Mumbai: Actress Mandakini has opened up about her much-discussed photograph with underworld figure Dawood Ibrahim, clarifying the circumstances behind their meeting in Dubai.
Recalling the episode, the actress said the photograph and the controversy surrounding it “did a lot of damage” to her career. She also denied that Dawood had invited her to Dubai.
In an interview with ANI, Mandakini said she had travelled to Dubai for a show and later attended a cricket match, where the photograph was taken.
“Jo bhi log likhna chahe, jo bhi bolna chahe, we don’t have control over it. Ek artist ko hazaron log milte hain aur hum sabke liye barabar hai. Bahut saare log saath mein the… kiske liye choose karein, kiske liye choose na karein… Hum waha kisi show ke liye gaye the. No, I was not invited by Dawood. I didn’t realise it at the moment,” she said.
The photograph later sparked controversy and widespread speculation, which Mandakini said had a major impact on her film career.
“The controversy did a lot of damage. Later, I came to know that one should have a team to take care of all these things. I denied the rumours everywhere,” she added.
Mandakini made her Bollywood debut with Raj Kapoor’s ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’, playing the lead role of Ganga at just 16.
The film became a major success and catapulted her to fame, establishing her as one of the notable actresses of 1980s Hindi cinema.
Speaking about her experience of working with Raj Kapoor, Mandakini said, “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. I didn’t feel any vulgarity from anywhere. There was no disgusting feeling at all. The whole movie was that there is no purity. They wanted to make her (Ganga) impure. But they didn’t succeed.”
Following the film’s success, Mandakini went on to feature in more than 75 Hindi films, working alongside leading stars such as Anil Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty and Govinda, among others.