Why is Mandira not on TV?
The chic host is planning to make a fresh comeback.
The absence of the hostess with the mostest Mandira Bedi on TV is conspicuous. Mandira, who anchored three shows 'Fame Gurukul' (Sony), 'Dial One Aur Jeeto' (Sahara One) and 'Deal Ya No Deal' (Sony) in quick succession, has deliberately stayed away from the limelight. She reveals, "The visibility got too high. I will be anchoring the ICC Champion's Trophy for 'Extraa Innings' (SET Max) in October. So I want to look fresh and new."
For someone who 'busts stress with work', this is not an enjoyable lull. Mandira rues, "I'm stressed when I don't have crazy hours." So Mandira has revamped her house and is 'catching up' with herself instead.
Few years back the cricket World Cup 2003 threw up a glam surprise when it had Mandira hosting 'Extraa Innings'. From woe woman 'Shanti', Mandira overnight turned into a spaghetti-star! "All good things have happened by default. I was working with Prahlad Kakkar's ad agency. Somebody saw me there and 'Shanti' happened. Later, I was spotted by the channel people at a cricket match and that's how 'Extraa Innings' happened."
Mandira recalls the flak she received initially for anchoring 'Extraa Innings', "I'd put my head on the desk and cry. I was called a bimbo and an airhead!" But towards the end of the world cup, when she was asked by a journalist to pick the best thing about it, Mandira had replied, "It threw up new heroes." To which the journalist had retorted, "A new heroine too!"
Since then Mandira has become an ace anchor. "Hosting shows is a journey for me. I bond with the contestants. When Munki, a candidate in Deal Ya No Deal' lost, I wept in my make-up van."
To have a diva wife, it needs a supportive husband. Mandira affirms, "Raj (Kaushal) can handle his wife being in the public eye. All credit for our marriage goes to him." Gearing up for the cricket show, Mandira says, "I catch the news, read sports supplements and visit cricket sites." An avid observer of life, Mandira rounds up, "Success is transient and so is failure. Every day counts, so one good deed a day."