Monica Bedi (born 18 January 1975) is an Indian actress and television presenter. She debuted in Hindi films in the mid-1990s and her notable work includes ''

Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat ''Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (English: ''Love, Amour and Romance'') is a 2001 Indian Hindi romance film written and directed by Rajiv Rai and produced by Gulshan Rai under the Trimurti Films banner. The film was released on 3 August 2001, introd ...

'' and ''

Jodi No.1 ''Jodi No.1'' () is an Indian 2001 Hindi-language comedy film directed by David Dhawan. Released on 13 April 2001, the film stars Sanjay Dutt, Govinda, Anupam Kher, Twinkle Khanna and Monica Bedi. Budgeted at the film was a commercial succ ...

''. She is known for participating in ''

Bigg Boss 2 ''Bigg Boss 2'' is the second season of the Indian reality TV programme ''Bigg Boss''. It began airing on 21 August 2008 on Colors TV. The housemates, considered strangers to each other, spent 98 days locked up together under one roof under the ...

'' and '' Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 2'' and playing Gumaan Kaur Vyas in

Star Plus StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedi ...

's show '' Saraswatichandra''.

Early life

Bedi is a

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

and was born to Prem Kumar Bedi and Shakuntala Bedi in the village Chabbewal,

Hoshiarpur district Hoshiarpur district is a district of Punjab state in northern India. Hoshiarpur, one of the oldest districts of Punjab, is located in the North-east part of the Punjab state and shares common boundaries with Gurdaspur district in the north-we ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

. Her parents moved to

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konne ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

in 1979. She completed her education from

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

in 1995.

Prison Sentence

In September 2002, Bedi and

Abu Salem Abu Salem ( ; born Abu Salem Abdul Qayoom Ansari), also known as Aqil Ahmed Azmi and Abu Samaan, is an Indian criminal gangster and terrorist gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

were arrested and later served prison sentences in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

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 The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

upheld her conviction but reduced the prison sentence to the period that she had already served. Various newspaper including magazines had reported that Abu used his criminal power to get roles for Monica Bedi in Bollywood.

Career

Bedi got her first role in Telugu language film ''Taj Mahal'' (1995), produced by

D. Ramanaidu Daggubati Ramanaidu (6 June 1936 – 18 February 2015) was an Indian film producer known for his work in Telugu cinema. He founded Suresh Productions in 1964 which became of one of the largest film production companies in India. He was placed ...

. Ramanaidu also cast her in ''Sivayya'' and ''Speed Dancer''. She debuted in Bollywood in 1995 with ''

Surakshaa ''Surakksha'' (English: ''Protection'') is a 1979 Hindi- language film directed by Ravikant Nagaich. The film stars Mithun Chakraborty, Ranjeeta, Jeevan, Jagdeep, Iftekhar, and Aruna Irani. Based as a spy thriller (with hero's code of Gunmaste ...

''. Bedi was a participant in ''

Bigg Boss ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...

'' Season 2, a television reality show. She was one of the contestants of the reality shows ''Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 3'' and ''Desi Girl''. She sang the chants "EkOnkar" for a spiritual music album on Universal Music. Bedi acted in the Punjabi movie ''

Sirphire ''Sirphire'' is a 2012 Punjabi film directed by Harjit Ricky. It was released on 10 August 2012 and was choreographed by Tejas Dattani. Story The film follows six friends, including Priyanshu Chatterjee as the son of a rich Punjabi businessman, ...

'' (2012), directed by Harjit Singh Ricky. From 2013 to 2014, Bedi played a negative role of Ghumman in Star Plus' show '' Saraswatichandra''.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

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Monica Bedi
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedi, Monica Living people 1975 births Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Bengali cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Punjabi cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Indian film actresses Bigg Boss (Hindi TV series) contestants People from Hoshiarpur district Punjabi people