JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Woman Up S3 Exclusive: Here's why Mandira Bedi decided to stay away from movies for a long time post DDLJ
During her interview with Pinkvilla, Mandira Bedi opened up on being offered sisters’ roles post Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.
International Women’s Day is approaching and like every year, Pinkvilla has come up with a new season of Woman Up. In the third season of our annual segment, we spoke with several remarkable women in the industry. In the third episode, we had a candid chat with the very talented actress Mandira Bedi. During her interview with Pinkvilla, she opened up on the kind of roles she was offered post Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. She also candidly talked about Shanti, a famous character she played in a daily soap.
Mandira said, “What a character (Shanti), I got to play because it was such a strong character. I think when you have a starting point like that sometimes the character that you play rub off on you as well.”
She further spoke about the atmosphere on sets for women during her initial career. She said, “Things were very different back then. Around the time when Shanti and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge happened... the thing is women were stereotyped back at that time. So, on TV I was playing this very strong character. But, in films, it happened that if you are playing somebody’s sister or sister-in-law or a second lead, then you are a kind of typecast to play those kinds of roles only. Post Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, I was offered only those kinds of roles in the film industry...the shy girl... I didn’t want to play these characters because I was playing this very strong character on television. For a while, I didn’t do any movies after DDLJ...”
She also told Pinkvilla that women had written emails and postcards telling how much they love Shanti and they want to be like her.
On being asked about how people treated her as an actor and as an anchor, Mandira said, “As an anchor, nobody ever bargained with me. I have really always chosen what I wanted to do... I still don’t what to quote for a certain project or what my worth is. Now, I have reached the stage where I look at my entire body of work and the time period, I have been in the business and I quote what I want and get close to that.”
Watch Mandira Bedi’s full interview here:
ALSO READ: Woman Up S3 EXCLUSIVE: Mandira Bedi REVEALS the kind of roles she was offered due to her short hair
