Mumbai, March 6: Iranian-born Bollywood actress Mandana Karimi has poured out her anguish over the dire situation in her home country. In a deeply personal revelation, she shared how the oppressive regime has crushed lives, drawing from her own experiences growing up under its shadow.
Karimi, who left Iran at 18 and held an Iranian passport until recently, emphasized that her words stem from lived reality, not hearsay. ‘I was born there and lived until I was 18. These are my own experiences,’ she stated firmly.
She recounted the horrors faced by her friends—arrests, executions, and the brutal mass killings on January 8. ‘When I left Iran, I truly understood the reality. Many friends were imprisoned, some even hanged,’ she said, urging the world to see through an Iranian woman’s eyes.
For 48 years, Iranians have yearned for freedom from this regime. Protests erupted on January 8 and 9, met with deadly force. ‘People took to the streets, but the regime killed many in a single day,’ Karimi noted, highlighting desperate calls for international aid that some received.
Karimi addressed critics questioning why Iranians might call for strikes from Israel or the US. ‘Don’t just ask why they want war—understand their pain after decades of cruelty,’ she implored. She spoke of unimaginable suffering endured by Iranian women.
Reflecting on her fortune, Karimi said, ‘Every day, seeing photos from friends and family, I feel lucky to have escaped at 18. I could have been one of the Mahsa Amini protesters on January 8 who never returned home—their parents still don’t know where their bodies are.’
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, died in police custody in 2022, sparking global outrage. Karimi pushed back at detractors: ‘When I urged the world to amplify Iran’s voice in January, February, and March, where were you? You were silent then—now suddenly everyone has an opinion. No, thank you.’
Her emotional plea underscores a call for empathy amid Iran’s turmoil, bridging her Bollywood success with roots in a land fighting for liberation.