A lifetime achievement award was given to seasoned Indian actor Kabir Bedi on Saturday in Venice. His body of work in Italy includes the all-time favorite television series “Sandokan.”

At the Venice Production Bridge market, Bedi received the Filming Italy Movie Lifetime Achievement Award. Producer and performer Tiziana Rocca and Roberto Stabile, the chairman of the international division of Italian national audiovisual organization ANICA, gave the prize.

During his acceptance speech, the actor, who has spent the past 40 years acting as an unofficial ambassador for Indo-Italian relations, stated, "I have tried to have people in Italy focus on India for many years, and people in India focus on Italy for many years."

Since 'Sandokan,' I have worked on over six important series in Italy. Few people are aware, however, that my career in Italy has taken precedence over my work in Bollywood and Hollywood.

Early Bollywood successes for Bedi include "Nagin," "Kuchhe Dhaage," and "Ishk Ishk Ishk" (1976). "I quickly saw that I couldn't be a leading guy in Bollywood unless I wanted to be a singing and dancing star. I therefore understood that I had to pursue a profession abroad. And the Italians were the ones who provided me the chance to travel to Italy by casting me in the well-known Sandokan role," Bedi remarked.

The 1976 television series, which was based on novels by Emilio Salgari and starred the dashing pirate hero Sandokan who fought against the British colonizers, captured the attention of the Italian public and achieved a record audience share of 34%. There were a number of follow-up television shows and motion pictures featuring the character.

A lengthy run on "The Bold and the Beautiful" and appearances in "Dynasty," "Murder, She Wrote," "Magnum, P.I.," "Hunter," "Knight Rider," and "Highlander: The Series" are among Bedi's notable roles in the United States. He starred in "The Thief of Baghdad" (1978), "Ashanti" (1979), and the James Bond movie "Octopussy," among other notable films (1983).

The actor kept his origins in India alive and returned with the hugely successful Bollywood film "Khoon Bhari Maang" (1988), continuing a successful career there.

With his memoirs "Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Life of an Actor," which became a bestseller in Italy and India in 2021, Bedi experienced yet another success. For the book's Italian translation, Bedi received the Diva & Donna book of the year prize in Venice on Friday.

"As an actor, I'd like to take on more powerful roles in different genres. I still feel the burning need to explore different mediums to fully express my acting ability. And if you make that purpose a reality in your head, the universe works in your favor, according to Bedi, who spoke to Variety.

Since that has played a significant role in my life, Bedi continued, "I look forward to expanding beyond only the image of Sandokan and the films that followed it. The world has changed, and we must move with it. "I am redefining myself as an actor as well as a producer and presenter of East-West bridging documentaries. With the success of my autobiography in both English and Italian, I am now also a published author.