How the affair with Abu Salem impacted Monica Bedi's career
What's the story
Monica Bedi started her acting career in the early '90s. However, her career took a massive hit when she was embroiled in a massive controversy over her relationship with gangster Abu Salem.
In a recent interview, Bedi admitted how her relationship with the now-jailed gangster, impacted her career.
Here's a look at her career graph, before and after meeting Salem.
Early days
Acting in popular films in the '90s
After her debut with Main Tera Aashiq in 1994, Bedi did many films including popular films such as Tirchii Topiwale, Surakshaa, and others.
She also appeared in Telugu movies, debuting with the 1995 film Taj Mahal, led by Shrikanth.
Cut to 1996, Bedi featured in Arjun and Revathi starrer Tamil movie Subash which was also the last project of Silk Smitha's career.
In the 2000s
Career after Salem in the early 2000s
After doing many films in the '90s, she did Jodi No. 1 and Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat as her last two movies, in 2001, before she was arrested in September 2002 in Portugal.
The Supreme Court upheld her conviction in 2010 in the 2006 fake passport case.
Post her arrest and during her prison sentence, Bedi's career took a massive blow.
Career after 2010
No Hindi movies but only regional films since 2010
After the two 2001 movies, Bedi's next film was released in 2010, titled Devadasiyin Kathai, a Tamil movie.
From there on until 2017, she went on to do a handful of films but in languages such as Nepali, Bengali, and Punjabi.
Since 2001, Bedi hasn't been a part of any Hindi movie to date. However, she has been a part of the television world.
TV career
Comeback through TV
Life changed for Bedi once again when she was selected as one of the contestants for the reality TV show Bigg Boss. She featured in the second season of the show in 2008, hosted by Shilpa Shetty Kundra.
Thereafter, she participated in Jhalak Dikhla Jaa 3 in 2009. Bedi also gained popularity for Hindi TV serial Saraswatichandra which starred Jennifer Winget and Gautam Rode.
Bollywood comeback
Bedi on how her past impacted her future
In an interview with Siddharth Kanan, Bedi revealed how her past (with Salem) has left a mark on her future projects.
"Yes, because of my past, there are a lot of obstacles in my life. I'm sure that people have this hesitation of working with me, because of my past," she said, adding how she wants to make a comeback in the industry.
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