Friday, 27 April 2007

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Richard Gere accused of 'obscene act' with Shilpa Shetty

Indian court issues arrest warrant for the Hollywood star

At an Aids awareness event in Delhi 10 days ago, Richard Gere thought it would be amusing to sweep Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty into his arms and kiss her cheek.

Photographs of the innocent gesture appeared in Indian newspapers and caused a furore in a country where public displays of affection widely cause offence.

Now a court judge has issued an arrest warrant for Richard, 57, calling the embrace 'an obscene act'.

Celebrity Big Brother winner Shilpa, 31, has explained that the actor was only re-enacting a scene from his film Shall We Dance but, under Indian law, a public obscenity conviction can result in three months in prison, a fine or both.

The Buddhist actor often travels to India to visit the Dalai Lama so he'll be keen to sort out the matter as soon as he can.