Mamta Kulkarni is a former Indian actress and model known for her work in

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

. She has appeared in commercial successful

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

films such as ''

Aashiq Awara ''Aashik Awara'' is a 1993 Bollywood romantic drama film directed by Umesh Mehra. It stars débutante actors Saif Ali Khan and Mamta Kulkarni in pivotal roles. The film brought Khan and Kulkarni the Filmfare Award for best Filmfare Award for B ...

'' (1993), ''

Waqt Hamara Hai ''Waqt Hamara Hai'' () is a 1993 Indian romantic action comedy film. It was directed by Bharat Rangachary and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The stars were Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty, paired together for the first time. Plot Vikas Sabk ...

'' (1993), '' Krantiveer'' (1994), ''

Karan Arjun ''Karan Arjun'' is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language fantasy action film directed and produced by Rakesh Roshan, starring Raakhee, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Mamta Kulkarni in lead roles. Amrish Puri portrays the main antagonist, whil ...

'' (1995), ''

Sabse Bada Khiladi ''Sabse Bada Khiladi'' () is a 1995 Indian action thriller film directed by Umesh Mehra and starring Akshay Kumar, Mamta Kulkarni, Mohnish Behl, Gulshan Grover and Sadashiv Amrapurkar. It was the third installment in the '' Khiladi film series'' ...

'' (1995), '' Andolan'' (1995), '' Baazi'' (1996), '' China Gate'' (1998) and '' Chhupa Rustam: A Musical Thriller'' (2001). Her performance in ''Aashiq Awara'' (1993) won her the 1994

Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year The Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut (previously known as Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year) is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films to recognise a performance by a female actor in their deb ...

. In the blockbuster ''

'' (1995), directed by

Rakesh Roshan Rakesh Roshan (born 6 September 1949) is an Indian film producer, director, screenwriter, and actor who works in Hindi films. He is the son of Indian music director Roshan and Indian Bengali singer Ira Roshan. He had appeared in 84 films thr ...

, Kulkarni starred alongside

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

. She quit the film industry after her appearance in the film ''

Kabhie Tum Kabhie Hum ''Kabhie Tum Kabhie Hum'' is a 2002 Indian Hindi movie. The movie stars Mamta Kulkarni (in her final Hindi film role), Charuhas Shidore, Anjan Srivastav and Vijayendra Ghatge. The movie was directed by Roop Dutta Naik. Plot Dinanath Shastri ( ...

''.

Career

Kulkarni made her film debut with the 1992 movie

Tirangaa (film) ''Tirangaa'' () is a 1993 Indian action drama film starring Raaj Kumar, Nana Patekar, Varsha Usgaonkar, Harish Kumar and Mamta Kulkarni. The movie was a blockbuster. At the time of 1993 Bombay bombings, Plaza cinema, Mumbai was also bombed ...

. In 1993, she starred in ''

'', which won her a

. She went on to appear in many popular films such as ''

'' (1993), '' Krantiveer'' (1994), ''

'' (1995), ''

'' (1995) and '' Baazi'' (1995). She mostly played the leading actor's love interest in all these films. Things changed when

Rajkumar Santoshi Rajkumar Santoshi is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter of Hindi films. Having received several accolades including three National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards, he made his directorial debut with the crime film '' Ghayal' ...

, in whose earlier movie '' Ghatak: Lethal'' (1996) she had a cameo appearance in a song, cast her as the female lead in his 1998 movie '' China Gate'', an ambitious remake of ''

Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The story takes place in 1586 during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. It follows the story of a village of desperate farmers who hire sev ...

''. However, things did not go as planned. Relations between Santoshi and the actress soured. Rumours began circulating that Kulkarni had been dropped from the movie, and was reinstated only after gangster

Chhota Rajan Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje (born 13 January 1959), popularly known by his moniker Chhota Rajan, is an Indian gangster who served as the boss of a major crime syndicate based in Mumbai. While living in Tilak Nagar, a big colony for the low-inco ...

intervened on her behalf. When the movie was finally released, it was an average earner. Furthermore, the only song in the movie, the

item number In Indian cinema, an item number or item song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films (Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, and ...

" Chamma Chamma", was picturised on

Urmila Matondkar Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfa ...

, even though Kulkarni had built her reputation with such numbers. To add insult to injury, the song turned out to be a chartbuster, which greatly increased Matondkar's popularity. Angered and frustrated at the turn of events, Kulkarni lashed out at Santoshi, accusing him of cutting her screen time because she had refused his advances. Santoshi denied all rumours related to the movie, and the matter was given a quiet burial. However, this proved to be the death blow to Kulkarni's career. She only appeared in a handful of movies after that, and new offers dried up. Her last successful film was '' Chhupa Rustam: A Musical Thriller'' (2001). She quit movies after the 2002 film ''Kabhie Tum Kabhie Hum''. She also did a few movies in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam.

Personal life

Kulkarni belonged to a middle class Marathi

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

family and claims that she was not married to Vicky Goswami. However, contrary reports state that she married Vicky Goswami in 2013.

Controversy

In June 2016, the

Thane Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven taluk ...

Police named Kulkarni as one of the accused involved in supplying

ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment. It is of unclear benefit in ...

for illicit manufacture of

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamp ...

to a 2000 crore international drug racket and gangster, intended for trafficking. It is alleged that Kulkarni along with her partner Vicky Goswami and other co-accused attended a meeting in an international drug ring in Kenya in January 2016. The crime branch of Thane police, which is investigating an international ephedrine supply racket, on 25 June 2017 issued a notice of 'proclaimed offender' to her and her partner and alleged drug lord Vicky Goswami. A team of crime branch officials went to Kulkarni's house at Sky Enclave in Versova, suburban Mumbai, and pasted a notice on the door, as the actress' whereabouts are not known. A special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act court declared Kulkarni and Goswami as proclaimed offenders and ordered attachment of their properties.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kulkarni, Mamta Living people 20th-century Indian actresses Marathi people 1972 births Actresses in Hindi cinema Indian film actresses Actresses from Mumbai 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Bengali cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Filmfare Awards winners