Life In A Metro opens in cinemas on May 11.

Shilpa gets help from Richard - May 8 2007
Shilpa Shetty has revealed there is more to her relationship with Richard Gere than the kiss which shocked India - he also gives her acting tips.

Hollywood legend Richard, 57, swept Shilpa into his arms at an Aids-awareness event last month, prompting outrage in India where public displays of affection are taboo.

The 31-year-old Bollywood actress told Hello magazine the pair have been in regular contact ever since, and that Richard is a big fan of her latest movie Life In A... Metro.

"We text each other and he sometimes gives me acting tips," she said. "He’s such a great actor, so when he said he loved my film that was a huge compliment."

She also revealed that the Pretty Woman star has invited her to spend some time in America, and is hoping it could open some doors.

"I’m very much looking forward to taking up his offer of going to the States for a holiday," she said. "Perhaps I’ll even get to meet up with some Hollywood producers while I’m there."

Kissing charges are ’ridiculous’ p April 27 2007
Legal experts in India have ridiculed a court’s obscenity charges against Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty for kissing in public.

They said the case makes Indian judges seem like Taliban morality police.

"The order is unsustainable and makes us look ridiculous," the country’s former attorney general, Soli Sorabjee, told the Times of India newspaper.

"Magistrates should not act like Taliban moral police," he added.

A court in the north-western city of Jaipur issued arrest warrants against the two stars yesterday over their kiss at an Aids awareness event on April 15 in New Delhi.

Judge Dinesh Gupta said the incident was "highly sexually erotic" and "transgressed all limits of vulgarity."

The actor had wrapped the Bollywood star in his arms, kissing her several times on her cheeks and dipping her Tango-style.

Shilpa herself said that the embrace was "a bit too much," though she urged the public not to overreact because the Pretty Woman star was from a culture where such displays of affection are not taboo.

Last week, crowds in several Indian cities burned effigies of the 57-year-old.

The judge issued the charges after a local citizen filed a complaint saying the incident offended local sensibilities. He lambasted Shilpa for not resisting the kisses and ordered her to appear in his court on May 5, Press Trust of India said.

Another senior legal expert, Dushyant Dave, told the Times of India: "This is only for cheap publicity and the magistrate and lawyer should be restrained."

Arrest warrants for Shilpa and Gere - April 26 2007
An Indian court has issued arrest warrants for Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty for kissing at a public function, according to media reports.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Dinesh Gupta issued the warrants in the north-western city of Jaipur after a local citizen filed a complaint, the Press Trust of India reported.

Such cases against celebrities - often filed by publicity seekers - are common in conservative India, and add to a backlog of legal cases in the country that has nearly crippled the judicial system.

Last week, crowds in several Indian cities burned effigies of the actor after he wrapped the Bollywood star in his arms and kissed her several times on her cheeks during an Aids awareness event in the country’s capital.