Mandana Karimi quits Bollywood after #MeToo accused Sajid Khan bags Bigg Boss 16: This is no place to work, it has no respect for women

Actor Mandana Karimi has decided to part ways from Bollywood, as she says there is no respect for women in the industry, where MeToo accused and disgraced filmmaker Sajid Khan is welcomed with cheers on the platform on small screen and she has to fight with people to clear her dues.

Ever since Sajid was introduced by actor Salman Khan as a participant on a reality show, there has been uproar on the social media, with people calling out the channel as well as the makers for calling a MeToo accused when his name has not been cleared of the accusations. Almost four-years back, several women had come forward to accuse Sajid for exploiting his position of power, and Karimi was one of them. She had claimed that he asked her to remove her clothes when she went to meet him for Humshakals, saying, ‘If I like what I see, you might get the part’.

Now, she says she is not shocked that he is back in the limelight without any repercussions for his actions.

“To be honest, I’m not surprised to see him back in the spotlight. For people, life has become like I will put my head under the sand. If it is going to benefit me, and I can make money, then who cares? That shows why the MeToo movement in India and many other countries didn’t really reach anywhere,” Karimi says.

She continues, “It was just a few women, they came, they spoke and that was it. What is the action? Who is boycotting these people? Nothing is going to happen. Because we are talking about the bigger industry, which is a place where someone is someone’s mom, boyfriend, girlfriend or husband. It’s like you, you scratch my back, and I will scratch your back”.

Watching Sajid onscreen has made her upset, but she is not surprised. “It does make me feel sad. To be honest, that is also the reason I have not worked for the last seven months. I’m not working anymore. I didn’t go to any auditions. I don’t want to work in Bollywood. I don’t want to be involved with an industry where there is no respect for women,” says the actor, who was last seen in reality show Lock Upp.

Here, she claims that her dues from the reality show are yet to be cleared. “I’m still fighting for my money. My full payment hasn’t come, the show was over five months back. I am still waiting to know why they aren’t clearing my dues,” says the actor, who hails from Iran.

When asked what does she plan to do after quitting Bollywood, the actor tells us she is still trying to figure it out.

“Because being a woman, it’s not easy. I need to see what makes me happy because life is too short to compromise for anyone… There are people who agree to compromise and keep their mouth shut, or not talk about the things happening around, thinking what difference will one person make. That is the main problem.. Let’s see where my life takes me,” she ends.