By Admin 
Mandakini, a blue -eyed actress of Hindi cinema, got overnight fame from the role of ‘Ganga’ in the 1985 superhit film ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’. July 30 is the 61st birthday of the actress.
Born on 30 July 1963 in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, the story of this actress, who became ‘Mandakini’ from Yasmin Joseph, was as inspiring as much as controversy. His beauty, acting and ups and downs of personal life always put him in the headlines.
Steps in Bollywood at the age of just 22
- Mandakini entered Bollywood at the age of 22. Few people know that his real name is Yasmin. Film maker and actor Raj Kapoor gave him the screen name ‘Mandakini’.
- Mandakini started his career with the 1985 Bengali film ‘Antar Bhalobasha’.
- The same year made his debut in Hindi cinema with ‘Mera Saathi’.
- However, he got the real identity from Raj Kapoor’s film ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’.
- In this film, his intimate scene created a sensation in that period, for which the film had to face praise as well as controversies.
- Mandakini also received a nomination for the Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards for this film.
- The success of ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’ made Mandakini an overnight star.
- In the 1980s, he acted in many films like ‘Dance-Dance’, ‘Commando’, ‘Loha’, ‘Jal’, ‘Pyaar Ke Naam Kurbaan’, ‘Fantastic’, ‘Sineman’, ‘Agni’ and ‘Jelde’.
- However, most of his films could not achieve as much success as his debut film. Nevertheless, her beauty and acting dominated.
Mandakini’s career was not as easy. The male-oriented atmosphere in the industry created many challenges for them. In an interview, he told that once a producer narrated him the script and did yes to the film, but later another actress was selected due to low fees. Such incidents affected his career.
There was a ruckus by joining the name with Dawood
The biggest controversy of Mandakini’s life began when pictures of him and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim went viral in Dubai’s Sharjah Stadium in 1994. These pictures created panic in Bollywood. Rumors in the media raised that there was a love affair between Mandakini and Dawood.
Some reports claimed that Dawood had helped Mandakini to get work in many films. However, Mandakini always denied these rumors. The association of name with Dawood affected his career. Filmmakers hesitated to cast him and gradually his career began to mold.
In 1996, said goodbye to the film industry
In 1996, his last film ‘Burr’ was released, after which he said goodbye to Bollywood. In 1990, Mandakini married Kagur T. Rinpoche Thakur, who is a former Buddhist monk. After this marriage, Mandakini kept distance from the film world and started living a normal life. They have two children, son Rabbil Thakur and daughter Inaya. Mandakini and her husband run a Tibetan Yoga Center in Mumbai, where they teach yoga and attention. Mandakini adopted Buddhism and is a follower of the Dalai Lama.
Comeback with son
26 years later, in the year 2022, Mandakini made a comeback with her son Rabbil through a music video ‘Maa O Maa’.
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