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Mandakini breaks silence on Dawood Ibrahim photo controversy: ‘He was just sitting there’

Mandakini recalls the Dawood Ibrahim photo controversy, denies being invited by him and says reports of their marriage and son were untrue.
Veteran actor Mandakini has revisited the controversy surrounding her much-discussed photograph with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, saying the picture was taken during a cricket match she attended after travelling to Dubai for a show. The actor has maintained that she was not invited by Dawood and said she had no idea at the time that the photograph would later become the subject of intense speculation.
Mandakini says she did not go to Dubai for the cricket match
In an interview with ANI, Mandakini recalled how the photograph was taken and said she had travelled to Dubai for professional reasons before attending the match. According to the actor, there were several people around and she did not think much of who was seated where.
“Whatever people want to write or say, we don’t have control over it. An artiste meets thousands of people, and everyone is equal to us. I did not even go to Dubai to watch the match. We had gone there for a show. There were many people sitting at the match, and he was just sitting there.”
Mandakini further denied that Dawood had invited her to the match.
“No, I was not invited by Dawood. Creating a controversy and making something interesting out of it — I didn’t know about any of that,” she said.