Richard Gere gets away with the stolen kiss

Richard Gere had made headlines in India when he kissed Sheila Shetty, winner of the British reality television show "Celebrity Big Brother," several times on the cheek at an anti-AIDS show in New Delhi last year. This raised a lot of protests from the conservative sections of the society. Court case was filed suing Gere for obscenity.

Actor Richard Gere, called his troubles on Tuesday "a badge of courage."

"It's a badge of somewhat insane courage," he told Reuters during a visit to San Francisco on Tuesday, saying others had also been charged with similar offenses in the past. "It is a very complex society."

In March, India's Supreme Court suspended the legal proceedings and granted Gere permission to again travel to and from India. This must have brought relief to Gere who is a regular visitor to India because of his interest in Buddhism and his close association with the Dalai Lama who resides in Dharmasala, India.