Karan's piping hot Koffee with Richard Gere.

Very few celebrity actors go beyond their star status and actually dedicate their lives to a cause; a cause that changes lives, a cause that saves lives. This Sunday Karan's guest is one such man. He is not only a Hollywood superstar but also a man with a humanitarian mission . "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. Truly, a man who feels and works passionately for this cause, Richard talks about his experience in India and how this disease has now gone into the middle and upper middle class homes as well. Also, sharing about the fantastic support he has received from the Bollywood film fraternity, Richard talks about how Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Shabana Azmi and Bipasha Basu have been very encouraging and their enterprise and involvement set the ball rolling. On the other hand, Richard also confesses that he has seen Indian movies, but cannot recollect the names and in fact would love to act in a song and dance Bollywood movie! The rapid fire round is surely something that the Superstar is not used to? The one thing Richard likes about India - food, women or culture? The one Indian actress Richard would love to act with? One mainstream Bollywood actor, who according to Richard has Hollywood potential? Pretty Women or Chicago? The most insane rumor Richard has heard about himself? How did he combat Karan's volley of questions? Was there enough fire in Richard's answers? Well, wait and watch! Excerpts from the interview : Karan: Alright so sexiest man really… my mother goes weak in her knees every time she sees you on television… Richard: I have this bizarre thing happen… I was making a movie recently and there was a little press conference so that everybody would know what we are doing … 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: 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 na?ve 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's 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 .