Kabir Bedi became a major Italian television star as Sandokan, the swashbuckling hero of Rai’s six-part 1976 adaptation of Emilio Salgari’s adventure stories. The series drew an average of 27 million viewers, according to Rai, and made Bedi’s image part of Italian popular culture. Calling him a “sex symbol” captures one reading of that appeal, but the available sources do not show that the label was measured in audience surveys or universally applied.
What was ‘Sandokan’?
Directed by Sergio Sollima, Sandokan was a six-episode television adventure based on the stories of Italian writer Emilio Salgari. Rai dates its first broadcast to 6 January 1976; Rai News gives the run as 6 January to 8 February. The production was filmed in India and Malaysia, locations Rai said evoked the settings imagined by Salgari.
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SANDOKAN, PIRATE OF MALAYSIA | $12.12 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
![Sandokan Against the Leopard of Sarawak(Anamorphic Widescreen Edition) [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51blg-7UmcL._SL160_.jpg)
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Sandokan Against the Leopard of Sarawak(Anamorphic Widescreen Edition) [DVD] | $4.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Sandokan the Great | $12.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Sandokan (3 Dvd) | $54.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Sandokan, Vol. 1 | $6.93 | Buy on Amazon |
Bedi played Sandokan, a displaced prince turned pirate known as the “Tiger of Malaysia.” His allies included Yanez, played by Philippe Leroy, and the men of Mompracem; Carole André played Lady Marianna, Sandokan’s love interest. Their conflict with Lord Brooke supplied the series’ central adventure plot.
Rai Teche says the project took Sollima about four years to realize and describes it as an Italian television “teleromanzo” made with the production scale of a cinematic epic. That is Rai Teche’s characterization, not a documented budget comparison.
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- SANDOKAN, PIRATE OF MALAYSIA
- Product Type: PHYSICAL FILM
- Brand: Sinister Cinema
How did Bedi land the lead?
Bedi later recalled that he had to pay his own way to Rome for an audition. He said he knew little about Salgari, so he read the book in Italian slowly and asked for help with difficult passages. In the account of his interview with ANSA reproduced by Rai News, he also said Sollima chose him not just for his physique, but because he could ride and showed determination.
Bedi credited the director with opening doors for his international career. In the same recollection, he described Sollima as a father figure and mentor. The casting details help explain why Bedi suited an action lead, though they do not by themselves explain the audience’s response.
Why did the series make him famous in Italy?
A huge television audience
Rai Ufficio Stampa’s 2025 retrospective reports an average audience of 27 million viewers and an appreciation index of 84 for the January–February 1976 broadcasts. These are Rai’s reported measures for the six-episode run; they are not a per-episode count or a current comparison with other programmes. Rai says Bedi went from unfamiliar Indian actor to star within days.
A character built for adventure
Sandokan gave Bedi a vivid screen identity: a pirate prince at the center of a large-scale adventure, with action scenes that Rai News specifically notes included underwater sequences. The role combined physical action with romance and a heroic cause, making Bedi the face of the series rather than simply one member of its ensemble.
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- Factory sealed DVD
The show reached beyond the screen
Rai lists T-shirts, toys, sticker albums and books among the merchandise that attracted young people. The theme song by Oliver Onions—the name used by brothers Guido and Maurizio De Angelis—also reached number one in the charts, according to Rai. Together, the audience figures and associated goods show how far the programme travelled into popular culture.
Was Kabir Bedi really an Italian “sex symbol”?
“Sex symbol” is best understood here as a cultural description of Bedi’s popular image, not a statistic. The sources document exceptional viewership, commercial popularity and the casting of a charismatic action hero; they do not provide polling on viewers’ perceptions of his attractiveness or establish exactly when the label arose. It is therefore fair to say that Sandokan helped turn Bedi into an Italian star whose appeal was often framed in those terms, but not that every viewer shared that view.
Rank #4
Where can viewers find the series?
Rai Home Video catalogs a three-disc DVD edition in Italian. Discs one and two contain episodes I–IV, while disc three contains episodes V–VI; the listing also notes special features and a 12-page booklet. The catalog does not establish current retailer stock, price or region compatibility, so buyers should check those details with a seller before purchasing.
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Sources
- Rai Ufficio Stampa, “Tre domeniche con ‘Quel fenomeno di Sandokan’” (2025): broadcast, audience, merchandise and music.
- Rai Teche, “Sandokan – La serie, 1976” (2025): series and production context.
- Rai News, “Tanti auguri Kabir Bedi. Sandokan compie 75 anni” (2021): cast, broadcast dates and Bedi’s recollections as reported from an ANSA interview.
- Rai Home Video, “Sandokan”: DVD listing and contents.
- University of Manchester thesis: academic discussion of the series’ later recognition in Italian popular culture.
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