Monica Bedi is an Indian actress who has worked in several television serials and Bollywood movies. Monica Bedi made her acting debut in the mid-1990. She is popularly known for taking part in India’s most talked reality television show Bigg Boss 2. Notably, Monica Bedi is one of a few Bollywood actors who have led a controversial past and went to jail for some illegal activities.
Bedi was born on 18 January 1975 in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district. She was merely four-year-old when her parents Dr Prem Kumar Bedi and Shakuntala Bedi decided to move to Norway. Speaking about Bedi’s education, she completed her acting education from Delhi University and studied literature from Oxford University (UK).
Monica Bedi’s Bollywood debut
Monica Bedi debuted in the film industry with Telugu film ‘Taj Mahal’ which was directed by the legendary D Rama Naidu. Her debut film turned out to be lucky for herself. Yes, she got her first Bollywood project in the same year 1995. Bedi’s Bollywood’s debut was Surakshaa, which featured Suniel Shetty, Saif Ali Khan and Aditya Pancholi. However, the film did not live up to the expectation of the audience and fared poorly at the box office window.
Ever since the 20’s century started, Monica Bedi decided to keep herself away from the Bollywood industry. The reason for keeping herself away from Hindi films was her controversial personal life.
According to reports, Monica Bedi and Abu Salem’s love story started in the late ’90s during a Dubai show. Salem would allegedly make calls to Bollywood filmmakers to cast her.
Monica Bedi and Abu Salem were arrested on forged documents case
In the year 2002, Monica Bedi and Abu Salem were arrested and served a jail sentence in Portugal for entering the country on forged documents. In 2006, an Indian Court convicted Bedi for procuring a passport on a fictitious name. In November 2010, the Supreme Court of India upheld her conviction but reduced the jail term to the period that she had already served.
Monica Bedi and Abu Salem were deported after a nearly four-year-long legal battle, only once India assured that Salem would not get the death penalty. On her return to India, Monica Bedi was jailed and only released in Hyderabad in July 2007. She made all possible efforts to re-start her Bollywood career and she took part in ‘Bigg Boss’ season 2 and ‘Jhalak Dikhlaa Ja’.
During Bigg Boss show, her fellow inmate Rahul Mahajan expressed an interest to take their alleged relationship to the next level. However, nothing worked out between Monica Bedi and Rahul Mahajan.
Monica Bedi had confessed once that she had joined Bigg Boss with an aim “to start life afresh” and the industry gradually warmed up to the idea of working with her. Today she might be in the industry but she has failed to achieve the same fame and adulation that she had in the 1990’s. She was starred in the show Saraswatichandra in 2013-2014 and later in 2015 she featured in Bandhan.
Monica Bedi revealed in an interview that her mother suffered a paralytic attack when she was in jail but today she has helped her mum get back on her feet and ensures that she follows a healthy routine.
As she was born in Punjab, she has also worked in several films Punjabi films. She starred in Sirphire, Romeo Ranjha and Bandookan.
During the 90s she worked in many Bollywood movies opposite some of Bollywood’s leading actors. She starred in films namely – Aashique Mastane, Khilona, Ek Phool Teen Kante, Tirchhi Topiwale, Zanjeer, Kalicharan, Jaanam Samjha Karo, Jodi No.1 and Pyaar, Ishq Aur Mohabbat.