Mandira Bedi

Mandira Bedi
Mandira Bedi at Anything But Love play
Born	(1972-04-15) April 15, 1972 Mumbai, Maharashtra,India
Occupation	Actress, presenter
Spouse(s)	Raj Kaushal (m. 1999)
Children	Vir Kaushal

Mandira Bedi is an Indian actress, fashion designer,^[1] model and television presenter who gained celebrity status playing the title role in the 1994 television serial, Shanti, shown on India's national channel, Doordarshan which was the first ever daily soap on Indian television.

She followed up her career in TV serials with shows like Aurat (DD and Sony), Dushman (DD) and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (Star Plus) with hosting duties for ICC Cricket World Cups in the years 2003 and 2007 and the Champions Trophies in the years 2004 and 2006 as well as the Indian Premier League season 2 for Sony Max. She fronted the coverage of IPL season 3 for the British Network - ITV. She would debut as a Fashion Designer during Lakme Fashion Week 2014 with her Saree Collection.^[2]

Mandira Bedi also promoted faux leather for PETA.^[3]

Early life

A native of Mumbai, Mandira Bedi was born on 15 April 1972 in Kolkata to Verinder Singh Bedi and Gita Bedi. She has her ancestral roots in the Khatri clan of Fazilka, a town in Punjab, 11 kilometres from the India-Pakistan border. Her father worked with ICI on a transferable job but she spent her childhood (age 5 onwards) in South Mumbai. She studied at Mumbai's Cathedral and John Connon School and did her Graduation in Economics from St. Xaviers College, Mumbai followed by a post-graduation in Media from Sophia Polytech, Mumbai.

Career

After her star-making turn in Shanti, Bedi appeared in a supporting role in the 1995 film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. She played "Mandira", in the popular Indian soap Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. She also appeared in a cameo role in the 2004 Tamil romantic thriller film, 'Manmadhan'. Among her other career highlights was a stint as one of the presenters on the Indian television talent contest/reality show, Fame Gurukul (which ended on 20 October 2005), replacing R. Madhavan as the anchor of Deal Ya No Deal, and performing hosting duties on the musical reality show Jo Jeeta Wohi Super Star on STAR One, as well as posing for a photo layout in the men's magazine Maxim India.^[4]

Mandira Bedi at India Day Parade

Mandira with husband Raj

She was a judge for two comedy shows called Funjabi Chak De and Laughter Knights along with Navjot Sidhu on Star One. She was the first and only female winner in the first season of Fear Factor India, when it appeared on Sony Entertainment Television. She has endorsed brands like Asmi diamonds, South Africa Tourism, Leher namkeen, Dabur Vatika, Sree Ganesh Jewellery house, eBay India and Dettol extra.

She acted in and as Meera in Meerabai Not Out, a cricket-based feature film produced by PNC and Sony pictures which released in September 2008. She also appeared in the movie 42 Kms which was released in January 2010.

she acted in tamil movie called "Manmadhan" with Seenu Swamy(wipro).

Ever since she turned cricket show anchor, she has hosted over 150 corporate events, shows and awards for companies like Asian Paints, HSBC, Cartier, ICICI bank, ING vysya, Anand Bazaar Patrika Group, Samsung, L&T, Deutsche Bank, BMW, Audi, LG, Canon, Citibank, Diageo, Accenture and Puma. With her involvement in cricket she was named the brand ambassador for the women's cricket team of India in 2004 and 2005 and toured a bit with the women's cricket team and was instrumental in getting them a few sponsorship deals in that period. Her tryst with fashion continued when she was made the brand ambassador and face of Satya Paul's cricket signature line of sarees.

She was the brand ambassador for Sony Max from 2004 to 2007. In 2008 she was involved in a summer campaign and music video for Nick. She has been actively involved in theatre and has acted in two plays: Laughing Wild (95 shows) and Anything But Love (150 shows). She has anchored many award ceremonies like the MTV Immies, the Car and Bike Awards 2008 for NDTV profit, the Environment awards for CNN-IBN in 2009, the 2004 edition of the ICC awards and two editions of the Ceat Cricket Ratings Awards (2004 and 2011). She has won two style awards: The MTV Lycra Style Award and the DNA Style Award for the most stylish person on television.

Bedi has appeared on the cover of many magazines like Femina, Maxim India, Prevention, Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan. She has done many fashion features for magazines like Verve, Vogue India, Grazia, Elle and L'Officiel.

She presented coverage of the 2010 Indian Premier League (season 3) cricket on ITV which started on ITV4 on March 12, 2010. She presented the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 for English news channel with cricket commentator Charu Sharma. Charu and she were a regular at many cricket clubs in promoting the game Times Now. She is very active on Twitter and often presents the lighter side of cricket in rhymes.

After launching her own line of saris, on 26 October 2013 Mandira launched her signature Sari store.^[5]

Personal life

Mandira Bedi married Raj Kaushal on 14 February 1999. It was announced on 27 January 2011 that the couple are expecting their first child. Mandira gave birth to a baby boy named Vir on June 19, 2011 at Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai.

Credits

Television

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mandira Bedi.

• Mandira Bedi at the Internet Movie Database
• Mandira Bedi on Twitter