Mandana Karimi says opening up on sexual harassment in Bollywood did more harm than good

Actress Mandana Karimi had announced her decision to quit Bollywood last year after Sajid Khan participated in Salman Khan's controversial reality show 'Bigg Boss 16'. Earlier, during the #MeToo movement, she had accused the filmmaker of sexually harassing her. And now, she has claimed that her revelation only invited more trouble for her.

Mandana stated the after she levelled accusations against Sajid, people termed her as "difficult to work with" in the industry.She mentioned that during her time in Bollywood, she also associated with people who were genuinely good to her, but the others mostly tried to corner her as she had no connections. During a chat with Shivani Pau on her podcast, Mandana said that she does not care about fame and money anymore, like she used to when she was young. She went on to say that while the #MeToo movement was largely successful in western countries, in India, it failed to work out and she only ended up inviting more problems.

Mandana said that she was tired of bottling up for so long and that was the reason she decided to bare it all during the #MeToo movement. However, it backfired. "It’s an industry that, if I had a child right now, I would be worried if my daughter wants to be a part of Bollywood," she said.She went on to say that getting work in the film industry depends on the name of one's father and family. Even though, actors are later judged by their talent in the long run, the competition is cut-throat, she said.