A Bollywood Primer

[Not Afraid]

Another bit of trivia about Bollywood films is that you almost never see kissing on screen in a Bollywood film. That has relaxed a bit but a 2006 film - Dhoom 2 - has ended up in indian court because of a kiss:

A criminal suit has been filed against Aishwayra Rai and Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan and for kissing onscreen in the recently released action flick "Dhoom 2." A court recently agreed to hear lawyer Shailendra Dwivedi's case, which he filed last week and which accuses Rai and Roshan of "lowering the dignity of Indian women and encouraging obscenity among Indian youth,"

(more info here)


Interestingly, kissing and sex were not taboo before Indian independence after when the censor board came into being.


More recently, Richard Gere stirred up a huge controversy in India by kissing Indian starlet Shilta Shetty on stage st an AIDS Awareness rally which resulted in death threats to the Bollywood star and protesters burning efigies of Gere. Gere was charged with obscenity and a warrant issued for his arrest. The charge and warrant have since been lifted.