In Roger Moore, James Bond found style and substance

Sir Roger Moore was truly a head-turner. His presence was electric and his demeanour was of regal bearing. In 2007, when he visited India to attend a summit hosted by a national daily, it was him who commanded all the attention even when flanked by former and present heads of state and fascinating personalities from the fields of business, art, culture and sports.

Such was his aura! For the brief time I had met him, I was struck by how composed and deeply grounded he was, even as adulation and fan-following, the likes of which only a select few have ever seen in their life, enveloped him from all sides. 

The news of him having left us saddened me and instantly transported me to a time in 2007 when my editor sent me off to interview him.

Needless to say, I was awestruck. It is not every day that one gets to interview an actor of the calibre of Sir Moore. I was definitely a die-hard fan of his but I was shaking in my boots when the opportunity to interview him presented itself. 

It was the opening day of the summit and I was to interview him at 2.30 pm in his hotel suite. A thorough gentleman, he kept his appointment, turning up on the dot.  

Elegantly dressed, Moore warmly shook my hands and in his characteristic husky voice asked me to begin with the interview.

Amazed to be in his suave company, I was trembling while talking to him. The first question I shot at him was about his film Octopussy, which was partly shot in Udaipur in 1982. In the movie, former tennis player Vijay Amritraj played a cameo and Kabir Bedi portrayed the role of a villain.  

Moore’s eye lit up when he heard my questions. “I knew you would discuss Octopussy with me here,” he said, adding that the shooting then was his first tryst with India and that he had read quite a lot about India and was very keen on visiting the country. 

Some scenes of Octopussy, which were released to full houses in 1983 across the world, were shot in Udaipur in Rajasthan. It was the Maharana of Udaipur who had granted the film crew permission to shoot the 13th flick in the James Bond series at the numerous palaces in the city, including Lake Pichola and the Monsoon Palace. 

I remember Moore telling me that India was much more colourful than he had expected.

“Despite hardships, I found Indians are happy and cheerful. That made a lasting impression on me,” Moore confided in me even as I could see the crowds swelling outside the hotel in the hope of catching a glimpse of the English actor, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003.

He was also keenly interested in India. It was from Amritraj that Moore had learnt about Mahatma Gandhi, and to his credit, he had even read Mahatma’s autobiography.

“I learned about India and Gandhi from my friend, Vijay Amritraj. As and when I would like to know about India, I call Vijay. He is my guide to India,” the dapper actor had told me. 

When I asked him about his experience of shooting in India, he reminisced about the Udaipur hotel where he stayed during his shooting.  

“I still remember it was a stunning 18th-century hotel where we stayed at Udaipur while shooting for Octopussy. The Taj Lake Palace seems to float on the tranquil lake. It was a great place.  Along with Vijay and Kabir Bedi, we used to discuss a lot of things after our shooting schedules.”

Moore’s theatrical genius and the inventiveness he brought to roles other than the ones where he was playing Bond will remain etched in cinematic memory for a long time.

The author is a senior journalist based in Delhi