This, Sunday Karan's guest is not only a Hollywood superstar, but also a man with a humanitarian mission and on a lighter note, he is considered one of the sexiest men in the business.
"My mother goes weak in her knees every time she sees you on television," says Karan as he welcomes the Hollywood heartthrob, Richard Gere. Speaking about the Gere Foundation, Richard shares what prompted him to take up the cause of HIV Aids, his take on celebrities who think it is fashionable to fight for a cause and where does he see his Foundation a decade from today. Here he is with a candid tête-à-tête with Karan.
Karan: Alright so sexiest man really… my mother goes weak in her knees every time she sees you on television…
Richard: I had this bizarre thing happen… I was making a movie recently and there was a little press conference called for the same… and there was this young reporter there … so shy and she came up to me and said, Mr. Gere, "Three generations of women in my family love you…. my grandmother, my mother and me", … and I started blushing….
Karan: Thank God I didn't bring my mother here…. I don't know what she would have done…. Because yesterday I told her Richard Gere is coming to my show… and she was like Oh my God.. I've seen Pretty Woman over a 100 times….
Richard: It's a bit different here… you know these beautiful young girls come to me asking for an autograph and they say, "could you make that for my mother please" (laughs) …
Karan: We were reading some kind of stuff you know, the sexiest men in the business have actually dedicated their lives to a cause… There are so many of them working especially in your fraternity, you know be it Brad Pitt or George Clooney or you and there's this whole perception of them being so sexy and yet all of them doing things like humanitarian issues they combating and fighting and doing stuff for… you know sometimes people feel that there is a contradiction, a) the perception is very sexy and you know of course you have been so sincere about it?
Richard: You know sometimes people feel there's a contradiction when that happens, the perception that you being so sexy and you being so sincere about a cause… You know there is a tradition of this in America… I mean… there is a feeling that there is a responsibility that we all have whether we are movie stars or the technicians here in the studio; whatever maybe… we are all equal in our humanity. And we all do have a responsibility to help each other as far as transforming the planet and specially those people who suffer.
Karan: You have actually been very consistent in this, working with your heart and soul for a while, but a lot of other celebrities come in initially what do I call it, it's considered fashionable to fight a cause or do something …
Richard: It's not something that everyone does and maybe their interests are elsewhere or their voyage is elsewhere and there are other things they are working on. I don't blame them for that, but I am thankful to the ones to whom it does touch them and they continue. For the first time, I came here and started working on HIV Aids which was a year ago, I thought that if we did two events, one in Delhi, one in Mumbai… it will change everything and I was very naïve and obviously for a moment there were newspapers, talks and photographers, basically a lot of attention to this subject… so it meant really building this up from ground zero… how to build an organization… how to build the network of friends, who are equally committed.
Karan: How has your experience been in India?
Richard: I think it's been great… have been meeting a lot of excellent people… The Mumbai community has been quite committed… I would like them to be more committed.
Karan: You feel they need to be?
Richard: Ya… I think they can and they will be… you know, we did an event with 15000 sex workers, which was pretty extra ordinary. A whole lot of actors and actresses volunteered for it… we didn't have to chase them down.
Karan: Is there any one particular actor that you have been interacting with that you feel has been very supportive.
Richard: Well … Shabana Azmi is one.
Karan: She has actually been fighting for the cause since many years.
Richard: And not just this cause but many causes… and there was… I forget the name… she was wonderful…
Karan: Bipasha?
Richard: Yes… Bipasha.
Karan: Yes… she is a lovely girl… and is also considered very sexy.
Richard: I can tell you she is very sexy and hot… ya… she is terrific and very bright too.
Karan: And you know bright and hot is a very rare combination?
Richard: Is it?
Karan: Do you feel, you know you have met people from the Mumbai film fraternity… how different are they… how different is the vibe vis-à-vis in LA?
Richard: Frankly, I think we live more like normal human beings there… because I think you're culture is so based… there is so much emphasis… even much more than in US… I think… I may be wrong… in New York I can walk up and down… I don't think Shah Rukh Khan can do that.
Karan: No, he cant.
Richard: And Shah Rukh Khan has been very kind and Salman Khan did an amazing thing on World Aids Day last yea .
Karan: What did he do?
Richard: You know he was performing in front of his fans… and he asked them, "Do you love me?" and they said, "Yes"…and then he said… "This man here has HIV Aids, do you love him"… there was silence and he said, "I love him …and if I had HIV positive would you still love me"… and everybody said, ya… ya … and he said, "if you don't love him… then you don't love me and I don't want you come for my movie"
Karan: Well, Salman Khan is known for that… he speaks his mind.
Richard: And I like that.
Karan: He is all heart and soul…
Richard: Yes… he is very heart felt… very passionate about this cause.
Karan: You have traveled the globe, where do you think you have had the maximum impact for this cause?
Richard: I have really taken up India as the place.
Karan: And of course Mr. Amitabh Bachchan… who of course is the big Indian, one of the most powerful…
Richard: He is the Emperor.
Karan: Yes… he is the Emperor… he rules and he will continue to. You have had an interaction with Mr. Bachchan?
Richard: Mr. Bachchan… when I wanted to do this work here, clearly I wanted to interact with people from my own community, we consider each other as brothers and sisters in the world… all of us actors, actresses, directors, writers … there is something that connects us… and I heard of Amitabh.
Karan: Had you, before you had met him?
Richard: Ya… I knew… he is well known all over, I mean I had never seen his films… we had a very good mutual friend, Parmeshwar Godrej, and she put us together and you know he has such a big heart… and that's the man… he could be a recluse right now, but he is still out there… so involved… assuming responsibilities, not just as an actor but also taking up causes… and he realized… that yes it is absolutely essential for us to do this… and with his stamp of approval for the second event, it was his involvement.
Karan: Would you say he set the ball rolling?
Richard: No question…absolutely… without his enterprise and blessing, it would not have been possible.
Karan: Do you think, in India, AIDS is considered to be a homosexual disease? There is a lot of ignorance?
Richard: People just think… yes, it is primarily sexually transmitted, sex workers and truckers, they are the ones who are in this culture, the labeled ones, 'That it is ok, if they die'.
Karan: Oh God!!
Richard: Yes … But that's basically that has happened here… and of course this disease has gone into the middle class community …
Karan: Yes, everywhere..
Richard: It's gone into middle class homes… it's gone into upper class homes…. Obviously the lower class homes… the primary target are the sex workers and the truckers.
Karan: Where do you see the Gere foundation a decade from today?
Richard: Well, hopefully the disease will be so much under control that we can move on and take up other causes.
Karan: Have you seen any Indian movies at all?
Richard: Yes .. I have. I cannot tell you the names.
Karan: Have you seen Lagaan? That everyone talks about?
Richard: No… I think Aamir Khan is a sensitive actor and Shah Rukh Khan is… there is such a clear energy about him, there is clarity and confidence… and Amitabh .. he is the King leader.
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