your ass, which is pretty much what he did.
She's getting in trouble for 1) Not making a fuss when he did it and 2) Sticking up for him so it doesn't become an even bigger mess than it is. And it's doubtful Gere will be as open about defending her in turn.
Also, even if he had done that here, in America, with a white woman, I would have cringed--because even here, getting into someone's space that way just isn't cool. Hell, I cringe when I see 'my' boy kiss co-singers on the cheek and generally smooze around with fans. There's just something wrong about that, especially when the person getting the treatment wasn;t expecting it.
Doing it in a place where the culture is a bit more formal (I don't consider it 'backwards', to be honest. Just stricter for whatever reason) is inconsiderate. Both to the culture, even a 'small percentage' of it, and to her. Gere, if he leaves and stay out, gets the 'no harm no foul' card.
Shetty, on the other hand, is pretty much fucked. And it'll be because Gere is a fucking idiot.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-27 04:47 pm (UTC)He broke taboo in a country that wasn't his (which means it's not within his 'rights' to fuck with it, but should be obligated to know the rules and/or expectations and follow them).
There's some debate on how much of a tabboo this really is. Because it seems like its extreme conservatives that are really angry about this. And maybe, it's similar to what happened with Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake -- he got notoriety and some sort of 'pass'. Jackson caught the censure. And that was complicated by sex and race assery of the US sort. With Gere and Shetty, it seems that Shetty was mauled (and that she wasn't welcoming of that). I also think, that Gere isn't going to defend Shetty so much as deride her country. And while she's catching it from some very vocal countrymen of hers, it's not for Gere to say (the smug git).
Having had a kiss stolen a time or two, and by old men I liked (but not so much after the theft) I can tell you that it's a lose-lose thing because many idiots are like, "What was she doing dressed like that?" Or, "No self-respecting girl would ever enter into that sort of event."
And yeah, Shetty is fucked. But it's like she's caught between Gere's entitlement and the standards/demands of the more outspoken conservatives of her home.
But Shetty is good with grace. I wonder how far that'll take her. I feel bad for her. Just because she wants to be a global celebrity, she has to put up with this ish?
And...it sort of grossly reminds me of Adrien Brody stealing a kiss from Halle Berry when he won his Oscar. I haven't been able to watch any of his films since.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-27 05:01 pm (UTC)True. But if there's enough vocal people to make it an issue, it's something to be aware of at all times, especially if you're a foreigner in that country and hanging around with a celebrity who lives there. In other words--it's enough of an issue that it blew up like this. That in and of itself means Gere should have been a lot more aware and a lot less grabby.
As for the kiss, although even Shetty seems to be saying 'it's okay, it was just a kiss and he doesn't udnerstand what he did' in some articles, it did look like he pretty much forced it, and kept forcing, I didn;t read that as a stolen kiss, I read it as a 'let's see how far I can get with her'. And I didn't read her expression as 'this is fun', but rather 'oh shit, when is he going to stop and how gracious can I be with this before I break?'
As for the guy attitude, that's bullshit. I mean, that they think like that and that it somehow makes it 'okay'. It doesn't.
And unfortunately, being global means being on eggshells, especially without the american entitlement pass to back you up.
...I didn't see that. Then again, I rarely watch that kind of TV.
IndiansLoveAmericans
Date: 2007-04-27 10:00 pm (UTC)Re: IndiansLoveAmericans
Date: 2007-04-27 10:34 pm (UTC)Re: IndiansLoveAmericans
Date: 2007-04-27 11:20 pm (UTC)With love from India.
Now that I've got something coherant to say...
Date: 2007-04-27 11:23 pm (UTC)Ir took me a bit to try in put this in terms that isn't argumentative or contradicting you, so here's hoping I've managed it to some degree.
In regards to respecting...my point there is a bit more than just in regards to the perceived notion of India's culture. Yes, it's specific on this case, but the point over all that I'm trying to make is in regards to any place Americans (or anyone, really) go, which is 'be careful of what you're doing when you're abroad'.
Doesn't matter what place you end up, the culture, or whether or not it's an entire country or just a very vocal minority that gets upset when folks don't pay attention. Point is; err on the side of caution. It's respectful, and it keeps things like this from even being available to be blown out of proportion.
Thing is? It seems so many people who are constantly in the limelight just don't follow this bit of common sense.