Richard Gere To Help Fight Aids In India

Well you can rub shoulders with the Hollywood heart-throb Richard Gere and the creme de la creme of India next month in Delhi and Mumbai for just a pittance: Rs 1500. And what is Rs 1500 per person if the event is geared towards raising awareness level on AIDS and helping patients suffering from the disease in the country ?

Sounds groovy? Theres more. Fashion shows have been organised in various metros where the dresses designed by top Indian fashion designers like Rohit Bal, Suneet Varma, Rina Dhaka, Sandeep Khosla, Ashish Soni, Ravi Bajaj, Pallavi Jaikishan and Ritu Beri will be modelled not by regulars, but by non-professional celebrities. The dresses modelled would be later auctioned off at star-studded events by TV personalities Sanjana Kapoor and Vir Sanghvi.

The heady cocktail of beauty, fashion and charity is a brainchild of Delhi-based socialite-cum-business woman Bina Ramani who says, I wanted to do something for the AIDS victims here and last year when I met Richard Gere he jumped at the idea. The events designed will donate a part of the proceedings to Delhi-based Naz Foundation which is involved in spreading awareness about AIDS and other such related activities.

And if you thought that the role of the Gere Foundation, which is involved in charity work round the world, finishes with bringing Richard Gere here to India, then think again.

The star of such hit movies like `Pretty Woman will drive down in a Yamaha-Escort mobike to a Delhi charitable organisation on April 2 in the donated vehicle and meet the inmates there.

Though Gere had wanted to make a donation to the AIDS cause and the NGO, The Art of Giving, which Ramani and company plan to start, it has been politely turned down.

The events to be held in Delhi and Mumbai on April 3 and 5 respectively, plan to attract about 1000 persons and expects to raise about Rs 50 lakh.

If I had more time for organising such events, I would have charged for such a noble cause Rs 10,000 per couple...I think people would have been given gladly, Ramani said.

Though the names of the models are being kept a secret till an official announcement is made, it is expected celebrities like Romi Kapil Dev and Sharmila Tagore would walk the ramp wearing creations of some 23 top fashion designers. The designers are donating the dresses as part of their contribution to help the cause of AIDS victims in the country.

And not lagging behind is the corporate community which has come forward to generously get associated with the two events. Some of the sponsors include Henessy, Jet Airways, India Habitat Centre and Pepsi.