Mandira Bedi in a still from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. (courtesy: Reddit)

New Delhi:

Mandira Bedi, who became a household name after featuring in the cult serial Shanti, recently said she wants to portray substantial roles on sceen in an interview with ETimes. Mandira Bedi complained she has been mostly offered roles of a host or a presenter nowadays. Speaking to ETimes, she said, “If there’s one thing that I’m really missing, it’s acting. After doing the web show The Railway Men, I realised how much I missed being in front of the camera. People offer me roles to play a cricket presenter or a news anchor, but I turn them down. I want to do a good role, I miss acting. It’s like people have completely forgotten that I’m an actor.”

Mandira also talked about breaking the “glass ceiling” when she opted for the role of a presenter. But she also mentioned taking up the role of a presenter dried up her acting opportunities. “After nine years of acting in TV shows, I thought of taking a sabbatical in 2003, but coincidentally, the Cricket World Cup was taking place that year and I got an opportunity to host that. It changed things for me. It was nice to break the glass ceiling, but after that nobody saw me as an actor anymore, people only saw me as a host,” Mandira said.

Mandira Bedi has an illustrious career on television. She acted in shows like Shanti, Ghar Jamai, Dushman, CID. She acted in films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Shaadi Ka Laddoo, Dus Kahaniyaan, Vodka Diaries, The Tashkent Files. She was last seen in the Netflix original The Railway Men. She was a part of reality shows like Fame Gurukul, Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 2, Indian Idol Junior.