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    From Jacqueline Fernandez to Mandakini: B-town divas and their love for bad company

    Mandakini_JacquelineAgencies

    Not long ago, actress Mandakini's photo with don Dawood Ibrahim also went viral much like the image of Jacqueline Fernandez and her alleged boyfriend, Sukesh Chandrasekhar.

    Story outline

    • Jacqueline Fernandez has been linked to conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar
    • Pictures of the duo have gone viral on the Internet
    • Over the years, B-town actresses have been linked to 'bad boys'
    • Notorious don Haji Mastan fancied Madhubala in the '50s
    • Mandakini and Mamta Kulkarni, too, found themselves attached to men with criminal records
    It wasn’t very long ago that the dons of Mumbai underworld ruled the roost in Bollywood. Their blessings were mandatory for movies to go on the floors, and for any actors or actresses to have a fighting chance at a filmy career. Although the news reports of Jacqueline Fernandez’s alleged romance with conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar — who is the prime suspect accused in a Rs 200-crore extortion case — has the netizens flabbergasted in the past weeks, a few decades ago, it was almost an unsaid custom for Bollywood actresses to hobnob with mafia dons, gangsters, extortionists and seedy businessmen who invested in their films.

    Some of these actresses even fell for the men of the underworld, while others were speculated to be their arm candies but not by choice.

    The list of such Bollywood actresses is long, but we cannot begin the low-down on this connection without talking about gangster Haji Mastan’s infatuation with the OG diva, Madhubala, first. Mastan, much like the protagonist of mafia and gangster movies of Bollywood, was known to be the messiah of the poor. The notorious don was also head over heels in love with the “Mughal-e-Azam” actress.

    However, before he could meet the beauty in real life, Madhubala died suddenly, at the zenith of her movie career. The don was crestfallen. But years later, another lesser known Bollywood beauty, Sona Mastan Mirza, gripped his attention for her striking resemblance to Madhubala. The two got married in 1984. There are claims that the 2010 film, ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbai’, is a fictional depiction of their romance.

    The D Company
    Mandakini: Much before the arrival of social media – where the alleged “close encounter” photo of Jacqueline Fernandez with her alleged conman beau is currently circulating faster than wildfire – photos went viral even in the ’80s as well. One such photo was that of actress Mandakini with international terrorist and mafia don Dawood Ibrahim at a party. Newspapers flashed these photos for days. Mandakini had by then earned the title of being the sexy siren of Bollywood, with her nymph-like appearance in ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’ in a sheer white saree. However, her association with Dawood propelled her to limelight like never before.

    Mandakini_1200Agencies
    By the time the reports of the alleged relationship surfaced, Mandakini had already earned the title of being the 'sexy siren of Bollywood'.


    There were rumours that she was married to the don, they both lived in Dubai and had a child. Although the actress has denied the rumours in several interviews, she could never absolve herself of being Dawood’s girlfriend in public consciousness. Things only got worse when the gangster absconded a day after the 1993 Mumbai blast in which he was the prime suspect.

    Media reports claimed that Mandakini went to a safehouse in Bengaluru to stay out of the investigation. She was later given a clean chit in the case. Bookmarked by such scathing rumours, and some tragic incidents, Mandakini’s career came to a close. She chose spirituality and gave up Bollywood altogether.

    Anita Ayoob: A Pakistani actress who had also acted in Indian films, Ayoob, was also said to be particularly close to Dawood. In fact, their relationship came under the scanner after a film producer, Javed Siddique, was shot dead by Dawood’s gang members for refusing to cast Ayoob in a film.

    anita _ayoob_1200Agencies
    A Pakistani actress who had also acted in Indian films, Ayoob, was also said to be particularly close to Dawood.


    Drugs & Dhoka
    Mamta Kulkarni: The hit heroine of the late ’80s and early ’90s, Kulkarni, who starred in several big movies such as ‘Baazi’ and ‘Karan Arjun’, seemed to have had quite a thing for the bad boys. At the height of her career, Kulkarni reportedly had an affair with Mumbai don Chhota Rajan. Rajan, in turn, used his power and influence to threaten directors (including film-maker Raj Kumar Santoshi) to cast Kulkarni in big-budget films.

    mamta_kulkarni_1200Agencies
    At the height of her career, Mamta Kulkarni reportedly had an affair with Mumbai don Chhota Rajan.

    Kulkarni, however, later paired up with businessman and alleged drug smuggler Vikram Goswami aka Vicky, who also was very close to Rajan. It is hard to imagine how the relationship transpired. Kulkarni and Rajan broke up, but she lived with Vicky in Kenya for a long time. It was alleged that he would pull the strings of Bollywood directors from there.

    Goswami, along with Kulkarni, was later arrested on charges of drug smuggling. The actress now reportedly lives as a sadhvi, after being released from jail.


    Guns And Glamour
    Monica Bedi: Bedi’s affair with gangster Abu Salem is straight out of a Bollywood film plot. The actress first met Salem, who is known to be a charming guy and a smooth-talker, after a show in Dubai in 1998. Salem had introduced himself by a different name, and cited a different profession at the time. Sparks flew between the two instantly. Little changed when Bedi finally learned who Salem was, and media reports claimed that Salem regularly used his influence and strong-arm tactics to get producers to cast Bedi in their films.

    Monica_1200Agencies
    Monica Bedi’s affair with gangster Abu Salem is straight out of a Bollywood film plot.


    There were reports about Salem’s alleged romantic links with other Bollywood actresses. But it was Bedi with whom he had dreamt of having a life before the gangster and Bedi were deported from Portugal, and Salem was sentenced in the 1993 serial blast case.

    The ‘Ex Factor’
    Manyata: Manyata may have done only a few obscure films in Bollywood before marrying Sanjay Dutt and going through the ordeal of his trial and punishment. But she was no stranger to controversies, and men who made terrible choices. Soon after she tied the knot with Dutt, a “writer”, Mehraj Shaikh, moved the court claiming that he was Manyata's husband and the two had never divorced.

    manyata_1200Agencies
    Soon after she tied the knot with Dutt, a “writer”, Mehraj Shaikh, moved the court claiming that he was Manyata's husband.


    Shaikh filed an application against Dutt for alleging violation of Muslim marriage norms. This incident happened in 2008 when Shaikh was lodged at the Arthur Road jail in connection with charges of sending vulgar SMSes and threatening Bollywood personalities for extortion.

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