‘Not Anurag Kashyap’: Mandana Karimi on filmmaker who dumped her after she got pregnant

Mandana Karimi who was recently evicted from Kangana Ranaut's reality show Lock Upp  revealed that she was in a relationship with a filmmaker, who left her after she got pregnant. Now the actress, cleared the speculation that it wasn’t Anurag Kashyap. She said that she had just shared a secret as the format of the show required it, and didn’t understand how people had begun pointing fingers at others. Mandana said that Anurag was her friend and also added that 'we are still friends'

In a recent Lock Upp episode, Mandana had said, “In lockdown, there was this period I was completely lost on social media and I was completely silent for a few months. After my separation and divorce, I could not trust men. Then, I did have a secret relationship, it was not committed but it went on for a year and half. My relationship was with a very well-known director who talks about women's rights and independence of women in the outside world, how a woman should be strong. ”In an interview with Times Of India, "I don't know how people have come up with some names. How can people play with names? That's the sad reality of social media and news. The person whom I had a relationship with, was not my friend...I definitely want to add here that it's not the name that's going around, which is Anurag Kashyap. Anurag was my friend and we are still friends. I have seen the headlines. It's not done. It's very unethical and unfortunate. I want to repeat again here, it's a sad state of news and headlines- picking names, putting words into people's mouths. "Speaking about her marriage and relationships, Mandana said, "It's not that if one has a failed marriage and a failed relationship, he/she cannot find love again. Such things only make you stronger. Please get inspired by what I say. See the bigger picture. I have come from Iran, done TV and movies both and am still standing tall." 

Mandana was married to businessman Gaurav Gupta in 2017 and separated from him five months later. She filed a domestic violence case against him and his family and had that initially, this upheaval did take a toll on her.  In one of the episodes, Mandana Karimi revealed her affair with a popular filmmaker. She disclosed that they didn’t make it public because he was waiting to get divorced from his then-wife. In fact, Mandana even got pregnant while in the relationship but had to abort as he refused to take the responsibility. On the reality show Lock Upp, a few contestants called Mandana Karimi a "gold digger" after she talked about her past. She later reacted to the statements and said, "I may look fancy but I am spoiling myself with my money, what I have earned. As far as my dating is concerned, yes, I have dated powerful men. But it is not for their money. It is on record, I have broken up with a powerful man because it wasn't worth my time or life. In fact, many times my things have gone. They have ruined my name and my life. Just like my ex. "Lock Upp is streaming on MXPlayer and ALTBalaji.