Pooja Bedi

QAMYAB – THE FORGOTTEN GEMS OF BOLLYWOOD

Qamyab is our humble tribute to all those lesser-known actors, one hit wonders and junior artists who we see umpteen times but don’t know about; beyond their faces. These actors have been an integral part of Bollywood but didn’t get their due. This series is our sincere attempt to put a name to these faces, familiarize them to our readers and celebrate their achievements in life – however big or small. We believe that every artist contributes in his/her own way to the cinema’s success. Qamyab will explore the unknown lives of such actors and artists as we believe even these forgotten gems of Bollywood deserve their due recognition today.

Quite a few heroines have attained name and fame in Bollywood for their bold and brazen attitude as well as unabashed exposure. These ladies were inevitably labelled sex symbols of the industry. We had Mumtaz, Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi, who ruled the ’70s and ’80s.

The early ’90s saw one more addition to this bold and beautiful list. She was the daughter of well-known actor Kabir Bedi, who had made an impression in Bollywood as well as Hollywood cinema including a pivotal appearance in the James Bond movie Octopussy (1983). Yes, you guessed her right. Our forgotten gem for today, is the ever-gorgeous Pooja Bedi.

Born on 11th May, 1970 in Bombay (now Mumbai) to the late classical dancer Protima and actor Kabir Bedi, Pooja is of Sikh- British ancestry on her father’s side and Bengali- Haryanvi ancestry from the mother’s end. Her parents separated when she was just five years old and Pooja was raised by Protima. She studied at Besant Montessori School, Mumbai and later at The Lawrence School, Sanawar and was an active participant in sports as well as the top ranker in school. Pooja was brought up in a progressive and broad-minded environment and was said to be bright as well as rebellious, right since her childhood.

Initially, Pooja aspired to be a Wallstreet executive and spent some time in USA but somehow, dropped the plan as she didn’t like the ‘American’ way of life. She returned back to India and decided to do modelling.

Pooja Bedi started modelling from the late ’80s and one of her first advertising campaigns itself, created a tremendous controversy that time. It was the Kamasutra condom ad in which she and fellow model Marc Robinson were seen engaging in a torrid lovemaking act. The commercial was too hot for those times and led to a call for a ban. Pooja later stated that she endorsed the condom brand as a vehicle to raise AIDS awareness.

The Kamasutra ad garnered lot of attention for Pooja and she signed a few Hindi movies. Of course, Pooja took a formal training in acting, brushed up her Hindi language and diction as well as enrolled in dance classes to become fit enough for the conventional Bollywood. Her debut turned out to Jag Mundhra’s sensuous revenge drama Vishkanya in 1991, which had Pooja in the titular role. While the film flopped at the box office, Pooja Bedi got a lot of attention for her bold scenes in it.

Her next release titled Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992) became her career best performance. The film was an Archies inspired sports drama, which had Pooja playing a Veronica styled rich girl opposite the hero Aamir Khan. Her Marilyn Monroe inspired skirt moment in the song ‘Pehla Nasha’ led to ‘ceetis’ and claps in the movie theatres. There is an interesting incident behind this song as well. Seems Pooja was finding it difficult to match her steps in the song and so, a studio fan was brought and her red dress was made to blow while she was standing on the car leading to that all time iconic moment of Bollywood. Pooja earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Filmfare Awards, 1993 for her performance.

Pooja was instantly labelled Bollywood’s new sex symbol and compared to yesteryear actors Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi. Her westernized attitude and bohemian lifestyle filled up the gossip columns. She was linked up with actor Aditya Pancholi in those days.

Next, Pooja made a mighty mark in a small role in Dharmesh Darshan’s Lootere (1993), in which her character is shown lusting after Naseeruddin Shah. The same year, she appeared in Mahesh Bhatt’s TV film Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee opposite Rahul Roy.

On 6th May, 1994, Pooja Bedi surprised everyone by marrying Farhan Furniturewala, a Gujarati Muslim businessman, whom she dated since 1990. Pooja converted to Islam upon marriage taking the name Noorjahan. However, till date, she is called and referred as Pooja only.

Post marriage, Pooja left her Bollywood career to settle down in marital bliss. Her last Bollywood movie appearance remains Dilip Shankar’s long delayed Aatank Hi Aatank (1995), where she teamed up again with Aamir Khan in a small role and was billed as a guest. The film bombed badly at the box office.

Interestingly, Pooja’s dad Kabir Bedi appeared in her first film Vishkanya as well as the last release Aatank Hi Aatank. But in both these films, the father- daughter didn’t share screen space together.

In 2000, Pooja released a memoir of her mother Protima Bedi titled Timepass, which she also compiled and edited. She considers Protima to be her role model.

The same year, she landed herself in a bit of controversy when her interview with Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan for the Amul India Show (2000) wasn’t aired on Star TV after he felt uncomfortable answering some questions asked by Pooja. It seems these questions weren’t part of the questionnaire list circulated to him earlier. Pooja Bedi reacted strongly to this incident by writing an open letter to Mr. Bachchan. It was much later that they met at a function and patched up.

Pooja’s marriage with Farhan couldn’t survive the test of time and they divorced in 2003. The reason for this separation was undisclosed to the media and it was said to be mutual. In a rather bold decision, Pooja didn’t accept any alimony from Farhan and chose to be a single parent. She has two children from Farhan, actress Alaya F and son Omar. In one of her later interviews, Pooja claimed to share an amicable relationship with Farhan and her children and they still go out for lunches and holidays together. Her daughter Alaya F is an upcoming actor in Bollywood and won the Filmfare Best Debut award for Jawaani Jaaneman (2020).

Post divorce from Farhan, Pooja Bedi turned to television and participated in quite a few reality shows starting with Nach Baliye in 2005 and Jhalak Dikhla Jaa in 2006. She was part of the action-packed series Khatron Ke Khiladi as well. In 2011, Pooja was a celebrity contestant in Bigg Boss Season 5 and survived eight long weeks in the house before getting evicted. Pooja has also anchored many TV shows including Popcorn (2003), Just Pooja (2004) and Not Just Page 3 (2004). She has been the brand ambassador for The Country Club of India, Allergan (India) and the Kaya Skin Clinic.

On the personal front, Pooja Bedi was rumoured to be dating her choreographer Hanif Hilal, when she participated in Jhalak Dikhla Jaa and actor Akashdeep Saigal during Bigg Boss. In 2019, she got engaged to her long-time boyfriend Maneck Contractor, who owns a famous beach resort and restaurants in Goa.