Cinema VinesVeteran Bollywood actress Mandakini has spoken publicly about a photo that has long been the subject of speculation, in which she appears beside infamous underworld figure Dawood Ibrahim. In an exclusive interview with ANI, the actress clarified that she was not invited by the gangster and that the picture was taken after she had travelled to Dubai for a stage show and then attended a cricket match where the meeting occurred.
“I didn’t realise it at the moment,” Mandakini said, adding that as an artist she meets a wide range of people and cannot control how the media or public interpret those encounters. She explained that the photo was taken while she was in Dubai for a show, and that she later went to a cricket match where the picture was captured. “I was not invited by Dawood,” she insisted, stressing that the controversy had no basis in fact.
The actress went on to describe the impact of the controversy on her career. “The controversy did a lot of damage,” she said. “Later, I came to know that one should have a team to take care of all these things. I denied the rumours everywhere.” She noted that the widespread speculation had harmed her reputation and professional prospects.
Mandakini first rose to prominence with her debut in the 1980 film Ram Teri Ganga Maili, directed by Raj Kapoor. At just 16 years old, she played the lead role of Ganga, a performance that earned her a place among the most recognizable faces of Hindi cinema in the 1980s. She has since appeared in more than 75 films and shared the screen with stars such as Anil Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty and Govinda.
Reflecting on her early work, Mandakini praised Kapoor’s gentle and affectionate direction. “He had such a gentle and affectionate way of doing things that you would not even question him, as if a family member was guiding you through it,” she recalled. She also noted that the film’s narrative did not portray her character in a negative light, contrary to some critics’ claims.
