Bollywood actress Mamta Kulkarni, who shot to fame in the 90s with films such as Aashiq Awara, Karan Arjun, and Baazi, has allegedly been arrested with her partner Vicky Goswami on the charge of drug trafficking in Kenya.
Mamta's almost-decade long career, though short-lived, was as tumultous as her personal life, with the actress falling in and out of one controversy after another - she posed topless for a glossy magazine in 1993, was slammed with charges under India's obscenity laws and finally convicted in 2000 thus inviting the wrath of conservative Islamic groups for wearing a burqa soon after.
Mamta Mukhund Kulkarni, popularly known as Mamta Kulkarni , was born on April 20, 1972 in Mumbai. Brought up in a Marathi speaking household, she lived at Yari Road, Versova, with her two sisters, Mithila and Moulina. She received instant fame for her bold appearances when she made her Bollywood debut with the movie Tiranga in 1992. However, it was the film Aashiq Awara (1993) opposite actor Saif Ali Khan, that fetched her the coveted Filmfare New Face Award. 1995's Karan Arjun opposite Salman Khan was another feather in her cap, as was Sabse Bada Khiladi, opposite Akshay Kumar the same year. But it is her item number Koi Jaye To Le Aaye, in Ghatak (1996), for which she will always be remembered.
Mamta was almost fading away from the industry when she was offered a role in Rajkumar Santoshi's China Gate (1998). However, things soured between the actress and the filmmaker amid rumours that he wanted to drop her from the movie but didn't at the intervention of underworld gangster Chhota Rajan. Mamta also accused the filmmaker of making advances on her, a charge that he denied. However, Mamta's career was never the same again and film offers dried up after that.
All this while, she continued to court controversy and faced interrogation for reportedly being paid a large amount to perform at a private function by a legislator from Bihar in 1997. The politician in question was later arrested after investigations into the Fodder Scam case. Mamta denied any knowledge of the scam.
Mamta made some lacklustre appearances in obscure films like 2001's Censor and 2002's Kabhie Tum Kabhie Hum.
Mamta then quietly faded away, resurfacing some years ago after a Dubai-based newspaper spotted her visiting her partner in jail - Vicky Goswami was arrested for drug-related offences in 1997. He left prison in 2012, having forged a relationship with Mamta while in prison. They have since reportedly been living in Nairobi, Kenya.
