Actress Mandana Karimi had announced her decision to quit Bollywood last year after Sajid Khan participated in Salman Khan's controversial reality show 'Bigg Boss 16'. Earlier, during the #MeToo movement, she had accused the filmmaker of sexually harassing her. And now, she has claimed that her revelation only invited more trouble for her.
Mandana stated the after she levelled accusations against Sajid, people termed her as "difficult to work with" in the industry.
She mentioned that during her time in Bollywood, she also associated with people who were genuinely good to her, but the others mostly tried to corner her as she had no connections.
'Would be worried if my daughter wants to be part of Bollywood': Mandana
During a chat with Shivani Pau on her podcast, Mandana said that she does not care about fame and money anymore, like she used to when she was young. She went on to say that while the #MeToo movement was largely successful in western countries, in India, it failed to work out and she only ended up inviting more problems.
Mandana said that she was tired of bottling up for so long and that was the reason she decided to bare it all during the #MeToo movement. However, it backfired. "It’s an industry that, if I had a child right now, I would be worried if my daughter wants to be a part of Bollywood," she said.
She went on to say that getting work in the film industry depends on the name of one's father and family. Even though, actors are later judged by their talent in the long run, the competition is cut-throat, she said.
Speaking of her career in Bollywood, she said, "I had people who were very disrespectful, they treat you like, ‘Oh, she’s a pretty girl, she doesn’t have support, we can do whatever we want’."
Mandana Karimi's career in India
Mandana first shot to fame when she ended up as the second runner-up on 'Bigg Boss 9'.
Post the reality show, she starred in films like 'Roy', 'Kya Kool Hain Hum 3' and 'Thar', and recently, she participated in Kangana Ranaut's reality show, 'Lock Upp'.
During the #MeToo movement in India, Mandana had claimed that Sajid had asked her to "take off her clothes" during a casting meeting at his house, and had said that if he liked what he saw, she will bag a role in 'Humshakals'.
While Sajid never issued a statement on the accusations, he went MIA for a few years, until he returned with 'Bigg Boss 16' last year.
