After protests in several cities over Richard Gere's on-stage kissing and hugging of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, an NGO activist here Tuesday filed a police complaint against the celebrity duo.

Subodh Jain, head of a small NGO called Citizen Fundamental had filed the complaint early Tuesday in the Man Sarovar police station in northeast Delhi, for "spreading obscenity" at a public place.

"I have filed a police complaint against Gere for spreading obscenity at a public place and against Shetty for supporting him," Jain, a journalist-turned activist, told IANS.

During the AIDS awareness event on Sunday evening at the Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, Gere hugged Shetty, bent over her and planted several kisses on her cheeks.

The kissing episode has raised the hackles of several conservative groups, with protestors coming out on the streets and burning effigies of the actors. Protests were staged in Kanpur, Varanasi (both in Uttar Pradesh), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Mumbai and Delhi.

Jain said though such scenes are common in Bollywood movies, it could have been avoided in a public place that too in front of thousands of truck drivers. He said the police have assured him they would take necessary steps after availing legal opinion.

However, J. Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast Delhi) said: "Since kissing is not banned in India, we have filed a police complaint but no FIR has been registered."

An agitated Shetty Tuesday lashed out at TV channels for repeatedly showing her 'hug and kiss' with Hollywood actor Richard Gere.

"I wish the electronic media wouldn't play the clip over and over again. It's annoying and serves no purpose. There are so many larger issues. In fact, we were there to spread AIDS awareness among truckers," she told IANS.