New Delhi: Indian actresses having an association with men involved in unlawful activities is nothing new. Although Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi’s names are doing the rounds for their alleged connection with conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, there are reports of at least ten other actresses who are friends with him.
However, this is not the first time that Indian actresses have found themselves in the midst of such controversies, important enough to make national headlines.
Here are some of them:
Mandkaini
She rose to fame for her bold portrayal in the Raj Kapoor produced 1985 film Ram Teri Ganga Maili. She did a few more Bollywood films that did average business. Before long, she was in the news once again for her alleged association with gangster Dawood Ibrahim in the early 1990s. Photos of the couple started circulating in the media with reports alluding to their alleged affair.
Mamta Kulkarni
Mamta Kulkarni gave many commercial hits and rose to fame because of her oomph factor. However, she ended her career after falling in love with an Indian drug lord, Vikram Goswami. Kulkarni was accused of supplying drugs to an international racket and her whereabouts were also unknown for a long time. It was rumoured that she married Vicky Goswami and settled with him in Dubai. Vicky was arrested from Kenya by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and according to reports, Mamta was also detained. According to unconfirmed reports, the former actress is still in Kenya and has started a line production company with an Indian-origin businessman Uroo Patel, a Kenyan resident. Mamta has also reportedly changed her name and it’s difficult to identify her as well.
Monica Bedi
Among her successful films was ‘Jodi No’ with stars like Sanjay Dutt, Govinda and Twinkle Khanna. Monica Bedi made it to the news for having an affair with now-convicted gangster Abu Salem. She had apparently met Salem at a show in Dubai. Reportedly, he used his power to get Monica roles in Bollywood films.
The 51-year-old gangster was convicted on June 16, 2017. Mumbai court awarded life imprisonment to the extradited gangster in the 1993 serial blasts case.
In 2002 the actress was arrested by the Lisbon police in Portugal, for entering the country with forged documents. The couple was deported back to India in 2005 and after two years the actress was released on a bail, ccording to a report in The FreePress Journal.
In 2008 the controversial beauty queen participated in ‘Bigg Boss’. After winning the audience with her gritty personality, she also participated in shows like Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa and Desi Girl. The actress’ most popular show after ‘Bigg Boss’ was Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Saraswatichandra.
She made a rare appearance at Mumbai Airport in February last year.
