After her disillusioning experience in the decade's biggest blockbuster Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge Mandira Bedi has sworn off the silver screen. With two daily soaps on air she is set for a long reign on the tube.

She bagged the title role in India's first daily soap Shanti which made her a living-room regular in households across the country and now she's playing a dream role in another daily, Ravi Chopra's Aurat. And Mandira Bedi is on cloud nine. That miniscule and easily-forgettable role in one of the century's biggest blockbuster, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, has been quickly erased but the disappointment still remains. "When the script was narrated to me, my role seemed pretty substantial but during the shoot many of my scenes were done away with and what little remained for me to do was drastically snipped at the editing table," she sighs. "Even my character was so sugary sweet and submissive. Very different from the real Mandira."

After that one disillusioning experience Mandira has sworn off the silver screen and decided to stick to television. She's even turned down a South film opposite superstar Mammootty because she didn't have the dates! As far as Hindi Films are concerned, she was flooded with bahen and bhabhi roles which Mandira just wasn't interested in. "When I am getting such meaty roles on the tube why should I do bit roles in films?" she reasons.

But in television one runs the risk of air within a couple of hours of each other, Mandira is in danger of becoming a permanent fixture on the small screen. But Mandira is quick to point out, "Both my serials are telecast during the day which means very few watch means very few watch it. So the problem of overexposure is minimised to that extent." And why isn't she doing any of them serials aired on primetime? "Nobody's offered me substantial role so far," she says matter-of-factly and reminds you that she did appear in a few episodes of the countdown show Philips Top Ten. Nevertheless, Mandira's is a very popular face. From Praful Sarees to Bournvita she's launched an array of products. "I enjoy doing commercials," she admits and adds with an impish smile. "The payment is great and I have to shoot only for three days."

Behind the facade of a happy-go-lucky girl a sharp mind is ticking away. This is not bubble-headed beauty. Before screen-testing for Adi Pocha, she was working as a copy-writer in Ogilvy & Mather under the great ad man Prahlad Kakkar. Now her ambition is to work with Shyam Benegal. "If I get a chance to work with him I will make it a point to adjust my dates, I don't know how but I will. I definitely would like to work in parallel cinema," she says emphatically.

Right now, she's all excited about her role in Aurat which spans four decades from 19 to 60. "What I have done in Aurat in the last three months I haven't done in two years of Shanti," she gushes. She describes the role in Shanti as "sweet and emotional", while Aurat, according to her has all the shades. Initially, her character is very subdued but later circumstances force her to fight back. And though later in the soap she will be playing an old woman, she isn't scared of being typecast. "I don't think that can happen because the role is excellent and I get to play both a young and an old woman for an equal number of episodes," she clarifies.

She is also all excited about a sitcom with Depak Tijori Hum Dono. For once she doesn't have to be an angry young woman but a whacky detective. The sitcom is being directed by Anant Mahadevan.

And how long will she continue as Shanti? "I agree that the soap is a little long-drawn but I have a special place for it," she says with a smile. She points out that though the time slot of Shanti has changed several times it continues to command a lyal viewership. "Whereever I go people address me as Shanti and it feels great," She gushes. With Aurat too entering the TRP charts this is one woman of substance who's all set for a long reign on the small screen.