• Kabir Bedi was honoured on Saturday with the lifetime achievement award in Venice.
• He has had a successful career in Bollywood, with early blockbusters like “Kuchhe Dhaage” and “Octopussy”.
• Spent a significant amount of time on “The Bold and the Beautiful” in the country.

Kabir Bedi is a seasoned actor with a long list of credits in Italy, including the all-time favourite TV show “Sandokan,” was honoured on Saturday with the lifetime achievement award in Venice.

Variety reports that Bedi received the Filming Italy Movie Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Production Bridge market. In his acceptance speech, Bedi, who has spent the past 40 years acting as an unofficial ambassador for relations between India and Italy.

He said, “I have tried to make people in Italy focus on India for many years, and people in India focus on Italy.”

He continued, “Since the time of ‘Sandokan,’ I’ve done over six major series in Italy and not many people realize that really Bollywood and Hollywood are a far lesser part of my life than my career in Italy.”

According to the outlet, Bedi stated that he quickly realised that he could not be a leading man in Bollywood unless he wanted to be a singing-dancing star. He also added,  “So I knew I had to reach out for a career abroad. And it was the Italians that gave me the opportunity to come to Italy by giving me this iconic role of Sandokan.”

Based on Emilio Salgari’s novels, the television series premiered in 1976 and captured the attention of the Italian public, achieving a record 34% audience share. It was followed by a number of related television shows and movies that featured the character. Producer and performer Tiziana Rocca and Roberto Stabile, the chairman of the international division of Italian national audiovisual organisation ANICA, reportedly gave Bedi the award.

Bedi has had a successful career in Bollywood, with early blockbusters like “Kuchhe Dhaage,” “Ishk Ishk Ishk,” and “Nagin.” His American acting credits include include appearances in Dynasty, Murder, She Wrote, Magnum, P.I., Hunter, Knight Rider, and Highlander: The Series. He spent a significant amount of time on “The Bold and the Beautiful” in the country. In addition to his leading parts in “Ashanti” and the James Bond movie “Octopussy,” he also played the main character in “The Thief of Baghdad,” according to sources.

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