Monica Bedi

Monica Bedi (born 18 January 1975) is an Indian actress and television presenter who primarily appears in Hindi films. She has also worked in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Bengali films. Bedi debuted in Hindi films in the mid-1990s, with notable works including "Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat" and "Jodi No.1." She is known for participating in reality TV shows such as "Bigg Boss 2" and "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 3," and for her role as Gumaan Kaur Vyas in Star Plus's "Saraswatichandra." Bedi has received several accolades including Gold Awards, PTC Awards, TSA Awards, Bharat Ratna Dr. Ambedkar Award. In 2002, Bedi was convicted for using a forged document.

Early life
Bedi is a Punjabi and was born 18 January 1975 to Prem Kumar Bedi and Shakuntala Bedi in the village Chabbewal, Hoshiarpur district, Punjab. Her parents moved to Drammen, Norway in 1979. She studied English Literature and completed her education at Oxford University.

Prison Sentence
In September 2002, Bedi and Abu Salem, an Indian gangster were arrested and later served prison sentences in Portugal for entering the country on forged documents. In 2006, an Indian Court convicted Bedi for procuring a passport on a fictitious name. In November 2010, the Supreme Court of India upheld her conviction but reduced the prison sentence to the period that she had already served. Various newspaper including magazines had reported that Abu used his criminal power to get roles for Monica Bedi in Bollywood.

Career
Bedi got her first role in Telugu language film Taj Mahal (1995), produced by D. Ramanaidu. Ramanaidu also cast her in Sivayya and Speed Dancer. She debuted in Bollywood in 1995 with Surakshaa.

Bedi was a participant in Bigg Boss Season 2, a television reality show. She was one of the contestants of the reality shows Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 3 and Desi Girl.

She sang the chants "EkOnkar" for a spiritual music album on Universal Music.

Bedi acted in the Punjabi movie Sirphire (2012), directed by Harjit Singh Ricky.

From 2013 to 2014, Bedi portrayed the negative role of Ghumman in the Star Plus television series Saraswatichandra, produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.