Bollywood has its own place in the world and is widely accepted: Kabir Bedi

Kabir Bedi is t India’s first International celebrity. Much before Irrfan Khan and Priyanka Chopra and Shekhar Kapur gained prominence internationally, Bedi was known as India’s representative in world cinema. The actor, now 69 years old, recently launched the DVD box set of ‘Sandokan’- a show that catapulted him to stardom in Europe in the 1970s .

Speaking to IBNLive.com, Bedi revealed that how he was personally involved in restoring the mini series that came out first in 1976. “I was involved in the creative aspect of the restoration. Lot of negatives of the series had to restored.” The show was aired on DD in the 1980s but found little audience owing to its time slot (it was aired at 10 pm). Has he thought of taking the show to a channel now, we ask. “Well, I have been busy so far in getting the DVDs launched. But maybe now I will approach some channel. Lets see,” said the veteran actor who made his debut in 1971 in a film called ‘Hulchul’.

‘Sandokan’ featured Bedi as an Indian prince turned pirate who fights oppressive British rule for the freedom of his people and the woman he loves. The mini series took Latin America and Europe by storm when it had released. “The writer of the series wanted someone good looking, tall and Asian for the title role. They were in Bombay to scout for actors and I was the first actor they met here. At that time, my film ‘Kachche Dhaage’ had released and was doing well and my performance was getting noticed by people. They approached me for ‘Sandokan’ and I decided to give it a shot. Of course, I had to go and audition for the role in Rome before we began filming,” said the actor.

Bedi also reveals that he never thought of remaking the show in India. “I gained prominence because of the show and then got busy with other projects, so never thought of remaking it. Beside the series was shot as a film. The production value was really high for the series at that time.”

Bedi feels that over the years, the acceptance for Bollywood actors and films has increased across the world. “The west now writes roles for Indian actors. There is a lot of acceptance for Bollywood films across the world now. Song and dance routines in our films are not questioned anymore, and it’s a genre of its own in the west. From the time I started working to now, the reach of Bollywood has increased immensely.” Bedi also feels happy to see actors like Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan and Priyanka Chopra gaining prominence internationally. “They are doing incredible work.”

The actor who has done films like ‘Khoon Bhari Maang’, ‘Octupussy’, in the past will soon be seen in ‘Dilwale’. “It is a small role but a pivotal one,” said Bedi and added, “Vinod Khanna and I play the older generation and what happens between the two of us forms the basis of the story.” The actor is also excited about Ashutosh Gowarikar’s ‘Mohenjodaro’ of which he is part of. “There are a few international projects as well, not sure if they will release in India but 2016 is going to be a busy year for me,” said the actor.