From television to cricket, this beautiful lady has made a mark everywhere with her remarkable performance. The new face of Indian cricket, Mandira Bedi shares a few sweet memories of her formative years…
Although based in Mumbai, Mandira Bedi spent her kindergarten years at Modern School in Delhi. She came to Mumbai at the age of five, and since then till her class XII, she studied at the Cathedral and John Connon School, Fort in Mumbai. “I love my school, I am so thankful to my parents to put me into such a wonderful organisation. That’s where I was trained for life.” When asked about her favourite subjects at school, she says,”I don’t know about favourites, but I hated Maths and anything related to it. And hence I hated Physics and Chemistry too; I actually dreaded them. Maths was a complete No No!” She then says that she liked Geography and to some extent History, maps where something that really fascinated her. But given an opportunity she would love to quit Maths at any point of time. So she did, “In class XI and XII, I opted for Arts, and hence finally got rid of it,” she laughs. Sociology and Psychology were her favourite subjects then.
When asked about her teachers, Mandira has a list of them to appreciate. She makes special mention of her Maths teacher Miss Hallegua and Mrs Subramanium, who was her class teacher when she was in class IV. She loves and respects them both. “Miss Hallegua was the strictest teacher in the school, but a wonderful person. She taught us how to live a disciplined life, we loved as well as respected her. Mrs. Subramanium was my class teacher. She used to teach us all the subjects back then, I loved her a lot.” Lastly she talks about her role model, Mrs. Issaacs, her Psychology and English teacher in class XI and XII. Mandira liked her the most, she was the one who really influenced her life towards the better. She still remembers all her teachers a lot and is grateful to them for their unmatched contribution in her life.
Mandira was an average student while in school (Of course, since Maths never left her till class X), but she managed to score a good 75% marks in her class X examinations. But later, when she chose her favourite sujects in class XI and XII, she brilliantly scored a 90% in her class XII examinations. Contradictory to being academically well placed, Mandira was a naughty tot. “I was very mischievious. During parents-teachers meet, my parents were always complained about me disturbing other students and not letting them concentrate on studies,” she exclaims.
She has also done a lot of crazy things in school, and the craziest one comes this way. “Our school had a PCO to call parents during an emergency. There used to be a signboard placed near the telephone saying, ‘Please be brief’. Once, I picked up that board from the telephone and placed it on the teacher’s table before she came to the class. As soon as my teacher entered, she saw the sign and left the class right away, without taking the lecture. And we had a free period!,” she adds. But Mandira felt guilty about the incident and she still blames herself for her behaviour.
Mandira was a very active kid at school, right from debates, dramatics and elocutions, she has done it all. She used to play a host of games like hockey, basketball and throwball. The actress was also a master swimmer and won quite a lot of bronzes at interschool competitions. “During my school days, personalities like Shiamak Davar and Rajat Kapoor use to judge us for elocutions and debates. And we all used to be like wow!! Today, when I am called back to my school to judge these events, I really feel very proud and privileged that I went to such a wonderful school,” she reminsces. She was never inclined towards acting. After her graduation, Mandira opted for a Post Graduate course in Mass Communication. While doing her specialisation, she took up an apprentiseship under Prahlad Kakkar, and this was when the director of Shanti asked her for an audition. That’s how Mandira Bedi started off with her acting career and since then there has been no looking back.
“It was when I had been to Sri Lanka to watch a cricket tournament that the presenters of the next world cup were looking for female face. And that’s how I got selected for the job, and it clicked. I liked compeering the game, it was fun sitting with experts and discussing the minutes of the match,” adds the actress. Apart from Extra Innings, she also was one of the presenters for shows like Fame Gurukul and Deal Ya No Deal. She was also one of the main villians in the popular Balaji soap Kyunki…where she portrayed a character named Mandira.
She thinks that the youth today needs to be a little more focussed. “No matter what career you want to take up in the future, education is the must. It lays a base and acts as a backbone to your life. Especially for those who think that the industry is very glamourous and they too want to be a part of it. They think actors don’t need to study, but education is a must. At any point of life if you are not happy with the industry, you should have the backing of education which gives you a calibre to pursue a successful career later,” adds the actress. With this very important message, she comes to an end of an extremely exciting chat.