Former Bollywood actress Mamta Kulkarni recently made headlines for embracing her newfound spiritual awakening at the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025. Having been appointed as Mahamandaleshwar of Kinnar Akhara, she recently appeared on Rajat Sharma’s popular TV show, Aap Ki Adalat, as a guest. She has been, since then, expelled from Kinnar Akhara.
Mamta made a few shocking revelations on the show, answering Sharma’s questions candidly. Here’s everything Mamta Kulkarni said on Aap Ki Adalat.
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Credit: Instagram/mamtakulkarniofficial
Mamta Kulkarni addressed the allegations of bribing Kinnar Akharawith INR 10 crore to be made Mahamandaleshwar at the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025.
Talking about the matter, she denied the allegations saying that she is undergoing an acute financial crisis, and that she doesn’t have the funds to pay bribes.
2. On financial struggles
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Continuing talking about the bribery allegations, Mamta elaborated on her financial struggles and said that she doesn’t even have INR 1 crore, as her bank accounts are frozen. She also said that she had to borrow money to pay guru dakshina.
“Mere pass Rs 10 crore kya, Rs 1 crore bhi nahi hai. Mere bank accounts seize kar diye hain government ne. Aapko malum nahi hai, main kis tarah se reh rahi hoon. Mere pass paise nahi hain, kisi se udhar leke Rs 2 lakh diye, vo bhi jo guru ko dakshina deni hoti hai (Forget Rs 10 crore, I do not have even Rs 1 crore with me. The government has seized my bank accounts. You don't know how I am surviving. I have no money. I had to borrow Rs 2 lakh from somebody to offer as 'dakshina' to my guru when I was made Mahamandaleshwar)."
“Three of my apartments are in a state of disrepair, infested with termites, because they have remained closed for the past 23 years. I cannot even begin to describe the financial crisis I am going through,” she added.
3. “Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan sniggered at me”
Credit: Film Kraft
Mamta Kulkarnialso opened up about certain controversies that surfaced during the filming of Karan Arjun. She starred opposite Salman Khan in the movie. She talked about one such incident in which Salman and Shah Rukh Khan allegedly pranked her.
She said, “Chinni Prakash was the choreographer of Karan Arjun. Both Shah Rukh and Salman had gone for the shoot and I was sitting alone. After almost an hour and half, Chinni Prakash’s assistant knocked at my door. I said, ‘What happened?’ He said, ‘Masterji is calling you. Then I went up. There were stairs, when I was climbing up, both Salman and Shah Rukh passed by me and they sniggered. I was quiet. It was about 8 in the evening, and I went to the masterji. He told me, ‘This particular step, you will do it alone.’ I was like, ‘What are you saying?'”
“The next morning, the first shot was mine. My very first shot was approved. And I saw both Shah Rukh and Salman watching me from behind a bush. And they are laughing again. The next shot was theirs. They had to do a step on their knees in between 5,000 people. They took so many retakes. The director eventually shouted, ‘Pack up’. We all ran to our rooms. I knew last evening they played with me. I didn’t want to give them the opportunity to make the choreographer assign all the steps to me. So when they ran up, so did I. As soon as I came, Salman stopped me and shut the door on my face. This was it.”
4. On consuming alcohol during Navratri
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Mamta Kulkarni also spoke candidly about consuming alcohol during Navratri fasts. She said that fasting made her more sensitive to alcohol, and how it affected her physically and mentally.
She said, “During my time in Bollywood, my life revolved around a strict routine. Whenever I went for shooting, I would carry three bags. One contained my clothes, while the other held my portable temple. This temple, set up on a table in my room, was where I would perform puja before leaving for work. Only after completing this ritual would I embark on my shooting schedule."
She added, “I used to observe Navratri. This Navratri is a nine-day siddhi. I had taken a vow to fast and perform three havans in the morning, afternoon, and evening. I was only on water for nine days. I performed yagya with 36 kilos of sandalwood. My designer, who was from Bollywood then, said, ‘Mamta, what are you doing? You have become too serious. Get up, nine days are enough, let’s go now.’ We then visited the Taj; one or two Navratris went by in this manner. I would consume scotch, but after just two pegs, I had to rush to the washroom. It felt as though all the alcohol had instantly gone to my head. The nine days of penance, with their lack of sustenance, was taking a toll. My insides felt as if they were burning. I ended up sitting in the washroom for 40 minutes."
5. “My Guru saw that Bollywood would not allow me to follow spiritual path”
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Mamta added that her Guru then saw that her line of work would interfere with her spiritual path and suggested that she stayed away from everything that distracted her.
She said, "This all happened between 1996-97. For two years, my Guru saw that Bollywood would not allow me to follow this path for long. That's why he led me to a place of penance where I could be away from everything and everyone for 12 years."
6. On doing an item number in ‘Ghatak’
Credit: Santoshi Productions
Mamta Kulkarni also spoke about performing an item number in the movie Ghatak. She said that she did it at the director’s behest, and that she did it because she was good at it.
“The director Raj Kumar Santoshi requested me to do it. The movie was lying canned for seven years because of its heroine Meenakshi Sheshadri. I went through my dance number as if I was doing a stage show, which I was good at,” Kulkarni said.
7. On posing semi-nude for a magazine
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Mamta Kulkarni had once posed semi-nude for the cover of Stardust magazine in the 90s. This topic also came up for discussion in Aap ki Adalat. She said that she was shown a reference to the magazine, and that she did not find it objectionable.
She said, “I was then studying in ninth standard. I was shown a picture of Demi Moore by the Stardust people, which I did not find to be obscene.”
8. “I have not seen any pornography in the last 23 years”
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Talking about her spiritual journey, Mamta said that she has given up all kinds of vices, including watching adult movies: “I had also once said at one time ‘I am still a virgin’. Since I did not know anything about sex, I didn’t know anything about nudity. In the last 23 years, I have not seen any pornography.”
9. On dancing to songs with questionable lyrics
Credit: Film Kraft
Mamta Kulkarni made headlines for dancing on various controversial songs during the peak of her career. She was asked about the same on Aap ki Adalat, to which she said that dancers do not usually care about the lyrics of the song.
She explained, “Like Madhuri Dixit, we as dancers do not go through lyrics or lines. Our sole focus is on our dance steps.“
10. On returning to Bollywood
Credit: Film Kraft
Lastly, Mamta Kulkarni completely ruled out returning to films. She even said that she keeps getting fan requests for the sequel of Karan Arjun,but she said that there is no chance now.
She said, “Now I am a sanyaasin full time. Like milk that has been turned into ghee, it cannot get back to its original shape. I have also decided not to return to films. I have lived like a tapaswinifor 23 years. Even now, on Instagram, my fans tell me they want me to see me in a sequel of Karan Arjun, but I have made up my mind not to return to films.”
Mamta Kulkarni stepped away from Bollywood in the early naughts. Her last appearance was in the 2002 film Kabhie Tum Kabhie Hum. Since then, she has largely stayed out of the limelight, dedicating herself to spiritual pursuits.
Social and lead images credits: Instagram/mamtakulkarniofficial
