Why can’t a short-haired lady play a lover, a mother or a wife?: Mandira Bedi

Multi-talented personality Mandira Bedi says her short hair has got her caught in the stereotype game in the film industry. The actor plays a negative character in Saaho, featuring Prabhas and Shraddha Kapoor.
Mandira said, “I will leave for shooting in Abu Dhabi. I think people cannot imagine me in any other roles than that of a police officer or any negative character. I am stuck in stereotype courtesy my short hair.” Mandira recently completed a Tamil film named Adangathey in which she is playing a police officer.
So, doesn’t she want to change her hairstyle for a variety of roles?
“No, never. I did not think about growing my hair for that. It is a stereotype that needs to go. Why can’t a short-haired lady play a lover, a mother or a wife? I am all of them.”
Citing an incident, she said, “During the look test of my last released film Vodka Diaries in which I played a poet, a romantic role, I wore a sari and tried out beautiful long hair piece. But the director told me that they could not relate to me with that long-hair look. So they kept my look as it is.”
Having started her career on television with the show Shanti, Mandira has mainly played the role of a liberal, strong-headed and progressive woman in shows like Aurat, CID, 24 and MTV Troll Police. Mandira also became a popular cricket show presenter.
While she made her debut in Bollywood with the iconic film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, does she feel that her acting has taken a backstage in her career and hosting shows has taken centrestage?
“Well, this year I have a couple of acting assignments and I am travelling also. I have also finished a film with Vivek Agnihotri, where I am playing a social worker. I am not allowed to talk much about the film, which is on Lal Bahadur Shastri.
“I think when I was hosting shows, people forgot that I am an actress too. But here I am, shooting for my films these days,” said the 45-year-old.
Mandira is supporting the Cinema Premier League, which began on ZEE Cinema from Saturday and will continue till May 27.
The championship of cinema will be happening among five teams based on the genres of films — Khan Riders’, ‘Family Indians’, ‘Comedy Challengers’, ‘South Kings’ and ‘Action Warriors’. Mandira is a supporter of Khan Riders.