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Early life
Pooja Bedi was born in Bombay, India to a noted Indian classical danseuse, the late Protima and an international film star, Kabir Bedi. She was brought up in a very unconventional way and was literally allowed to have her own way. She loves water sports.
In 1997 her brother Siddharth tragically committed suicide at the age of 26. The following year there was another tragedy for her family when her mother Protima was killed in a landslide while on a pilgrimage in the Himalayas.
She received her basic education at the acclaimed Lawrence School, Sanawar, where she spent quite a few years.
Career
From 1991 to 1995, she worked in Bollywood movies, did many commercials and campaigns. She is best remembered for the Kama Sutra condom campaign which she endorsed and used as a medium to talk about AIDS awareness. A popular person, she was considered the poster girl for the new breed of liberated and independent women emerging in India.
She has taken part in theater in plays such as the smash box office hits Carry on Papa, Wow what a girl and a Bengali Jatra.
She made her film debut with Jag Mundhra's 1991 film Vishkanya. She went on act in her most popular film to date, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992) with Aamir Khan. After appearances in a few more films such as Lootere (1993) and Aatank Hi Aatank (1995).
Currently she is hosting a Celebrity talk show formerly titled Not just Page 3 and now known as Just Pooja. It is being telecast on the channel, zOOm. She has won multiple awards for this show.
In 2000, she complied and edited, "Timepass", the memoirs of her late mother, Protima Bedi. She is currently also a Saturday columnist with the Times of India newspaper and has been a columnist for Midday newspaper as well as written articles for numerous publications like L'officiel, Femina and The Week.
In 2007, she participated in a dance contest Jhalak Dikhlaja on Sony Entertainment Television (based on Dancing with the Stars) and has since taken up Latin American ballroom dancing. She now performs with boy friend Hanif Hilal at events and functions all across the globe. She will be participating with him in a popular dance contest Nach Baliye (Season 3) on STAR PLUS.
She is a brand ambassador to Allergan India and the Country Club (CCIL INDIA) oh
Controversies
On May 13, 2000 she interviewed Amitabh Bachchan for the Amul India Show, an interview which offended the Big B so much so that he threatened to walk out of the Kaun Banega Crorepati if the interview was ever aired "She had asked the big B why was his hair always black and his beard white, this was an obvious question many wanted to ask but she did so but this question offended BIG B a lot and he threatened to walk out of the show and also directed the producer to cut it, she was also given a KILL YOU look by BIG B. As a result it was cancelled, Pooja was blamed for not conducting the interview properly, which Pooja denies, and she wrote a letter to Mr. Bachchan inter alia referring to him as 'Big B = Big Baby and Big Bully", and of finding him grumpy, inarticulate, defensive, even though she did not question about the failure of ABCL nor of his involvement in BOFORS. Amitabh knew that POOJA was a eye witness in the lokhandwala shootout but he denied an offer to Pooja from the producers to act in the movie "SHOOTOUT AT LOKHANDWALA and told them to take Rakhi sawant instead.
Personal life
She quit acting after her marriage to Farhan Ebrahim in 1995 whom she later divorced after 7 years in 2002. She is mother of two children, Aalia (born 28 November 1997) and Omar (born 19 February 2000).
Commitments
Pooja Bedi supports a few charities:
1) Habitat for Humanity She helped build 78 homes as part of maharashtra govt disaster relief response for flood affected Tribals in association with Rotary.
2) HIV/ AIDS awareness The Kamasutra Condom campaign. The 1991 charity event with Richard Gere and Parmeshwar Godrej. There were various appearances on television in 1997 with sex workers. She starred in 3 music videos with BBC/Levi Strauss/Orange beat street to spread awareness.
3) Breast Cancer Awareness In 2005 she worked with Tat memorial foundation to raise funds at charity auction.
4) Street children She is actively involved on the fund raiser committee for Plan India 2007. The committee has raised over $300,000. She has also hosted the event and walked the ramp for the cause.
5) World Vision of India She supports 6 children every month.
6) Save Mumbai campaign She is an active voice and participated in the green sapling drive, redevelopment/infrastructure issues etc.
List of her Works
Film
| Film Title phir teri kahani yaad hia | Role | Director | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jo Jeeta Wohi sikandar | Lead actress | Mansoor khan | Lead actress | Dharmesh Darshan |
| Vishkanya | Lead actress | Jagmohan Mundhra | ||
| Aatank hi Aatank | Guest appearance | Dilip Shankar | ||
| Chittemanmugdu (telegu) | Supporting actress | co starring Mohan Babu |
Television
| Show | Role | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Not Just Page 3 | Anchor | Zoom Tv |
| Just Pooja (award winning talk show) | Anchor | Zoom Tv |
| Jhalak Dikhlaja | celebrity contestant | Sony Tv |
| Heartbeat | celebrity contestant | Star Tv |
| Mum tum aur hum | celebrity contestant (won) | Star Tv |
| Jodee Kamaal ki | celebrity contestant (won) | Star Tv |
| Nach Baliye | Celebrity contestant | Star Tv |
| Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi | Celebrity contestant | Colors |
Commercials
| Title | Role | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Kamasutra condoms | model | JK industries |
| Frooti (drink) | model | Parle industries |
Theater
| Play | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Wow What a Girl | lead role | Akhil Mishra |
| Carry on Papa | Lead actress | Dinyar contractor/shirish Patel |
| Adalate Nirobh Sakshi (Bengali Jatra) | Leading role |
Modeling
| Product | Role | Designer |
|---|---|---|
| Nisha Jamwal couture | celebrity model | Nisha Jamwal |
| Allergan | brand ambassador | Allergan India |
| Country Club India | brand ambassador | Allergan India |
| Kamasutra condoms | model | JK industries |
| Tacfab | model | Tacfab |
Informercial
| Cause | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Poverty housing | Celebrity support | Habitat for Humanity |
| HIV/AIDS music video | Celebrity support | Candywalk (levis strauss foundation) |
| Haath se Haath Milaa (HIV/AIDS awareness) | Celebrity support | BBC world service trust |
Hosting
| Product | Role | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Narayan infinity | compere | launch of township |
| Casa Estebana | compere | launch of luxurious villas |
| Swatch | host: who wants to be a swatchonnaire | |
| ernst and young | host | |
| ICI dulux paints | host and performer | |
| Gant Clothing | host and guest list | |
| Indo American chamber of Commerce | compere | Ashley Judd AIDS/HIV Awareness event |
Music
| Video | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Passion of Angaar | Celebrity / dancer | Times music |
| Dil Dhadke music video | Celebrity / lead girl | Baba Sehgal (magnasound) |
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