By chance, I was in college when someone asked me to do a show, one show led to another and them it never ended.

Well for one, this industry is much newer, much younger in India as compared to what it is abroad. It has been around much longer there. The concept of designer came here just 4/5 years back.

In terms of industry we are so new and so young that we have really come a long way. Actually some of our shows can actually be at par with shows abroad, if not better. I’ve seen a few bad shows abroad too.

Lot of our girls are very good, infact the only place where I think we might have a problem is our designers. We are making clothes for the Indian audience, and when you take the show abroad the westerners can’t identify with the clothes. We haven’t reached the kind of finesse and class in finishing western clothes except for say Shahab Durazi or one or two others, but not at par with say a Ferre.

I agree that initially, there was a lot of that. But now more and more people are getting serious about fashion, the entertainment people have now dissipated, money has become tight and no one wants to spend that kind of money just for a fashion show – that is, just for its tamasha value

No, I don’t think that you can gauge a persons intelligence. What I feel is that the questions are aimed at is seeing the persons stage presence and how they hold their own in a high pressure situation. It is very important to be able to stand in front of an audience and not lose your composure… be relaxed about the situation, be able to stay cool and handle the situation…I think that is what they are really trying to gauge.

There is still a lot of growing to do because for one, the concept is so new, and now there are a lot people who have arrived. But the whole concept of designers has become such a generic term in India. I mean everyone is using the word designer. You go to college, they are churning out 50000 students in the country, everyone can’t call themselves designers. You can only be a designer if you have that standing on that high a level. You have designer nail polishes, etc. What is designer? It is something that is exclusive. You can’t have a designer nail polish which is being sold for Rs 30 for the masses, this does not make sense. So I think even for clothes this term is being misused, there are very few people who have reached that stage.

In terms of western wear, Shahab Durazi is very good, and Rohit Bal and Tarun Tahiliani for Indian.

It was the show which was held in Jodhpur for the designer Raghuvendra Singh Rathore, choreographed by Lubna. It was the most mystical show. The show had so many problems ‘cos the green rooms burned down before the show, things were not ready before the show. Everything was wrong. We thought the show would be a disaster but it turned out to be the most amazing show of my life. I can never forget it. Just thinking of the show brings back beautiful memories.

(laughs) Going everywhere and nowhere...

…No I wouldn’t… in fact I am very non-adventurous. Yesterday when there were riots I took my car out, that is my height of adventure.

No, because culture is not something tangible, it is not something which can be defined in literal terms. Indian culture is a tradition, it is a way of life. Just because you hear western music and wear shorts does not mean that I am not an cultured Indians. Can a foreigner wear a dhoti and say that I have Indian culture.

I could possibly talk more about Indian classical music, our culture or Sanskrit than a man sitting at home wearing dhoti, kurta and tika. So I feel it is not too much to do with the west, it is more how you are brought up, about basic values that you have imbibed from your family.

We should have moved a lot faster. I am not really that knowledgeable to pinpoint really what went wrong but I feel that in 50 years we should have gone a long way. Take Mauritius for example, its such a small place but see how far they have moved. They got their independence in ’68 and they formed a republic around ’80, those guys are much more advanced than we are. They are such a small country, ours is a massive country and we talk about natural resources, human resources. What are we doing? I am not blaming anyone but there is something wrong somewhere.

In terms of immediate attraction it’s a good sense of humour, if he could talk well… these would attract me more than looks…for the long term it is important that we vibe, its not just one quality, it’s a combination of many. The chemistry has to be right… a mixture of honesty, compatibility etc.

(laughs) I’ve forgotten what its like, bouquets, something out of Mills and Boons…maybe a dinner. What can one really do in Bombay?

Mel Gibson, if he could be stretched to my height!

My parents…my values. Actually my parents. If you take away everything but leave them, its OK - because its from them that everything has evolved, diversified. Just leave my parents and I don’t need the other two.