Shilpa accuses media of blowing things up

NEW DELHI: Embroiled in a controversy over Hollywood star Richard Gere kissing her at a public function, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has accused the media of blowing the matter 'out of proportion.'

"I believe that things were misreported, misrepresented and there is a section of the media that has been highly irresponsible and I have only them to blame for things being blown out of proportion," she told a TV channel.

Gere kissed Shetty during an AIDS awareness programme last week which evoked strong protests in several cities while Shiv Sena activists stormed her film shoot in Mumbai with protestors describing the act as an attack on the country's cultural ethos.

Shetty said she has been approached for interviews by international news networks.

"I am not going to make my country look bad. I have constantly said that I belong to a country that is extremely tolerant and this is not the face of India," she said.