Kabir Bedi. Picture by Sudeshna Banerjee

Tall and handsome as ever, with a hint of silver in his backbrushed hair, Kabir Bedi was busy playing the imposing and conniving Dadabhai — his daily Hindi soap debut — on the sets of Sahara One’s Ganga kii Dheej in Madh Island, Mumbai. Soon after, the first Indian actor to make a mark in the West settled down for a chat with t2, for which he introduced himself as a student of Santiniketan. “I spent a year there at the age of 10,” he smiles.

Why have you signed up for a Hindi serial after all these years?

My primary identity internationally has been on the television — be it Sandokan (the European mini-series that made him a household name in Italy), Dynasty or Highlander. If I have not been seen before in a serial in India, that is because I have never got the right role or the price. I liked this story and the role. My expectations have not been belied, such is the visual drama of the story of Ganga kii Dheej and the richness of the production values.

Like in Khoon Bhari Maang, you are back in a villain’s garb….

Hero to side character to hero to villain — that has been my career path in films, TV and theatre. This role is more like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde rolled into one. As a zamindar, Dadabhai is the annadata of the village but he has a terrible vice too, in his exploitation of women and the misuse of power.

Would this be your first appearance on Indian TV?

In the mid-60s, while at St Stephen’s College, I got a chance to anchor a news show called Mirror of the World on Doordarshan. It was telecast only in Delhi. Then the Italians kidnapped me!

In the mid-90s I played Abraham in the DD series Bible ki Kahaniyan. But the Muslim community objected and the government pulled out the show. This is my first extended run on TV here.

Not many in India know about your success as Sandokan...

I know. It is the biggest thing I have done in terms of impact. People should know why the Italian government has knighted me. (The title was given to Bedi by Italy’s ambassador to India, Giacomo Sanfelice di Monteforte in December.) That is why I have bought the rights in Hindi. I have dubbed for it and the DVD containing six one-hour episodes should be out soon.

How are you adapting to the rigours of daily soap?

This is taking 12-15 days every month and the number of hours I am shooting amounts to broadcasting a film every week! Or you can call it doing theatre with one rehearsal. I have been spoilt by films — shot kar liya, baith gaye. Here if you flub your lines, you are letting the whole team down. And when do you learn your lines if you are giving shots all the time? That’s why I say acting is a highly paid form of manual labour. The good thing is that the crew is ex-Balaji (Telefilms) people. They are very good.

Other than the pace, what is the biggest challenge?

Staying cool. If I sweat, it spreads to the arms. That’s why I have two identical kurtas. Then there are the mosquitoes (slaps one on his arm).

Any dream roles to do?

I want to do another historical film, after Akbar Khan’s Taj Mahal… Also something futuristic like The Hobbits. And I have fantasies about playing Rasputin and also Othello on stage. I even want to do a situational comedy.