[custom_adv] Manizeh Karimi (born 19 May 1988), known professionally as Mandana Karimi is an persian/Indian mixed actress and model based in India. After working on several successful modelling projects around the world, she appeared as a lead in the Bollywood film, Bhaag Johnny. [custom_adv] She participated in the popular reality TV show, Bigg Boss 9 and became the 2nd runner up in 2015.Karimi was born on 19 May 1988 in Tehran, Iran, into a Muslim family of mixed ethnicity. Her father, Reza Karimi, is an Iranian Shia Muslim and her mother, Saba Karimi, is an Indian Sunni Muslim. [custom_adv] She said in an interview, "I was born in a conservative Muslim family and while growing up, I was very shy and quiet. I studied art. I used to spend most of my time in my room playing around with papers, cameras and colours." [custom_adv] About her Indian connection she commented, "I had come to India many times, visiting my family or for holidays. Also, when I started modelling, I got offers from India but was never interested." [custom_adv] In an interview, Karimi said, "The first film that I watched was Sholay when I was 8 or 9 years old. My father was one of the few people in Iran who possessed a tape of the film, though the government didn't allow to keep video cassettes." She further commented, "Mainly, I've grown up watching Iranian films, especially by directors like Majid Majidi and my favourite actress is Golshifteh Farahani." [custom_adv] In July 2016, Karimi got engaged to her boyfriend, Gaurav Gupta, an Indian businessman from Mumbai. The couple married in court in early March the following year, which was followed by a lavish Hindu wedding in March 2017. [custom_adv] Karimi started her career as an air hostess, and later quit that job to pursue a career in modelling.In 2010, after working on various international modelling projects, she came to Mumbai for three months on a modelling contract.
