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Mamta Kulkarni
Mahamandaleswar Shree Yamai Mamta Nand Giri[1] (born 20 April 1972)[2] formerly known as Mamta Kulkarni is an Indian former actress and model turned Hindu monk known for her work in Hindi cinema. She has appeared in commercially successful Hindi films such as Waqt Hamara Hai (1993), Krantiveer (1994), Karan Arjun (1995), Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995), Andolan (1995), Baazi (1996), China Gate (1998) and Chhupa Rustam: A Musical Thriller (2001). Her performance in Aashiq Awara (1993) won her the 1994 Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year. In the blockbuster Karan Arjun, directed by Rakesh Roshan, Kulkarni starred alongside Salman Khan. She quit the film industry after her appearance in the film Kabhie Tum Kabhie Hum. After a long controversial life and disappearance of more than 20 years, Mamta announced her sanyas and became Mahamandaleshwar of Kinnar akhara during 2025 Prayagraj Mahakumbh in presence of Acharaya Mahamandaleshvar of the same akhara, Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi.[3] She performed all the rituals including Pindadanam, Pattabhishekam, etc., after which she adopted the new name Yamai Mamta Nand Giri.[4][5][6] Early & personal lifeKulkarni was born on April 20, 1972, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, into a middle-class Marathi Brahmin family. Her father, Mukund Kulkarni, was a former commissioner of Mumbai. She has two sisters. She was educated at St. Joseph's High School in Juhu. She actively participated in school plays and in cultural programs. Kulkarni was in a relationship with Vicky Goswami until 2016.[7] CareerKulkarni made her film debut with the 1992 film Tirangaa. In 1993, she starred in Aashiq Awara, which won her a Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year. She went on to appear in many popular films such as Waqt Hamara Hai (1993), Krantiveer (1994), Karan Arjun (1995), Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995) and Baazi (1995). She mostly played the leading actor's love interest in all these films. Things changed when Rajkumar Santoshi, in whose earlier movie Ghatak: Lethal (1996) she had a cameo appearance in a song, cast her as the female lead in his 1998 film China Gate, an ambitious remake of Seven Samurai. However, things did not go as planned. Relations between Santoshi and the actress soured. Rumours began circulating that Kulkarni had been dropped from the movie, and was reinstated only after gangster Chhota Rajan intervened on her behalf.[8] When the movie was finally released, it was an average earner. Furthermore, the only song in the movie, the item number "Chamma Chamma", was picturised on Urmila Matondkar, even though Kulkarni had built her reputation with such numbers. To add insult to injury, the song turned out to be a chartbuster, which greatly increased Matondkar's popularity. Angered and frustrated at the turn of events, Kulkarni lashed out at Santoshi, accusing him of cutting her screen time because she had refused his advances.[9] Santoshi denied all rumours related to the movie, and the matter was given a quiet burial. However, this proved to be the death blow to Kulkarni's career. She only appeared in a handful of movies after that, and new offers dried up. Her last successful film was Chhupa Rustam: A Musical Thriller (2001). She quit movies after the 2002 film Kabhie Tum Kabhie Hum. She also did a few movies in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam.[10][11] ControversyIn June 2016, the Thane Police named Kulkarni as one of the accused involved in supplying ephedrine for illicit manufacture of methamphetamine to a ₹2000 crore international drug racket and gangster, intended for trafficking.[12] It is alleged that Kulkarni along with her partner Vicky Goswami and other co-accused attended a meeting in an international drug ring in Kenya in January 2016.[13] The crime branch of Thane police, which is investigating an international ephedrine supply racket, on 25 June 2017 issued a notice of 'proclaimed offender' to her and her partner and alleged drug lord Vicky Goswami. A team of crime branch officials went to Kulkarni's house at Sky Enclave in Versova, suburban Mumbai, and pasted a notice on the door, as the actress' whereabouts are not known. A special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act court declared Kulkarni and Goswami as proclaimed offenders and ordered attachment of their properties. In August 2024, the Bombay High Court quashed the 2016 drug case against former Bollywood actress Mamta Kulkarni, deeming the proceedings "manifestly frivolous and vexatious." The court concluded that the evidence was insufficient to sustain charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, noting that Kulkarni's mere presence at a meeting did not warrant prosecution. The judges emphasized that continuing the case would constitute an abuse of the judicial process.[14] Life as a MonkIn January 2025, Mamta Kulkarni was appointed Mahamandaleshwar of the Kinnar Akhada at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. During the ceremony, she performed the Pind Daan ritual at the Triveni Sangam and was given the spiritual name "Shree Yamai Mamta Nand Giri" it’s a name weighted with meaning and responsibility. [15] Filmography
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