Hot Mandira Bedi in Kolkata?

It�s a question Mandira Bedi has been asked ever since IPL bowled us over: Why�s she missing in action? �I�m watching all the games and am staying on in Kolkata just to catch the match.

But it�s a pity that we kept talking about the wedding of cricket and entertainment, and now, when it�s happened, I�m not part of the baraat! I would have loved to be a part of it,� she smiles, as we note a hint of disappointment.

�But I�m grateful for what the channel has given me. Before 2003, I was a one-dimensional person, doing only TV and theatre. The World Cup made me an anchor and connected me to the game. I learnt a lot on the job. I suddenly found myself in the midst of technical discussions, sitting among experts. There�s been a lot of growth since then,� confesses the cricket buff, whose current favourite is Shane Warne.

�In India, everyone is very possessive about cricket. It�s very male-dominated. Many people were outraged at the start of the 2003 World Cup but I managed to win some of them over,� smiles the animated anchor-actor, letting us in on a little-known dimension of hers � �I�m a personality of extremes. When I�m happy, I can chew off someone�s ear chattering, and when I�m sad, I retreat into a shell.� And when she starts talking about her forthcoming film Meerabai Not Out, we can see what she means! The role is clearly close to her heart. �If I saw anyone else playing the role of Meera Achrekar, I�d say, now that�s a role I�d love to play! The only thing Meera and I have in common is cricket. There�s a reference to me in the film, where someone tells Meera, �Yeh toh Mandir Bedi lagti hai!� And she retorts, �I don�t look like her, she looks like me. And I wear full clothes!�� Mandy says, breaking into a chuckle.

The joke is not lost on us, as we ask her about the bold shoot she did for a men�s magazine recently. �My parents were very disturbed by it.

I have an imaginary list of things in my head, and I tick them as I go along. This is something that was there on my list, which I�ve ticked off, never to do again. I�ve recently done a swimsuit shoot for a health magazine, and shared the images with my parents before they were published,� says the fitness freak who�s all for size zero, provided it�s not at the cost of her health.

Coming back to her films, Mandira says, �Kumble has a guest appearance in Meerabai..., which will release shortly after the IPL. My next movie is titled Mumbai Chakachak.� We ask her if she�ll be seen in a Raj Kaushal film, and she quips, �There was a lot of friction when we worked together in the past, and so we�ve decided not to bring our professional relationship home. You know, some husbands and wives have a pact that they�ll never work together... It�s safer!�

But Mandira �Shanti� Bedi is not known for playing safe � she talked cricket in noodlestraps, refused to be part of �regressive� serials and dared to don any hat that caught her fancy. Here�s hoping that the imaginary to-do list in her pretty little head only grows longer.