Mandira Bedi, who had already established herself as an actor, debuted as a television presenter during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. She had appeared in popular films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, but cricket was uncharted territory for her. In those days, there weren’t many female cricket presenters in India, and Mandira had to face a lot of sexism from her male colleagues. In a recent interview, she said that she felt “dismissed” and “disrespected.” She shared that while things have changed a bit now, the world of cricket presenters is still largely a boys’ club.
In a chat with Yuvaa, Mandira shared, “I felt dismissed and I felt disrespected. I felt powerless and I felt like I don’t know what am I doing here. I questioned myself and belittled myself saying, ‘It must be me’.” Mandira said that after a while, when she realised that her questions for the panel of experts were being ignored, she decided to stand her ground and make herself known. Earlier, when veterans on the panel ignored her questions, she felt disrespected but later, she decided that she will keep asking the question until she gets her answer.
“Somewhere along the way, when I realised that there’s no pressure on me and nothing is off the table and I need to ask what I want to ask, whatever question is in my head could be a question in somebody else’s head, nothing is off the table and if someone disrespects me, I will repeat that question till they give me an answer, and everything changed. The dynamic changed. And literally, after one week of being in absolute hell, when I realised that, ‘You know what, it’s life and I am sitting in the presenter’s chair and I am the one who is supposed to ask the questions, I am going to ask them’,” she said.
Mandira said that unfortunately, not much has changed more than two decades later. “When you say it was a boys’ club, it still is a boys’ club,” she said, and added, “I did a tournament recently. Things have changed but not completely. Anyone who is on the outside, whether she has any knowledge of the game or not, they will be given a certain treatment. You have to be able to hold your own. You have to believe in yourself and keep it going.”
