Former Bollywood actress Monica Bedi was aquitted on July 16 of all charges relating to the fake passport case lodged against her. The prosecution in the case failed to prove that Bedi applied for a fake passport in the name of Faujia Usmani at the request of her underword boyfriend Abu Salem.
Aishwarya Rai is starring in a Hollywood film alongside American actor Brenden Fraiser. ‘Singularity’ will begin filming in India and South Africa at the start of 2008. The story is said to span two continents and two different time periods and centers on a incident aboard a British Colonial ship. Original reports of the movie included mention of Vivek Oberoi, however it is now likely that Oberio will be dropped from the cast because of his past relationship with Rai, who is now married to Abhishek Bachchan.
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Supporters of Shilpa Shetty club took to the streets of India raising anti Richard Gere slogans. Elsewhere protesters burned and kicked effigies of the veteran Hollywood actor and Shilpa Shetty after footage of Gere repeatedly kissing Shilpa during an HIV-AIDS Awareness event aired on Indian television on April 17, 2007. Many saw the act as a violation against Shetty’s modesty and a outrage to Indian culture. Some protesters even went as far as calling for the deaths of Gere and Shilpa, while others demanded a apology to the public.
Shetty, the winner of “Celebrity Big Brother”, a reality Television show in the U.K., said that the protests made India look silly.
“I admit it went a little overboard but that was not the intention,” she said to a crowd of journalists and protesters that came to her film set in Mumbai a day after the spectacle.
“He (Gere) did not do anything obscene,” she said, adding that they had since spoken over the phone. “He apologized to me and told me to tell the media that he apologized.”
Gere began a campaign to unite Bollywood movie actors, government officials, and business leaders to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in India. India currently has the world’s second largest number of HIV-infected people. The event was organized by different foundations including HIV/AIDS advocacy groups to help create awareness on unsafe sexual practices.
“No condom, no sex,” 58-year-old Gere shouted in Hindi. The crowd responded by yelling and whistling as Gere kissed Shetty’s hand. Gere then begain to kiss her cheeks repeatedly. An embarrassed Shetty pulled back and told Gere, “This is a bit too much.”
However, the Bollywood actress insists that Indians are over reacting. Shetty said, “I understand this is his culture, not ours. But this was not such a big thing or so obscene for people to over react in such a manner. I understand people’s sentiments, but I don’t want a foreigner to take bad memories from here.”
