After 15 years of endless nightmare, Indian actress Shilpa Shetty, a star of Bollywood, India, has regained her peace. The woman had been kissed by Richard Gere during a event in public in the middle of a fundraiser for the fight against HIV, but radical groups in that country filed a lawsuit against both artists that came to an end only this week.
What seemed like an awareness and awareness gala against the virus turned into an endless nightmare for the actress. In the midst of the euphoria for having reached the goal with the presence of an international figure such as Richard Gere, Shetty said a few words of thanks for having traveled and collaborated with the cause, but the moment of happiness in a few seconds turned into a endless nightmare.
After asking the interpreter to translate the speech, the actor managed to kiss her hand, to which the actress responded with a slight smile. The public and those present on stage smiled and shouted at the gesture of the actor of Pretty Woman (Pretty Woman) that until that moment seemed normal.
Richard Gere’s moment of euphoria
However, in an impulse motivated by the moment of euphoria, he approached the actress to give her a kiss on both cheeks amid the shouting of the donors and fans of the night. After finishing the kiss sequence, he hugged her in what for the actress was the end of that moment of thanks, so she returned the hug in the midst of exaltation.
Seconds later, when she tried to let go, the actor continued to hold her by the neck and waist, kissing her insistently on the cheek until he pushed her back.
Shetty barely managed to keep “laughs” and manners in public, but he pointed something out to Gere. The fans present there deafened the atmosphere amid whistles and more laughter at the situation, absurd for them, that they were witnessing.
Realizing this, the actor finally lets her go and bows on stage to the actress, who continued with the event as if nothing had happened.
The nightmare began for Shetty
A few days later, that moment became a martyrdom for the actors, but even more so for Shetty, who has suffered the consequences to date. The kiss was harshly criticized by society and the gesture aroused the fury of different radical Hindu groups, who in an act of protest set fire to the squares with the images of the kiss and asked for the heads of the two actors for having harmed the values of Hindu culture.
From then on, several “accusations of obscenity and indecency” began to emerge and a court in that country issued an arrest warrant against Shetty and Gere.
The Golden Globe winner managed through his defense to have the charges against him dropped shortly after. However, the case against Shetty advanced in the legal system of that country since there was no confrontation with other governments and its process remained open all this time.
Just last week a court in Mumbai considered that the allegations against the actress were unfounded and released her from all these accusations that were made 15 years ago. “Shilpa Shetty was the victim of the alleged act of exuberance of defendant No. 1 (Richard Gere) who repeatedly kissed her while they were in the box,” the file indicates.
Gere strengthened ties with India
At the time, her lawyer said that although the actress “did not protest when she was kissed by the co-defendant, this does not make her a conspirator or the author of any crime.” In addition, the actress defended the actor from all the charges and accusations that weighed against him, for which he blamed the “lunatic fringe” of India for the incidents caused by the scandal.
In 2002 Gere inaugurated a house that was created by the Naz Foundation Trust, for women and children suffering from AIDS in India, that is why became a benchmark of the cause. Until then, that country was the second in the world in number of people infected with the virus, so an awareness campaign of the disease began. From these actions and humanitarian aid, the Hollywood idol strengthened ties with India and support for the Tibetan government in exile.
Because of his work in that country and because he is one of the best-known Buddhists in the world, it is believed that the charges against Gere were quickly dropped and he was able to re-enter that country to meet the Dalai Lama some time later. Following the scandal, the actor apologized to the actress and Indian society for his exuberance and “insulting their customs and culture.”
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