Veteran actor Kabir Bedi, known for his stellar performances in Bollywood and Hollywood films, was awarded the Filming Italy Movie Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival in September 2022. His extensive body of work in Italy include the super-hit TV series Sandokan and six other major series. Kabir Bedi’s prolific career in Bollywood includes memorable performances in films like Kuchhe Dhaage, Ishk Ishk Ishk, and Nagin.
In Hollywood, he is known for titles such as The Bold and the Beautiful, Dynasty, Murder, She Wrote, Magnum, P.I., Hunter, Knight Rider and Highlander: The Series. He played the lead in The Thief of Baghdad and appeared in pivotal roles in Ashantias well as Octopussy.
In a conversation with The Pioneer’s SHIKHA DUGGAL, Kabir Bedi shares treasured moments from this personal life, defining moments of his professional life, and more. Kabir Bedi has seen many ups and downs in his life.
The much-married actor (four times) had quite a few relationships during his younger days. Bedi had two children with Protima: actor Pooja Bedi and Siddharth Bedi. Siddharth died in 1997 at the age of 26. He has another son, Adam, with his second wife Susan. Kabir also had a long relationship with actor Parveen Babi, though they never married. Presently he is happily married with Parveen Dosanjh.
KEEPING PARENTS’ LEGACY ALIVE
My parents moved to Kashmir in 1947. My father Baba Bedi was the most trusted adviser of one of the political leaders. Our family looked like a caravan of gypsies! My parents were freedom-fighters. My father was a Communist. My mother was hand-picked by Mahatma Gandhi for satyagraha. While in my mother’s arms, I became a part of the resistance since she used to hide me under her burqa. She used to slip out of the house by the backdoor to carry messages to underground Kashmiri nationalists. My mother didnot stop there. When India and Pakistan continued to fight after Independence, she cared for refugees of the war in makeshift camps.
THE ONE WHO MADE HIS CHILDHOOD DAYS COLORFUL
Then we settled into our new home along the Dal Lake. My father had written a landmark new Kashmir Constitution countering the Pakistani propaganda. But the Communist party to which he belonged later expelled him for writing it. They wanted to attain its goals through a violent revolution.
Moving on, in 1949, my mother gave birth to my sister Gulhima. Our nanny used to put us to sleep with Kashmiri lullabies. I started to resist going to school for fear of the unknown. My parents had to walk me around the grounds on a pony for a week before I agreed to go for classes.
SON’S SUICIDE
Siddharth was born on 10th January 1972. Protima knew I had conflicting feelings before his birth. From the day he was born, I embraced Siddharth as my son and loved him like a father. He was a sensitive boy, soft-spoken and fascinated by computers. He grew up to be kind, loyal and loving. Protima told him of my doubts during his college years; it must have been terrible for him. I don’t know why she told him; he didnot need to know.
When we walked along Santa Monica Beach, red flags of warning went up when my son first talked to me of suicide! Something began to warp his mind, it traumatized him. We struggled to heal him for three years. His doctor called me to give a shattering news: Siddarth was schizophrenic. I took him to my Victorian home. The best doctors of Los Angeles were treating him. But why was he talking of suicide? I had seen his moods change often enough. He started wondering about starving himself to death or how his medications would interact with not eating food. He was losing hope.
He didnot like to show vulnerability. He became offensive, aggressive, and irrational. He fled for three weeks; we lost track of him. He returned in a few weeks but was caught in the realities he had feared. After a few months, meanwhile when doctors were stunning his brain and incapacitated him – I went onto check on him to his room upstairs. He was dead.
His head was covered by a plastic bag fastened around his neck by a rubber band. We all stood at the edge of the ocean, aching with the loss of our son, a brother.
A NEW ADVENTURE
Later, I was jobless and broke. My father was a philosopher. My mother was running a school on charity. I took a bold decision and pursued my cinematic dreams. One of my elite boarding schools gave me life-long friends like Ajitabh Bachchan. I used to skip classes at times to ride horses around the lake. When I set on my journey to Mumbai in 1967, ‘Aunty Indu’ had become Prime Minister of India. Zakir Hussain had become India’s first Muslim President. Vietnam war was on. Mohammed Ali refused military service and was stripped of his boxing championship titles.
MOVING ON WASN’T EASY
Then, Protima’s absence gave me time to think. Parveen Babi filled that void. Initially, I had thought of her as the girlfriend of Danny Denzongpa. Morally she was a conservative Gujarati girl. But she believed in sexual fidelity. A relationship began when I least expected it with an uncanny coincidence. I was more than willing to stay with her, but I had to think of my children too. They needed to be told gently.
I couldnot hold on to my marriage for their sake any longer. Moreover, Parveen’s agitated state made me feel I’ll lose her if I continue to stay with Protima. I divorced Protima, but never my children. But they couldnot take the emotional pain of our break-up. When I moved abroad for work, the children saw even less of me. And, in a tragic twist of fate, my relationship with Parveen also ended in 1977. And I lost Protima too. I was in India when she passed away in 1998. She died in an avalanche that struck her camp on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash. They never found her body; only her passport was found.
CURIOUS ABOUT A SUPERMODEL
I met Protimafor the first time when I was working at a multinational advertising company. When Protima faced me, I was struck by her! But I had made a strict rule for myself: no dating models. During my absence, she would skip into my cabin and check out my diary for schedules. Naturally we started chatting. My love life was complicated – I was informally engaged to my girlfriend in Delhi. She was a married American. It was a no-strings-attached affair, a way of experiencing life before I got married. While with Protima, my resolve not to date a model was wavering. The trauma of her father’s death cemented our relationship. I felt duty-bound to shelter her, she moved in with me.
CONQUERED DELHI WITH RAJIV & SANJAY GANDHI
My earliest memories were of Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi in Delhi. We became friends at my first school over there! Sanjay Gandhi was more introverted; he often invited me home on his birthday. Their home looked like a vast palace to me. I learned to ride horses with them on the lawns of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
I never imagined then that my friends would shape India’s history so decisively in the decades ahead. Another popular moment back then was when the Delhi Public School had been founded as a school for the children of thousands of refugees who had moved to Delhi after the Partition. It was housed in tents. Can you imagine? Rajiv Gandhi was easygoing.
A SCOOP RUINED
Then I left my hometown and freelanced for the All India Radio, which was government monopoly back then. I was an avid Beatles fan too. I was the only Indian reporter to get a chance to interviewthem in their hotel room. Interviewing The Beatles was my biggest scoop as a reporter. But my biggest disappointment was yet to come. When I asked AIR staff for a copy of the interview, they couldnot find the tape. My interview with Beatles had been erased! That cost my relationship with All India Radio.
MESMERIZING CHARM &OOZING TALENT ABROAD
In early 1974, the Italians landed in Mumbai. They were looking for an actor to play the role of ‘Sandokan’, a fictional Asian pirate. They called me to Rome for the audition and I bagged the role! Leaving tumultuous dramas of my emotional life, I started shooting for it in Malaysia. It was an opportunity of a lifetime and I wanted to excel. But I also wanted my children to see me in action. So, I flew them to Malaysia on the first trip abroad. They returned to India with stories of papa as a pirate in Malaysia. (Laughs)
MESMERIZING CHARM &OOZING TALENT ABROAD
In early 1974, the Italians landed in Mumbai. They were looking for an actor to play the role of ‘Sandokan’, a fictional Asian pirate. They called me to Rome for the audition and I bagged the role! Leaving tumultuous dramas of my emotional life, I started shooting for it in Malaysia. It was an opportunity of a lifetime and I wanted to excel. But I also wanted my children to see me in action. So, I flew them to Malaysia on the first trip abroad. They returned to India with stories of papa as a pirate in Malaysia. (Laughs)
DESIRE, BELIEF & POSITIVE ATTITUDE
At Bensons, I was at my creative best. My commercials were being loved. Clients even loved my launch for Bru Instant Coffee. I was also picked by other agencies as a model for advertisement campaigns. I was the new face of ITC’s newest cigarette brand. I was put on billboards across India. Zeenat Aman and I did a beautiful commercial for Cinthol. I was soon hailed as India’s most famous male model!
UNEXPECTED TIDINGS
When Protima said she was pregnant, I reacted angrily and raised my voice. I chose to marryher because she was pregnant. Protima and I married when she was two months pregnant. I couldnot afford a big wedding; nobody got an invitation. By then, my mother had become a Buddhist nun. She sanctified our union as Buddhist monks chanted sutras. She embraced Protima as my wife.
FIRST FILM DIDNOT MAKE THE RIGHT BUZZ
My first film ‘Hulchul’was a rude introduction to Bollywood. My director’s last film ‘Phool aur patthar’had catapulted Dharmendra to stardom. I signed the movie believing I was the hero. I wasnot. I was one of three supporting actors. The same fate befell Zeenat Aman too. Hulchul flopped at the box office, but neither Zeenat nor I got the blame. However, my working in Bollywood led to troubles at home. Protima became fiercely competitive. She viewed my success with mixed emotions. She hated it when actresses made eyes at me!
HAPPIEST DAY OF HIS LIFE
Pooja was born. My misgivings on having a child at a young age were banished by the love I felt for Pooja. Juhu beach was the centre of my new life. I didnot want Pooja to grow up on the sidewalks; so, we moved to a beach-front house. Many Bollywood producers and film stars also lived at the same place. We made a ‘Juhu gang’, including people like Shekhar Kapur, Mahesh Bhatt, Danny Denzongpa, Parveen Babi, Shabana Azmi, and Ketan Anand.
RETURN FROM HOLLYWOOD
Hollywood became devasting for me. India resurrected me. The emotional pain of my son’s suicide was crippling me. My daughter Pooja’s presence brought some joy into my life. But I was still sleepwalking through life. I failed all my auditions. I went into depression too. The death of my son was a wound that wouldnot heal. Then my investment mistakes came to a head and wiped me out completely. My credit cards reached their limits! It broke my heart when I had to sell my Bulgari gold necklace. In 1999, I filed for bankruptcy in Los Angeles. It ended my dreams of Hollywood.
A SOUL-BROTHER IN MAHESH BHATT
Mahesh Bhatt was a soul brother with a creative mind. He asked profound questions and looked for deep answers. Sometimes we would drift down to the beach exchanging thoughts on the universe. The spiritual supermarket led him first to Osho, the controversial New Age Guru, and then to the anti-guru UG Krishnamurthy. Mahesh was bound to be a prolific director. He was nominated for many Filmfare awards, but he never stopped talking philosophy.
HAPPY ENDING
Then Bollywood offered me more roles. I shot with Akshay Kumar, Sunny Deol and Priyanka Chopra. Bollywood made me happier. I loved being in India. And then an exceptional girl walked into my life at an after-party in Soho: Parveen Dusanj. We began a genuine friendship. We both had Sikh roots. I was drawn to her idealistic social beliefs. I was impressed she advised the British government on minorities and the downtrodden.
Affectionately, I call her “vee”. We began dating! But her family wasnot thrilled at this prospect; because I was fifty-nine & much-married, while she was thirty-one. I didnot want to repeat my mistakes. I wanted people to give her the respect that girlfriends donot get in India. We had planned a Sikh ceremony, but the gurudwaras in Mumbai refused to marry me. Because I have cut my hair. It upset me! So, we married in a Vedic ceremony in Alibaug.
