Mandira Bedi

Mandira Bedi
Mandira Bedi at Jimmy Choo Bash
Born	Mumbai, India
Occupation	Actress, presenter
Spouse	Raj Kaushal (1999–present)

Mandira Bedi (Punjabi: ਮੰਦਿਰਾ ਬੇਦੀ, Hindi: मन्दिरा बेदी, born 15 April 1972) is an Indian actress, 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.

Early life

A native of Mumbai, Mandira Bedi was born on April 15, 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 Mumbai 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, which is also located in Mumbai.

Career

Mandira Bedi at Indian Day Parade

After her star-making turn in Shanti, Bedi appeared in a supporting role in the 1995 film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and played the main vamp, "Mandira", in the popular Indian soap Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. 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, aired on STAR One, as well as posing for a photo layout in the Men's magazine Maxim India Magazine.^[1]

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.

Ever since she turned cricket show anchor, she also 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, Deutshche Bank, BMW, Audi, LG, Canon, Citibank, Diageo, Accenture and Puma. With her involvement in cricket she was also named the brand ambassador for the women's cricket team of India in the years 2004 and 2005 and also toured a bit with the women's cricket team and was instrumental in getting them a few sponsorship deals in that time period. Her tryst with fashion continued when she was made the brand ambassador and face of Satya paul sarees Cricket signature line of sarees.

She was also the brand ambassador for Sony Max for the years between 2004 and 2007. In 2008 she was involved in a summer campaign and music video for Nick. she has also 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 also 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, GoodHousekeeping, Marie claire and Cosmopolitan. She has also done many fashion features for magazines like Verve, Vogue India, Grazia, Elle and L'officielle.

She presented coverage of the 2010 Indian Premier League (season 3) cricket on ITV which started on ITV4 on March 12, 2010. She also presented the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 for an English News Channel called Timesnow. She is very active on Twitter and often presents the lighter side of cricket, in rhymes on the microblogging site.

Personal life

Mandira with husband Raj.

Mandira Bedi married Raj Kaushal on February 14, 1999. It was announced on January 27, 2011 that the couple are expecting their first child.

Mandira gave birth to a baby boy on June 19, 2011 at Lilvati Hospital, Mumbai. He has been named Vir.

References

1. ^ http://www.maximindia.in/girls/covergirls/346/mandira_bedi.html

External links

• Mandira Bedi at the Internet Movie Database
• Photographs of Mandira Bedi in the April 2007 issue of Maxim magazine
• Mandira Bedi Poses Topless for Vogue Magazine

Persondata
Name	Bedi, Mandira
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 15, 1972
Place of birth	Mumbai, India
Date of death
Place of death