Just when we thought the Shilpa Shetty-Richard Gere kissing controversy was kissed goodbye, a local court in Jaipur issues an arrest warrant against the Hollywood actor and summons the Bollywood bombshell to appear before the court on May 5.
This comes after a Jaipur advocate filed a PIL alleging that the act constituted obscenity in a Public place. It’s not the first time the kiss is under scrutiny.
The Court in its order said the attitude of the two film personalities was highly erotic and transgressed all limits of vulgarity.
Not just that, Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan also got lip-locked into controversy over a kiss in Dhoom 2.
Is kissing in public or on screen such a crime, or is this a classic case of judicial overreach?
That was the big debate on CNN-IBN special show Kiss And Tell conducted by Anubha Bhonsle.
On the panel of experts to discuss the issue were TV personality and actor Pooja Bedi, Supreme Court senior lawyer Dushyant Dave and petitioner Poonam Chand Bhandari.
Can we handle a kiss in public?
When asked to Pooja Bedi that can Indians see people kiss each other in public, she said, “I just want to say one thing at the beginning I love the witticism but the issue is so much more deeper and grave than that. This moral policing has to stop. You look at operation majnu Meerut where they attacked couple for just being together.
In a cosmopolitan city like Mumbai where couples are hauled up for hugging each other and holding each other. What have we come to? I don’t think it’s a voice a majority.
”
“I don’t think there is anything wrong in showing affection in hugging someone showing that you love somebody. There is difference between affection and obscenity like you have to do a lip lock or tongue kissing may be that something too much to digest but if a person being affectionate, I think nothing wrong in that,” she added.
But who decides what is affection when does it cross over to obscenity who decides that a kiss is ok a hug is fine or a lip lock is not.
Pooja Bedi argued, ”Exactly that’s the point that need to be addressed. That is an issue that needs to be taken up in the court with people that they need to formulate laws that define clearly what is obscenity what is vulgarity and what is just affection.”
Shilpa Shetty has said that she has no problem with the kissing and there was no problem.
What did you find objectionable about Shilpa- Gere’s kiss?
Taking a cue from the argument Poonam Chand said, “It is offence in IPC under Section 284. If someone does an obscene at in a public place and it annoys others then it is an offence.
If someone does not annoy others then its not offence. It’s not a PIL, I have filed a criminal complaint. Shilpa Shetty no aware of the fact that it is an offence.
Guilty must be punished.
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