19-05-2007 10:49
Karan: You have actually been very consistent in this, working with your heart and soul for a while (cause of HIV Aids), 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: 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: 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, labeled the 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 …
So, don’t forget to tune in as Karan chats with Richard Gere on Koffee with Karan this Sunday, May 20th on Star One and Star World, at 9 p.m.
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