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'Most soaps today are regressive...'
Mandira Bedi is happy staying away from them, she tells BT
SHAMBHU SAHU
Mandira Bedi makes news with whatever she does. Her debut TV show Shanti is still one of the best shows that happened on the Indian television. While her cameo in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge earned her applause, her role as that of a VJ in a cricket chat show was also hugely popular. Though it's still debated whether it was her vivacious presence that added huge women viewership to cricket matches (as claimed by the channel concerned) or her much-talkedabout spaghetti straps (which made enough news to compensate her absence from the soap arena). Nevertheless, as she gets back into the role of an 'entertainment VJ' once again with the Champions Trophy.
Mandira, besides her acting skills, is also known for her fondness for cricket. "I have always followed cricket with interest. As a kid, I even played gully cricket with boys in my colony," she reminisces, adding that she doesn't need to be a cricket expert to host the show. "The show doesn't require two Charu Sharmas," she laughs and adds, "I represent the common man there."
She maintains that due to the increased popularity of the game among fairer sex, it's easier for women's cricket to get sponsorship now. Right, but how does she plan to sizzle on the show this time? She has a modest reply. "There have been no deliberate attempts to attract attention with what I wear on a show. My focus, as last year, is only on the content. Any popularity due to my dress is just by chance."
Coming back to acting, besides a small role in a film called Dus Kahaniyaan and a TV show, she doesn't have much in hand. Ask her if she misses acting in soaps, and she says a categorical "No". "There are hardly any soaps like Shanti these days to miss acting. Moreover, I have seen nothing path-breaking on telly for a while now, and most soaps are regressive. With no author-backed roles, TV has become like a factory that's churning out content just for the sake of it," she opines, adding that she wouldn't mind acting if something strong and sensible as her first soap comes her way. According to her, shows like Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin and Fear Factor are some good shows of the current lot. In fact, she wanted to host the latter one, but couldn't. "The next best thing would have been to participate in it, which I did. The experience was fantastic and since I won the challenge, it doubled my joy," avers the actor who has acted in two famous plays Laughing Wild and Anything But Love. And she enjoys the medium of theatre, "as it keeps the actor in me alive," she avers.
Despite her popular appearances in DDLJ, she isn't too keen on films. "I can't live on past laurels. Moreover, my work on TV has been more meaningful," says Mandira who was last seen in husband Raj Kaushal's film, Shaadi Ka Laddoo. But she's vowed not to work with him again. But why? "Oh! We fight a lot when we work together, and tend to bring work home," she quips. And she doesn't discuss his work at all. "He doesn't intrude on my territory, and I don't on his." Howzzat, for a great marriage mantra!
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