Monica Bedi was Portuguese in past life

Actress Monica Bedi says she "was a married Portuguese woman with three children" in her past life - something she claims to have discovered through a TV show.

Incidentally, Portugal was the country she was extradited from in 2005 along with her former companion, the jailed mobster Abu Salem.

Referring to the reality show "Raaz - Pichhle Janam Ka", Monica told IANS: "When I underwent past life regression therapy here, I found out that I was a Portuguese girl in my last birth.

"It was then that I realised why I always feel at home when I go to Portugal," said Monica claiming she has "also been attracted to Christianity. I never knew why, but now I know that it's because I was Christian in my previous life."

The show is premiering on NDTV Imagine on Dec 7 and Monica participated to find out why she has faced so many ups and downs in her present life. "I also found out that I had three children. One of the daughters was named Neema, but I couldn't clearly understand what the others' names were. I couldn't even see who my husband was. Actually, once a person is regressed, he or she can see only flashes of the past, not an entire story. I saw some happy moments and some sad ones," she said. The 34-year-old also happened to see her death in her past life. "I saw the cause of my death in my last birth. I died when I was around 70 years old and it was quite a peaceful death," she said with a smile on her face.

Monica, who was once a small time Bollywood actress, made a surprise comeback last year when she participated on the reality show "Bigg Boss". It was her first on-screen appearance after being released from prison. She had joined "Bigg Boss" with an aim "to start life afresh" and with the industry gradually warming up to the idea of working with her, Monica seems to have come closer to her objective. Thereafter, she featured on the dance show "Jhalak Dikkhla Jaa".

Monica is one of the few celebrities, including Shekhar Suman, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Celina Jaitley, who have been on the show to unravel reasons behind some mysterious events in their lives. "Raaz - Pichhle Janam Ka" has Mumbai-based clinical psychologist Trupti Jayin conducting the therapy. She helps people find the reasons behind their present-day fears, phobias and physical ailments by finding their roots in their previous lives.

Asked about her experience on the show, Monica said: "It was amazing. I felt very light and happy after the entire process. I never believed in past life and such things because my upbringing has been mostly abroad and there they never had any such beliefs.

"When I was offered this show, I felt it was unnatural. But now that I have seen it and experienced it myself, I do believe in it." The actress is planning to go through more sessions of therapy, "but privately". In her short-lived Bollywood career, Monica was seen in films like "Jodi No.1", "Jaanam Samjha Karo" and "Pyaar, Ishq Aur Mohabbat".