Kabir Bedi PROFILE
Kabir Bedi is one of the most famous international actors to have come out of India. In the James Bond film, “OCTOPUSSY” he played Gobinda, the villain who battled Roger Moore from start to finish. In Europe, his greatest success was the title role in “SANDOKAN”, a record-breaking Italian-German-French television series, the saga of a romantic Asian pirate and freedom fighter during British colonial times. Over a billion people in 149 countries saw Kabir as Prince Omar in “THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL”, one of the world’s most-watched television programmes, for over a year. Kabir is currently starring in the London West End musical adaptation of M.M. Kaye’s “THE FAR PAVILIONS”, directed by Gale Edwards, at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London. His earlier stage performances have included the “the mad king” in Girish Karnad’s historical “TUGHLAQ”, a raging self-destructive alcoholic in Vijay Tendulkar’s “THE VULTURES”, and an acclaimed portrayal of Shakespeare’s “OTHELLO”, directed by Alyque Padamsee. Kabir also stars in this summer’s epic Bollywood film, Akbar Khan’s “THE TAJ MAHAL”, as the embattled Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the world’s greatest monument to love. Over the last three decades Kabir has acted in over 60 Bollywood films: with starring roles in Raj Khosla’s super hit “KUCHCHE DHAAGE” and Mahesh Bhatt’s MANZILEIN AUR BHI HAIN”, Rakesh Roshan’s “KHOON BHARI MAANG” and many others. He also played a memorable Mafia Don in Feroz Khan’s “YALGAR”. Recently he played pivotal roles in Sharukh Khan blockbuster “MAIN HOON NA” and Dharmesh Darshan’s current Bollywood hit, “BEWAFA”. Kabir has the central role in a new Indo-British film, “TAKE 3 GIRLS”, directed by Baz Taylor, produced by Inspired Films, a human drama with humour, in the style of “Bend it like Beckham”, to be released in autumn this year. Last year Kabir had a lead role in an Italian film “ANDATA RITORNO”, directed by Marco Ponti, whose first film had won Italy’s most prestigious Donatello Award. In the past, Kabir has starred as Michael Caine’s tribal companion in “ASHANTI”, as the flamboyant Prince in “THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD”, and in the swashbuckling title role of “THE BLACK PIRATE” (IL CORSARO NERO), an Italian film. Kabir was seen a comic South American revolutionary in Bud Spencer’s Italian TV mini-series “WE ARE ANGELS” and played a major role in “THE BEAST OF WAR”, a film on the Russian war in Afghanistan, directed by Kevin Reynolds for Colombia Pictures. On American television, Kabir’s work includes “DYNASTY”, “MURDER SHE WROTE”, “MAGNUM P.I.”, “HUNTER”, “HIGHLANDER”, “STINGRAY”, “RIPTIDE”, “KNIGHT RIDER” and many key roles in highly-rated TV mini-series: Hallmark’s “FORBIDDEN TERRITORY: STANLEY’S SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTON”, Tom Clancy’s “OP CENTER”, both Ken Follett’s “ON WINGS OF EAGLES” and “RED EAGLE”. More recently, he was Friar Sands, a lead in “THE LOST EMPIRE”, a major NBC mini-series. Kabir is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (OSCARS), the American Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the British Equity Actors Union (EQUITY) and the Cine Artists Association of India. Kabir Bedi is based both in London and Bombay.