In May 2003, a controversy erupted over alleged links between Shilpa Shetty's parents and the Indian underworld.
The Surat police issued arrest warrants against her parents on charges of extortion. The dispute between the two parties was related to a 1998 modelling assignment where Shilpa endorsed Praful Sarees and had only been paid Rs. 50 lakh (US$ 100,950) out of a contractually-agreed Rs. 3 crore (US$ 605,700).
In April 2006, a Madurai court issued non-bailable warrants against Shilpa Shetty and Reema Sen for "posing in an obscene manner" in photographs published by a Tamil newspaper.
On April 15, 2007, Richard Gere reportedly kissed Shilpa several times on the cheek during an AIDS-awareness event. The pair had appeared at a press conference in New Delhi as part of a campaign to preach safe sex to truck drivers in India and the promotion of AIDS awareness.