How did the makers of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel rope you in for the sequel? Was it the lure of shooting in India?
Yes, it was the lure of shooting in India. I've always wanted to film here, it's such a charming country, and to be able to spend four weeks in Rajasthan with a wonderful director like John Madden was great. We mostly shot in Udaipur, I'd never been there before. What a beautiful city and such wonderful people! My assistant was from there and he showed me all the secret places.

You've been to India several times, is there anything you're yet to see?
Yes, for 40 years I've been coming to India, some times two or three times a year. I mostly go to my teachers in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. Last year I was in Arunachal Pradesh. My brother, David, was in Madurai. I have been mostly everywhere, albeit briefly, but I haven't been that far down South. India is an incredible country, you can't just spend two-three days in one place. So for the next 20-50 years I'm going to try and spend more time here.

What was it like swinging to the popular Bollywood chartbuster Jhoom Barabar? How difficult was it perfecting the thumkas?
Not difficult at all. We had great choreographers and coming from a Western tradition we weren't supposed to know how to dance. We just had to go up on stage, watch the other dancers and follow their moves, learning as we went along. It was the first thing we shot. I just flew in and started with the dance rehearsals.

Have you watched any Hindi film recently?
I haven't watched anything lately, not even American movies because I've been so busy. Bollywood films interest me.

Now that you've danced to one of our popular hit tunes, can you see yourself in a Bollywood film?
(Laughs) I've always liked Bollywood films, we have a tradition for musicals in the US so telling a story through songs isn't all that odd. Now that I have shot an American film in India, maybe I can do an Indian film next.

Pretty Woman, your first career milestone, recently completed a silver jubilee run. Twenty-five years later, what is that one moment that makes the film memorable for you?
I really don't know. I enjoy a film when we're actually making it. I like the moment of creation. We have no control over its success or failure but we have control over the moment of creation.

How many times have you seen the film?
A couple of nights ago, we had a reunion of sorts and that's when I realised that the only time I'd seen the film, from beginning to end, was at the preview, sitting with Julia (Roberts) in the dark...and that was 25 years ago.

There was a lot of talk about a sequel, why did it never happen?
We never got a script that was great.

Ok, what makes Richard Gere so dishy and desirable at 65?
You're asking me that? How would I know? I'm just thankful that at 65 I'm still working all the time, in interesting projects, with wonderful people. Beyond that I can't say anything.

Shilpa Shetty, Padma Lakshmi, Lillete Dubey.....Do you think Indian women are gorgeous?
Of course they are gorgeous, they are incredibly beautiful! Lillete especially is such a wonderful woman. Beautiful, talented, funny, an extraordinary Indian woman!