Shetty's vow over Gere kiss

Updated 16.42 Tue May 01 2007
Keywords: Celebrity Big Brother, Shilpa Shetty, Richard Gere

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has vowed to defend herself if charged with offending Indian culture after a controversial kiss with Richard Gere.

The Hollywood star sparked outrage by locking the Celebrity Big Brother winner in an embrace and playfully kissing her on her cheek during an Aids awareness event in India.

"We are all in shock and I actually think it's ridiculous" - Shilpa Shetty

The Pretty Woman actor has since apologised for his actions but that did nothing to quell the anger of some protesters.

Effigies of Gere were burned in uproar over the incident and a flurry of legal complaints ended with a judge in the northwestern city of Jaipur issuing an arrest warrant for the two stars for violating obscenity laws.

The Indian actress said: "I don't want to believe that the sentiments of a lunatic fringe is the sentiments of my entire country. We are all in shock and I actually think it's ridiculous."

Under Indian law, a person convicted of public obscenity faces up to three months in prison, a fine, or both.

In a written statement, Gere said that what was most important to him was that his intentions as an HIV/Aids advocate be made clear and that his friends in India understood it was never his intention to offend them.

© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.