162
t’s a rainy May after-
noon in London. I am at
the BAFTA headquar-
ters on Piccadilly help-
ing to create a master
plan for an international drama series.
Gemma Arterton and other members
of Hollywood royalty are at the next
table, and our attention constantly wa-
vers. I, however, soon have to bring
our brainstorming session to a close.
I squelch through the Mayfair back-
streets to Claridge’s, the discreet and
elegant hotel that has been home to
many members of the British royalty,
so much so that it is often described as
an annexe to the Buckingham Palace.
It has also hosted Yugoslavian princes,
German Chancellors and the likes of
Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Alfred
Hitchcock, Brad Pitt and Mick Jagger.
Today, the lobby is teeming with
American businessmen and Arab
women sailing through with assistants
bearing Bond Street shopping bags. I
have taken care not to dress in the nor-
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Claridge’s doorman nevertheless looks
at me with deep suspicion. I am saved
when, exactly at the appointed time,
Kareena Kapoor Khan shows up.GIRL TALK
We settle down at a corner table at the
lobby bar as a pianist tinkles away. Ka-
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hour walk around Hyde Park and is a
picture of health. It is she who begins
by asking about the various publica-
tions I write for. I have already decided
there is no point in beginning the con-
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reams of print have been devoted to it
over the last 16 years. So, instead, I ask
about her charitable work. (She is a
UNICEF ambassador but prefers to do
the work quietly.) “I have never actu-
ally spoken about it. Spreading theSilk dress, Gucci. ‘Dani’
suede shoes, Jimmy Choo.
Gold-plated bangle, Mawi>