In Delhi on Sunday at Seena Taan Ke, an AIDS awareness function organised by the Truckers Corporation of India Foundation, Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty were present to speak to the vulnerable community about the dangers and misconceptions of AIDS and the unsafe sexual practices among the trucking community.

In an effort to demonstrate safe forms of affection and HIV can't be passed on through certain forms of kissing, Gere, who speaks no Hindi, made an effort to make his point by demonstration. He first kissed Shilpa's hand, then hugged her, kissed her cheek, and finally bent the surprised actress over backwards, Hollywood-style, to give her a big kiss on the cheek.

While Shetty laughed it off with a poised, 'yeh thoda zyaada ho gaya' ('this was a bit much') to the truck drivers, it seems they agreed.

It is reported that audiences expressed distaste the behaviour by a visiting celebrity; some of those in attendance are apparently asking for an apology from both actors.

As a result, the shooting of Shilpa Shetty's new film, Metro, came to an abrupt halt in Navi Mumbai (New Bombay) when people who were allegedly members of the Shiv Sena, went on a rampage on the sets.

"The activists converged at the Vashi railway station where Metro was being shot and burnt an effigy of Shilpa and shouted slogans against her," Ramrao Wagh, police commissioner, Navi Mumbai, told a section of the media.

"The situation has been bought under control with some activists being detained," he added.

Effigies of Richard Gere were burnt at several protests in Varanasi, where protesters claimed the incident was 'an attack on our cultural ethos.'

In Kanpur, protesters – primarily students – also burnt effigies and demanded that Gere should leave the country immediately, while demonstrators in Bhopal threatened to boycott Shilpa's forthcoming films.

Additionally, the Bharatiya Janata Party also disapproved the act, saying it was not part of Indian culture.

"Such a public display is not a part of Indian tradition," said party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.

Meanwhile, an outraged Shilpa held an impromptu press conference and exclaimed that she was 'shocked' by the protests. "India has the second highest number of HIV patients in the world. Yet, we are talking about the kissing incident rather than the HIV cause. We should not waste national time on such trivial issues."

The actress refused to apologise for the incident, stating there was nothing to apologise for, "Apology! For what? Did he kiss on my lips? Did he do my vastra haran? Have you never seen a man kiss a woman? Don't act stupid! I don't think anything wrong has happened to me. I am someone who lives with dignity!"

The actress added that Gere had called her thrice to apologise for his act. She stated that he had kissed her to entertain the audience of 4,000 truck drivers.

"Richard cannot speak Hindi and that's why he did that dancing number in Bollywood style to keep those truckers entertained. I don't think anything wrong happened, so why should people ask me to apologise?" she asked incredulously.

"Our culture says, Atithi Deva Bhava (the guest is God) and I don't think it is right to treat our guest in such a manner," she continued. "I am proud of my culture. Moreover, Richard is someone who is trying to help HIV patients for the last nine years in India. This is not the way to behave with him. He believes in this cause and has given his support from time to time.

"We talk of India going into the 21st century and being progressive. Is this the way to behave?" she questioned. "What kind of reputation do you want to project by this act? These people don't do anything for HIV patients and when others do something, they protest. I feel it is a joke because people are politicising such a trivial issue."