Veteran actor Mandakini has revisited the controversy surrounding her much-discussed photograph with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, saying the picture was taken during a cricket match she attended after travelling to Dubai for a show. The actor has maintained that she was not invited by Dawood and said she had no idea at the time that the photograph would later become the subject of intense speculation.

Mandakini says she did not go to Dubai for the cricket match

In an interview with ANI, Mandakini recalled how the photograph was taken and said she had travelled to Dubai for professional reasons before attending the match. According to the actor, there were several people around and she did not think much of who was seated where.

“Whatever people want to write or say, we don’t have control over it. An artiste meets thousands of people, and everyone is equal to us. I did not even go to Dubai to watch the match. We had gone there for a show. There were many people sitting at the match, and he was just sitting there.”

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Mandakini further denied that Dawood had invited her to the match.

“No, I was not invited by Dawood. Creating a controversy and making something interesting out of it — I didn’t know about any of that,” she said.

‘Photo with Dawood Ibrahim did a lot of damage’

The photograph eventually turned into a major controversy around Mandakini’s career. The actor said the speculation had a lasting impact and acknowledged that she was not equipped at the time to deal with the media narrative surrounding it.

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“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 also pointed out that her denial had been carried by the media at the time. She said she was not aware of underworld funding in the Hindi film industry during the 1980s and only learned about such aspects much later through films based on the period.

“It was also printed at the time that I denied the rumours. I did not even know about the underworld funding in Bollywood during the 80s. I got to know about these things through films which were made later,” Mandakini said.

What Mandakini had said earlier

Mandakini had also spoken about the controversy in a 2005 interview with Ahmedabad Times. She acknowledged knowing and meeting Dawood Ibrahim in Dubai while she was there for shows, but said there was nothing beyond that.

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She recalled how the picture changed her life and was followed by a series of reports linking her personally to Dawood.

“My life changed after this photo of me with Dawood was published in 1994-95. Then came reports that I had married him and had a son with him. It was even reported that I lived with him in Dubai,” she said.

“That’s not true. I have a 10-year-old son and I’m married to R Thakur, a doctor in Mumbai. We were married in 1990. It was a love-cum-arranged marriage. I’ve always lived in Mumbai after marriage.”

Explaining why she felt the need to address the issue, Mandakini said she did not want her fans to believe she had any involvement with the underworld.

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“The reason I’m talking about Dawood is because I don’t want my fans to think that I had anything to do with the underworld. People still talk about this ‘scandal’ about me and Dawood but I have a small son and I need to protect him,” she said.

She added, “I’m not denying that I know Dawood or that I have met him. But I’m not his woman. That’s my living truth.”

Mandakini’s career

Mandakini became a household name with her debut film Ram Teri Ganga Maili, directed by Raj Kapoor. Released in 1985, the film emerged as a major success and established the newcomer as one of the prominent actresses of Hindi cinema in the 1980s.

Mandakini was only 16 when she played Ganga in the film. After Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Mandakini went on to appear in more than 75 films and worked with several leading actors, including Anil Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty and Govinda.