Veteran actress Mandakini shot to fame and tasted success with her very first film ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili.’ The Rajiv Kapoor starrer 1985 released earned her a popular name and post that, there was no looking back for Mandakini as she went on feature in almost 48 films in a career spanning over 17 years. However, Mandakini admits that during her era, the film industry was dominated by men and that heroines were not very much in demand.
Speaking with Pinkvilla, the actress spoke about the patriarchal approach of Bollywood at her time and revealed that actresses were just used in the films for a few songs and romantic scenes. Mandakini was quoted saying, “That was a male oriented period. During those days heroines were not very much in demand. They were just used only for 3-4 songs and very few romantic scenes. When I started signing movies, whatever was coming...What happened in that was there were some movies which shouldn't have been done, that too I have worked for. Male used to decide with which actress they want to work.” ALSO READ: Mandakini Talks About Showing Cleavage In Her Breastfeeding Scene From Ram Teri Ganga Maili: ‘Nowadays, It Is All About Sexuality’
The Loha actress also talked about the fees that the actresses used to get back then. She mentioned that heroines used to get Rs. 1-1.5 lakhs for the whole movie. She also pointed out that male actors used to earn a lot more than actresses during her era.
Meanwhile, Mandakini was last seen in the Bengali film titled ‘Se Amar Prem’ which was released in 2002. This year, the actress made a comeback after a long gap with the music video ‘Maa O Maa’. Composed by Babli Haque, the song also featured Mandakini’s son, Rabbil Thakur. Directed by Sajan Agarwal, the emotional song saw Mandakini in the role of a mother and revolved around her bond with kids and how they all stood with each other in good and bad times.
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