“Coming To Odisha Is Very Fulfilling,” Mandira Bedi

“Coming To Odisha Is Very Fulfilling,” Mandira Bedi

A renowned actress on both television and the silver screen, fashion designer, television presenter, entrepreneur, author- adjectives fall short to describe this lady boss. We are talking about none other than the trendsetter, Mandira Bedi, who graced the 3rd Edition of My City Links Corporate Icon Awards 2022 as the guest for the evening.

The trailblazer, in an exclusive conversation with My City Links, spoke at length about her journey of life so far and how she’s been in love with Odisha and its beauty. Excerpts.

You’ve been to Odisha. How do you like it here?

Work has brought me to Bhubaneswar on many occasions. Be it events, wedding functions, award ceremonies, there is some cricket that happened here as well. So Bhubaneswar has been pretty much a regular city for me. But coming here to Konark has completely stunned me. The beautiful location, the venue, I’m amazed. I feel grateful and blessed that work brings me to such exotic places.

How has your journey been from Shanti to Saaho? Were you always interested in getting into showbiz?

Showbiz or the entertainment industry was never something that I thought I would ever get into. But it happened very naturally and I blended in. So the experience has been 20 something years long now. Yes, it all started with Shanti- the first-ever daily soap on Indian television. I never intended to be an actor but a bit of fortune and luck sent me in that direction. I did a lot of cricket for about 10-12 years, commercials, interviews and such. With my short hair, I have been offered to play a cop at least 10 times or a gangster. Nothing in between. Recently new kinds of roles are coming my way. I am exploring very nice roles in fiction, I am hosting events, I am doing work that I am enjoying, and it excites me. Then in my 20 something years of being in the business, by god’s grace, it is the most fun and most exciting now.

You’ve authored a book, Happy For No Reason. Was there a plan or idea in mind or did it just happen organically?

Happy For No Reason was my Instagram bio for a couple of years, not an actor or anchor or any of that. That’s a mantra that I live my life by. So the book just happened, which I believe like everything else in my life, was because of divine power. 

Happiness, joy, peace of mind and calmness, are something that we have to create for ourselves from within. There was a phase in my life when I had a lot of negativity in me and I decided to work on myself and I think it’s something that we all should strive for. So I really worked on myself. I put that intent out. One day the Commissioning Editor of Penguin contacted me and said that they wanted me to write a book. No matter what the book is going to be about, it is going to be titled as Happy For No Reason. So that’s how it all happened. My friend and co-author, Satyaman Burman and I sat down and chatted and decided on the chapters. Basically, it is about the learnings from my life, parenthood, spirituality, fitness and everything else. It is neither an autobiography nor a memoir. It is about the true essence of my life and its learnings.

You are a woman who has broken several barriers including being the first woman to represent international cricket on the television. How did it come about?

Nothing in my life is planned. There has always been some divine intervention. I believe we all should be grateful for what we have. Hosting cricket was completely unplanned. I went to watch some cricket back in 2002. India had beaten England to reach the semifinals of the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka. I think someone from Sony saw me there. Later I received a call from them and they asked me to come down to their office. I had no idea what the meeting was going to be about. They asked a few quick cricket questions and then asked if I was interested in hosting the 2003 World Cup and I was like, “ What!? Is that even a question? Of course, I would love to.”

Then I was put through extensive auditions and there were about 200 women auditioning with me. Three auditions later, they asked what my plans were and if I was ready to give 6 weeks of my life to host the World Cup and the rest is history. 

Talking about women and equality, how do you think it has evolved over the years?

Since I started working, there has been a tremendous change. Back then, there was so much stereotyping. The female protagonists of any show were either the homemakers or working women. They were never the same person. They were often portrayed as housewives who had to put up with so many atrocities and fight for their basic rights. But now we get to see such beautiful evolved portrayals of women who are studying, working, struggling, making their mark and whatnot. There’s a great shift towards more authentic and real cinema. So that’s one part of it. But also in real life, women are conquering every arena with conviction and doing a tremendous job. I mean, 3 out 5 flights that I take are flown by women pilots and every time I hear a woman’s voice give us instructions as to where we are, how far and all that, I feel so proud. You look at any sector today, women are present there and they are also heading the show.  We have come a long way. 

There have been great strides in certain spaces but you know India is divided. There’s this corporate India which has very strong women in leadership roles, and then there is the middle class and the lower-middle-class India where things haven’t moved ahead as much as they should have. I think, being in the business of entertainment, and media, it is the responsibility of makers, producers, and content creators to put out the right message because it has the power to influence others. 

I come from a family where my parents gave me every opportunity that my brother got. So I’ve grown up with that attitude and mindset. There are a lot of places across India where men and women are not treated equally. So people in the media have a strong responsibility to put out the right message. Instead of reinforcing stereotypes, we should create new modern ways of thinking, that are subtly put into stories that people can relate to, enjoy, and get inspired by and have aspirational characters to look up to. I think that can create a wonderful change in the right direction. 

You’re an entrepreneur and since you are here for a corporate event, tell us about that experience as well.

I got into the space of design and retail, which is something new, unusual and different for me. As an entrepreneur, I’ve enjoyed my time. Having said this, everything has ups and downs. I enjoyed being an entrepreneur and trying my hand at business was always my plan B. but my plan A, by God’s grace, is still on. Whatever you want to do or set your mind on, make sure you have the right intent, energy, bandwidth, and mind space to follow them. So that’s my piece of advice. 

After having a biological son, you adopted a cute little daughter next. What prompted you to do this and how is it different?

I think I am very very privileged, blessed and lucky that I can have a journey like this. Everybody doesn’t get the opportunity to be a parent of a biological child and an adopted child. Sometimes I look back at moments when I’ve been the happiest. I strive to be happy for no reason and I have my favourite moments where my joy is at its peak. I feel love when I have one child in one arm and the other child in the other arm. I wonder how blessed I am and I think to myself about how special my life’s journey has been. I have the experience of having a child whom I created in my stomach and the other who was created in someone else’s stomach but now is mine. This is incredible. This is the most beautiful experience anyone can ever have. I urge all prospective parents to really consider this because it is such an incredible and rewarding experience. I cannot put it into words. So do think about it.  It changed my mind in the most beautiful way and I’m sure it will do the same to you too.

We have always seen you present yourself in a very dignified manner without getting into banters. How do you manage to keep the criticism and trolls at bay without losing your cool?

Being in the public eye comes with its pros and cons. Over the years I’ve developed a thick skin. During the years when I was hosting cricket, there were a lot of people who liked me and there were a lot more who did not like me. I realized that not everybody has to like me. For the people who like me, support and give me love, there’s always immense love and gratitude, and for the ones who don’t, there’s no negativity. For me, I’ve learned and reached a space of no reaction. If you don’t like me that’s fine. I don’t understand why people follow me on Instagram if they don’t like me. Some people do it to spread negativity and get attention. And I believe if you give them attention, it is a victory for them. So that’s the way I respond to them or don’t respond to them. That’s how I deal with it. 

What should your fans be expecting of you in the near future? 

I am looking into a lot of scripts, and a lot of interesting roles are coming my way. Surprisingly a lot of horror roles are coming my way which is weird because I don’t like that genre at all. I’ve been offered 3 horror films out of which 2 are not so gory. So I am thinking about them. The other one has exorcism and all which is a definite no-no for me. Presently, I am shooting for a very sweet role in a web series, where I’ll be looking completely different from what I have done so far. So that’s one thing I’m looking forward to. Apart from that, I’m doing a lot of brand work and commercials. I’m enjoying every single day of my life. I get offered wonderful roles at wonderful locations with varied and different work. Today I’m here at Konark for an award show in this stunning location, tomorrow I’m doing a home shoot,  the day after I’m doing an interview-based programme, next week I’m hosting a show and I’ll be interviewing people just like you. So there are no two days in my life that are similar. And for that, I’m so grateful. 

Any message for your Odia fans out there.

Odisha and its people are the best. Mostly my trips are to Bhubaneswar and every time I come here, I’m welcomed with so much love and warmth. Coming to Odisha is always fulfilling. I get to explore, see, and learn new things on every visit. This is such a  beautiful land and such amazing people. So a big thank you to all of you for being so warm and welcoming. I look forward to many more visits here, to this part of India. It is such an amazing place. I don’t understand why people are so caught up in travelling outside of India when our country has such awesome places. I love it here.