Kabir Bedi reflects on his ‘bankruptcy’ in Hollywood, says it was ‘very humiliating’

Actor Kabir Bedi, reflecting on a ‘traumatic’ chapter in his life when he went bankrupt, has said that it was ‘very humiliating’. The actor recently released his autobiography, titled Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Journey of an Actor.

In the book, Kabir Bedi writes about his youth, his career in journalism, and his subsequent move to the film industry. Kabir also worked in Hollywood and saw the greatest professional success as a star in Europe, particularly Italy.

In an interview with Brut India, he was asked if his spirituality gave him the strength to overcome life’s difficulties. He said, “I went through traumatic experiences with my son’s suicide, with my bankruptcy in Hollywood. It’s very humiliating for a celebrity to be bankrupted. But you have to find ways of rising, and resurrecting yourself.”

He continued, “All through my life, I’ve reinvented myself. A lot of the meditation I learned in my you, a lot of the spiritual underpinnings my parents gave me through their remarkable traditions of Sikhism and Buddhism, and my own inner sense of self gave me the strength to say, ‘no, I will fight back’.”

During his Hollywood years, Kabir appeared in The Bold and the Beautiful, one of the most-watched shows in the world. He also appeared in Dynasty, Murder, She Wrote, Magnum, PI, Hunter, Knight Rider and Highlander: The Series.

Some of the most difficult subjects that Kabir wrote about in his book include the death of his son Siddharth to suicide, and his relationship with actor Parveen Babi, who suffered mental illnesses herself.

Also read: Kabir Bedi reveals how he ended open marriage with Protima Gupta to be with Parveen Babi: ‘She burst out crying’

Parveen died in 2005 after suffering a multiple organ failure. Writing about her death, Kabir wrote, “In the end, I learned how Parveen had died. Her body was found in her Juhu flat four days after she died, a leg rotted by gangrene, a wheelchair by her bed. A lonely and tragic end of a star who had once been the fantasy of millions. Three men who had known and loved her — Mahesh, Danny and I — came for her funeral at the Muslim cemetery in Juhu. It was a solemn burial with Islamic rites and chants. We carried her body with relatives to a dimly lit grave. I felt for all she had suffered with a sorrow that came from my depths. Each of us had known her in ways not many knew. Each of us had loved her as only each one knew.”