Mamta Kulkarni Calls Sridevi, Rekha 'Cosmetic Beauties' In Viral Video, 'Unke Peechay Koi Tha...'

Mamta Kulkarni may have disappeared from the big screen a very long time ago, but an old interview of the actress talking about being an outsider in the Hindi film industry is breaking the internet. Mamta worked in several commercially popular Hindi films such as Aashiq Awara, Waqt Hamara Hai, Krantiveer, Karan Arjun, Sabse Bada Khiladi, Andolan, Baazi and China Gate.

In the old interview, which is now going viral on Reddit, Mamta shares how it was extremely difficult for her to make a name for herself in Hindi cinema as she didn’t have any connection in the film industry. “I didn’t have any film background. Like today, Raveena (Tandon) has got her father, Pooja (Bhatt) has got her father to tell her that how they should talk to filmmakers. Nobody taught me all this. I learnt it all on my own through my experiences. I didn’t have to compromise. Women who are not from India or Bombay have to struggle a lot. Because I came from a financially secured background, I didn’t have to go through those experiences which other girls go through.”

Mamta further says that she was confident about her looks, and therefore, didn’t have to compromise in her career, while taking a dig at Sridevi and Rekha by calling them “cosmetic beauties.”

“First thing, you have to have a face. Some women don’t have it. There were Sri (devi), Rekha who were totally cosmetic beauties, but they made it through somebody. Unke peechay koi tha, mere peechay koi nahi tha,” Mamta added.

Mamta’s comments have sparked a huge debate on the internet, with netizens praising her “bold attitude”. One user wrote, “So I guess people have always spoken about nepo privilege in the industry. Tbh I am not saying people whose parents are in the industry can’t dream of becoming actors or directors, etc. But they don’t seem to realize how they have been saved from casting couch to even auditions. Plus, no one like preys on them. They have mentors to help them navigate.” Another one said, “Woah… she really had guts to call out people like that. It seems all these problems have been existing since the beginning. Only now are they highlighted so much.”