Kabir Bedi, one of the first Indian actors to work in Hollywood, was honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday. Bedi has done a lot of work in Italy and was also the lead in the all-time favourite TV show ‘Sandokan.’
According to reports, Bedi was honoured with the Filming Italy Movie Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Production Bridge. Bedi accepted the award in person and stated, ‘I have tried for many years to make people in Italy focus on India, and people in India focus on Italy. Since the time of ‘Sandokan,’ I’ve done over six major series in Italy, and not many people realise that really Bollywood and Hollywood are a far lesser part of my life than my career in Italy,’ he continued.
For years, the actor has acted as an unofficial bride in the cultural ties between India and Italy. Bedi stated that he quickly realised that he could not be a leading man in Bollywood unless he wanted to be a singing-dancing star and added, ‘So I decided to pursue a career abroad. And it was the Italians who gave me the chance to visit Italy by casting me in the iconic role of ‘Sandokan’.’
The television series, based on Emilio Salgari’s novels, premiered in 1976 and captured the Italian public imagination, garnering a record 34% audience share. It was followed by a number of subsequent series and films centred on the character. Tiziana Rocca, a producer and actor, and Roberto Stabile, the head of the international department of the Italian national audiovisual body ANICA, presented Bedi with the award.
Bedi’s early Bollywood hits include ‘Kuchhe Dhaage,’ ‘Ishk Ishk Ishk,’ and ‘Nagin,’ and he continues to have a successful career in that industry. In the United States, he had a long run on ‘The Bold and the Beautiful,’ as well as roles in ‘Dynasty,’ ‘Murder, She Wrote,’ ‘Magnum, P.I.,’ ‘Hunter,’ ‘Knight Rider,’ and ‘Highlander: The Series.’ He also played the lead in ‘The Thief of Bagdad,’ after appearing in ‘Ashanti’ and the James Bond film ‘Octopussy.’
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