Bollywood Doesn’t Respect Its Women: Mandana Karimi’s Bold Response On Sajid Khan’s Entry to BB16
Following the announcement of Sajid Khan as one of the contestants in Big Boss Season 16, actress Mandana Karimi revealed her sadness and cited her reason for quitting the entertainment industry.
Popular actress Mandana Karimi felt sad about how people welcomed filmmaker Sajid Khan in the new season of Big Boss. During the #MeToo movement, filmmaker Sajid Khan was accused by multiple women -including – Mandana Karimi herself – of sexual misconduct. Even after being accused of such grave charges, the industry has normalized the filmmaker’s participation in the popular reality show- Big Boss.
The mainstream media has verified charges against the filmmaker many times in a row. In fact, the sister of Late actress Jiah Khan, Karishma Khan, accused the filmmaker of sexually harassing Jiah during her interview with BBC about a documentary, Death of Bollywood (2021).
Mandana Karimi’s Disappointment Over Sajid Khan’s Entry In Bigg Boss 16
Recently, in an interview with the Hindustan Times, Mandana Karimi said she was not surprised how the filmmaker swiftly re-entered the mainstream. She said: “To be honest, I’m not surprised to see him (Sajid) back in the spotlight (Big Boss 16). For people, life has become like I will put my head under the sand”.
Revealing the failure of the #MeToo movement, she said: “If it is going to benefit me, and I can make money out of it, then who cares? That only shows why the MeToo movement in India and many other countries didn’t reach where it needs to be,” Mandana said only a few women came forward to explain their ordeal during the #MeToo movement, but “that was it”. No one took any action against the accused.
“What is the action? Who is boycotting these people and their movies? Nothing is going to happen because we are speaking about the bigger industry, a place where someone is someone’s mom, boyfriend, girlfriend or husband. It’s like you, you scratch my back, and I will scratch your back”.
Citing her pain to see Sajid Khan onscreen, Mandana added that she consciously opted to step out of the industry which disrespects its women like this. “It does make me feel sad. Honestly speaking, that is also why I have not worked for the last seven months, and I’m not working anymore. I didn’t go to auditions. I don’t work in B-town. I don’t want to see my association with an industry that disrespects its women,” said the actress.
Also Read: Mandana Karimi Clarifies Her Relationship With Anurag Kashyap, Saying ‘We’re Friends’
What’s The Future of Mandana Karimi?
Answering a query regarding her future course, Mandana said she is now contemplating her plans to exit Bollywood. “Because being a woman, it’s not easy. I need to see what makes me happy because life is too short to compromise for anyone… There are people who agree to compromise and keep their mouths shut or not talk to anyone about the things happening around them, thinking about what difference one person will make. That is the main problem. So, let’s see where my life takes me”.
Mandana Karimi’s Last Show
Mandana Karimi was last seen in the reality show Lock Upp. In her interview, she took reference to Ekta Kapoor-backed reality show to cite her trouble in getting her dues clear for the show. Karimi claimed that her dues from Lock Upp are yet to be cleared. “I’m still fighting for my money. My full payment has not come yet. The show was over five months back. I’m still waiting to know why they (show hosts) are not clearing my dues”.
