WE were waiting for Pierce Brosnan, and not he for us, the morning Farzana Contractor and I met him at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Bombay. He was here as the Omega brand ambassador to release its latest model, the Constellation, but we were meeting him to talk about food and wine. In deference to his taste for cigars, I laid out five of the finest from my own humidor: the limited edition Cohiba Siglo VI, a king among cigars; a Hoyo de Monterrey Particulares, 9 1/4 inches in length and of which I had only one; a Romeo Y Julieta Corona; an H. Upmann Churchill (a seven-incher which gets its name from Sir Winston, who favoured this length); and, a Montecristo No. 2, shaped like a torpedo and a favourite of mine at one time. Brosnan, I knew from reading the American magazine Cigar Aficionado, preferred the El Rey Del Mundo, but I had none of those.

He strolled into the room languidly, tall and handsome, dressed uncharacteristically in blue jeans and shirt left hanging out, wearing a cream-coloured jacket on top. I half expected him to say, �My name is Bond, James Bond.� But Brosnan was having none of that. He shook hands, lowered his 6'2� frame into a chair, and his eyes lit on my cigars. �Wow, you've brought me cigars,� he said enthusiastically, reaching out and selecting the Cohiba after careful consideration. I watched him cut the end using my gold cigar cutter, then he lit it expertly with a match, drawing on the cigar to get a good, even burn. �How long have you been a cigar smoker,� I asked. �Since nine,� he replied airily, blowing out a mouthful of smoke and filling the room with its rich aroma. �Not Cohiba, though. It's an okay cigar, but it doesn�t do anything for me.� He really got hooked onto cigars fairly late in life and when he was into his third year doing Remington Steele. �I wouldn�t call myself a connoisseur, but I know a good cigar when I see one. I enjoy them. People give me fine cigars and I enjoy sharing them with people who really appreciate a fine cigar. There have been times when I�ve gone out with business guys and smoked cigars, and they�ve been among the most pleasurable evenings I�ve had. Good cigars and good company. Hard to beat,� Brosnan said.

Years later, when he made Dante�s Peak on location in Idaho, cigars again proved to be one of the great pleasures of his day. He explained: �I had my fishing rod with me, I�d take a walkie-talkie so the set could be in communication with me, and I would spend the morning fishing. The cigar was always a great companion.� Painting, too, remains one of Brosnan�s closest companions. His work is figurative and he works with colour. �Painting and smoking a good cigar is wonderful,� he said. �They help me relax.� Brosnan, I must tell my women readers, in person and up close is just as suave and charming as he is on screen. With cool blue eyes, strong jaw, and an easy smile. In the movies, he is light and lean; but I could see he had weight and muscle, a rugged maleness, that made him look as powerful and charismatic as James Bond. According to the Bond movie tailors in London, Brosnan has been both the lightest and heaviest of all the James Bonds. In his first movie, GoldenEye (1995), he weighed 164 pounds, making him the lightest actor to play Bond. However, in his fourth Bond movie, Die Another Day (2002), he weighed 211 pounds, making him the heaviest actor to play Bond.

He talked about Bond, he has the Irish gift of the gab (it is said), and his words flow like Guinness from a spout: �Bond is an enigma. He�s smooth and bigger than life, but he�s vague as a personality. It�s a little like doing a period piece. Look, I�m thankful, the role made me an international star. I�ve been in the backwaters of Papua New Guinea and heard, �Hey, Bond.� But being an actor in Hollywood involves lots of things beyond acting. Charm really helps. And it�s a good idea to incorporate a little Bond into all your dealings.�

In Ian Fleming�s Bond books, an image quite vivid is of the sumptuous meals and fabulous drinks Bond indulges in. In one, Bond explains why he�s so particular about his meals. �I take a ridiculous pleasure in what I eat and drink. It comes partly from being a bachelor, but mostly from a habit of taking a lot of trouble over details. It�s very pernickety and old-maidish really, but then when I�m working I generally have to eat my meals alone and it makes them more interesting when one takes the trouble.� And when ordering his Vodka Martini, shaken � not stirred, Bond explains his views on drinks: �I never have more than one drink before dinner, but I do like that one to be large and very strong and very well made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad.� And Bond says that his idea of a girl who can �add� to him is one who can make sauce bernaise as well as love. In real life, though, Brosnan prefers to drink wine, especially some of the Californian Chardonnays. He has a fascination for Indian food, �I like your curries. And Chicken Tikka is one of my favourite meals. When I was doing theatre in London, I hung out with a group in Bradford where there is a understanding. His tastebuds were pretty sharp and accurate. And though he had low tolerance to spice, and little exposure to Indian food, he was knowledgeable about our cuisine and had a good memory of everything he had eaten in the past. He was particularly fond of fish. And after Thai food, he expressed a preference for Italian cuisine. I told him about our restaurant Trattoria and he promised next time he would check it out.