Fri Jan 24 17:00:13 UTC 2025: **Former Bollywood Actress Mamta Kulkarni Renounces Acting Career, Takes Sanyas**
Prayagraj, India – Mamta Kulkarni, a once-popular Bollywood actress, has returned to India after a 24-year absence and taken sanyas (renunciation) at the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. Kulkarni, who starred in over 40 Hindi films including hits like *Tiranga*, *Aashik Aawara*, and *Karan Arjun*, has been initiated into the Kinnar Akhara (a monastic order for transgender people) and will be known as Shri Yamai Mamta Nand Giri.
The actress, who reportedly left Bollywood in 2002 and spent time in Kenya and Dubai, attributed her departure to a growing interest in spirituality. She stated that she spent many years in spiritual pursuit and has now formally embraced the monastic life. Her initiation ceremony, including a “pattābhiṣeka” (coronation), was performed by Acharya Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi of the Juna Akhara. Kulkarni has performed a ritualistic “pindadaan” (offering of food to ancestors) at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers.
Kulkarni’s renunciation marks a dramatic shift from her successful film career, during which she appeared in several regional-language films as well. She is now committed to her new life of religious service within the Kinnar Akhara.
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