Mandana Karimi accuses Kya Kool Hain Hum 3 director Umesh Ghadge of on-set harassment

Iranian actor Mandana Karimi, known for her stint on popular reality show Bigg Boss, has accused her Kya Kool Hain Hum 3 director Umesh Ghadge of harassment. Mandana made the accusations at a press conference, amid the Indian #MeToo movement.

“An experience led me to leave my profession which I loved. Harassment doesn’t mean to touch me, it means to make my life hell. I was too miserable. I didn’t talk to anybody about it. It was my Kya Kool Hain Hum 3 director. His name is Umesh,” Mandana said, according to ANI.

She provided details of her experience, which included last minute changes to dance steps, early call times, and demands for her to wear clothes she wasn’t supposed to wear.

In a recent interview to Times Now, Mandana had said, “I have personally experienced this and I have been called a drama queen and someone with too much attitude. Even to the extent of someone saying that I’m not from here and this is how things work in India. It reached a point where I decided to just keep my mouth shut and my thoughts to myself and accept the fact that women have no voice. And if they do say something then there are consequences for what they say.”

Several women have come forward in recent days with stories of sexual harassment. Industry figures such as directors Vikas Bahl, Sajid Khan, Rajat Kapoor and Subhash Ghai have been accused of sexual misconduct. Action against Bahl and Sajid has already been initiated, with actor Hrithik Roshan saying that he will not work with Bahl on Super 30 were the accusations to be proven true and Akshay Kumar shutting down production of Sajid’s Housefull 4, pending investigations.

The Indian MeToo movement began with actor Tanushree Dutta alleging actor Nana Patekar misbehaved with her on the sets of 2008’s Horn OK Pleassss.

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