Mandana Karimi was born in Tehran and began her professional journey as an air hostess before relocating to Mumbai in 2010 to pursue modelling. She made her Bollywood debut with a guest appearance in the film Roy in 2013, and went on to feature in Bhaag Johnny, Main Aur Charles, and Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3. She also gained popularity on television as a contestant on Bigg Boss 9 and Lock Upp.
A vocal critic of Iran’s regime under Ali Khamenei, Mandana has consistently expressed support for anti-regime protests in her home country. Following the reported assassination of Khamenei in a joint US-Israel airstrike, she publicly praised the actions of the two nations and commended former US President Donald Trump.
Taking to her Instagram Stories, Mandana shared a picture of Donald Trump and wrote alongside, “Dear Mr President, Iranian people will remember you the way Israel remembers Cyrus the Great.”
She compared him to Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, who ruled in the 6th century BC and is remembered for establishing one of the largest empires of the ancient world. Cyrus is particularly revered for his policy of tolerance toward diverse cultures and religions, and in Jewish history for ending the Babylonian exile. Through this comparison, Mandana appeared to portray Trump as a liberating figure in Iran’s contemporary context.
Earlier, in an interview with NDTV, Mandana had spoken about the prolonged protests within Iran. She remarked, “For years, people inside Iran have protested with our bare hands. We have lost people. We have lost mothers, kids, universities — the list just goes on and on. No one celebrates deaths lightly.”
