Veteran actor Kabir Bedi He once explained his close bond with the Gandhi family and shared fond memories of growing up with the former prime ministers. Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi.In a past interview with Digital Commentary, Kabir Bedi revealed that his family had warm relations with the Gandhi family during his childhood, though he no longer associates himself politically with the Congress party.
“Today I support PM Modi’s leadership”
In the interview, Kabir Bedi clarified his current political stance and said that he has faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.“Today, I am not at all with the Congress party. I have full faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Modi ji,” said Kabir Bedi.However, he added that during his youth, his family and the Gandhi family had a very close relationship.
Kabir Bedi on his childhood memories with Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi
Reminiscing about their early years together, Kabir Bedi shared that he studied in the same school as Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi.“Rajiv was two years older than me and Sanjay a year younger. We studied together in a small private school on Hailey Road,” he recalls.The actor also revealed that he was often invited to the Prime Minister’s residence for birthday parties and family gatherings.“As a child, I felt that the Prime Minister’s house was like a huge palace. There was a special room filled with toys from world leaders—trains, stuffed animals, Meccano sets—and we played together there,” he shared.
Riding helped Kabir Bedi land iconic roles
Kabir Bedi also recalled that he learned to ride horses at the Gandhi residence because of the large meadows where the horses were brought for training.According to the actor, the skill came in handy later in his acting career.“Because I knew Hiketa very well, I got roles like Kachche Dhaage and Sandokan,” he said.
A candid confession of Rajiv Gandhi after becoming Prime Minister
Kabir Bedi also recalls meeting Rajiv Gandhi after he became Prime Minister. The actor returned from the United States and visited Rajiv Gandhi at the Prime Minister’s office.Rajiv recalled waiting along with the chief ministers before personally calling him inside.“Rajiv looked outside and said, ‘Kabir, come in’. After closing the door, he quietly said to me, ‘Yaar, kahaan phas gaya hoon?'” laughs Kabir Bedi.When Bedi jokingly told him to get serious now that he was the Prime Minister, Rajiv reportedly replied, “Don’t tell me to be serious. Everyone tells me that all day. You are my friend, let’s talk about old times and funny memories”.
“Rajiv was a good man at heart”
Kabir Bedi also got emotional remembering Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination and described him as a kind-hearted person.“It was a terrible tragedy that he was killed. Rajiv was a very good man at heart,” the actor said.He also spoke about Sanjay Gandhi, admitting that although the politician had a tougher personality, he was instrumental in the dream of creating an affordable “people’s car” in India through Maruti Suzuki.“Sanjay’s dream was to build a people’s car for India, and that dream was finally fulfilled through the Maruti Suzuki deal,” added Kabir Bedi.
