Mamta Kulkarni once spoke about why she joined Bollywood and if she regretted quitting the life of glam and fame. Speaking with Abplive.com in 2016, Mamta had said it was because of her mother that she joined the film industry. She had also said that she doesn’t regret quitting. (Also Read | Mamta Kulkarni gets a new name as Mahamandleshwar of Kinnar Akhada; can do only these roles now)
Why Mamta Kulkarni joined film industry
Mamta had said, “It was under my mother’s influence and pressure I joined films and pursued acting. I was a reluctant actress and I don’t regret quitting the film world.” When asked about if she still watched Hindi films, she had said then that the “last movie I saw was Munna Bhai.”
Mamta had then said that she had visited Kumbh in 2013. She added that she took a dip in the Ganges in Haridwar in 2012. At that time, she had also said, “I want to return to India, but the almighty can only decide on it.”
Mamta is now Mai Mamta Nand Giri
On Friday, Mamta embarked on a spiritual journey by renouncing her worldly life and assuming a new identity of Mai Mamta Nand Giri, the Uttar Pradesh government said. In a statement, the UP government said in the ongoing Maha Kumbh, she first took ‘sanyas’ in the Kinnar Akhara and then she got a new name ‘Mai Mamta Nand Giri’ in the same akhara. After performing ‘Pind Daan’, the Kinnar Akhara performed her pattabhishek (consecration ceremony).
Mamta, 52, reached the Kinnar Akhara in Maha Kumbh on Friday, where she met Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Laxmi Narayan Tripathi of Kinnar Akhara and sought his blessings. She also met the president of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), Mahant Ravindra Puri. She took a dip in the sacred waters of the Sangam and was seen in the clothes of a ‘sadhvi’.
Speaking to reporters, Mamta said, “I started my penance (‘tapasya’) in 2000. And I chose Laxmi Narayan Tripathi as my ‘pattaguru’ because today is Friday… it is the day of Maha Kaali (Goddess Kaali). Yesterday, preparations were on to make me a mahamandaleshwar. But today Maa Shakti instructed me that I choose Laxmi Narayan Tripathi because that person is a ‘saakshaat’ (direct) form of Ardhnaareshwar. What else can be a bigger title than an Ardhnaareshwar doing my ‘pattabhishek.’”
About Mamta’s film career
Mamta made her debut in Bollywood in 1991 with Mera Dil Tere Liye. She starred in many films such as Waqt Hamara Hai and Aashiq Awara (1993), Krantiveer (1994), Karan Arjun (1995), Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995), Andolan (1995), Baazi (1996), China Gate (1998) and Chhupa Rustam: A Musical Thriller (2001). She quit the film industry after her appearance in the film Kabhie Tum Kabhie Hum (2002).
