Veteran actress, Mandakini rose to fame with her sensual scenes in her debut film, Ram Teri Ganga Maili, in 1985. Since then, she has worked in almost 48 films in a short career span of 17 years. She was last seen in a Bengali film, Se Amar Prem, in 2002. Finally, in August 2022, she made a comeback in the entertainment industry with her music video, Maa O Maa, along with her son, Rabbil Thakur. And recently, in an interview, she revealed her fees at the time she used to work.
For the unversed, Mandakini was a small town girl from Meerut who had then become an overnight sensation in India with Raj Kapoor's film, Ram Teri Ganga Maili. However, when her career was at its peak, she walked on the paths of the Dalai Lama and started devoting her time to Tibetan Yoga. And as destiny says, there, she met the love of her life, a former Buddhist monk, Dr Kagyur T. Rinpoche Thakur. Later, the duo got married and are blessed with two kids, Rabbil Thakur and Rabze Innaya Thakur.
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In an interview with Pinkvilla, Mandakini opened up about the patriarchal approach of the industry at her time. She mentioned that the actresses were used in the films only for a few songs and romantic scenes. Talking in the same notion, she also revealed her fees at that time for the whole movie was only Rs. 1-1.5 Lakhs. Mandakini said:
“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. When we used to work in films, we used to earn around Rs. 1- 1.5 lakh for the full film.”
For the unversed, Mandakini made her comeback in the entertainment industry after a huge long time with her music video, Maa O Maa, and this was also the debut of her son, Rabbil Thakur, in the showbiz world. Earlier, in an interview with the Hindustan Times, she had bared her heart about her long break and how she thought of returning to the industry. She also revealed the motherly sentiments which are attached to this music video and had said:
"It was on my mind for a long time that my kids are old enough now and I can get back to work. I was thinking about all this when I met Saajan. We have known each other since our younger days. We have known each other since the time we first came to Bombay. Our association is old, he liked the fact that I wanted to make a comeback and he came up with the idea immediately, on the spot. Besides, it is a sweet song with good music and lyrics. I thought it would be good. Films may take time - you choose subjects and listen to story etc, a song is a song. The song also talks about mother's sentiments. So I just decided to go with it. It is better to start with a smaller project after so long."
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In the same interview, she was asked about her iconic breastfeeding scene from the film, Ram Teri Ganga Maili, and what apprehensions she overcame for the film. To this, Mandakini wittily replied that whatever was shot was much different from the sexuality used nowadays. She had stated:
"First of all, it was not a breastfeeding scene, it was shot in such a way that it could look like one. If I go on to explain how it was done, it would be too long (a story). The cleavage that is seen on screen, you see so much of it, it is all technically done. But the way skin show is done in today's times, that was nothing. We should not be even talking about it. It (her scene) was also a pure form. Nowadays, it is all about sexuality."
Are you stunned to know about Mandakini's fees at that time? Let us know!
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