Mandana Karimi Reveals Why She Is Leaving India amid Iran Controversy

Mandana Karimi has said that she is leaving India after living in the country for the past sixteen years. She calls India her second home, but certain recent events have forced her to take this decision.

She opened up about the reasons for leaving the country on her Instagram Stories.

“I never could have imagined or believed that I would say this, but goodbye India.”

“This is going to be hard. But after almost 16 years in India, I am finally leaving behind my second home… and here’s to new beginnings. New country, new home, new everything.”

Earlier, in one of her interviews with NDTV, Mandana revealed that she was leaving India for security reasons.

When asked if she was seriously moving out, she said, “Yes, I am, because of security reasons. I can't share details until I am out.”

Mandana said, “My way of supporting Iran in India, being so vocal about the reality, calling out officials, and not giving up — there are many reasons. My fight has been there for years in India, and now it just doesn't make sense.”

She also revealed that she received death threats in India. According to her, the main reason for leaving was that she never received support from friends, the government, or the media. The actress has openly expressed her political opinions online, for which she faced isolation and criticism.

In March, Mandana shared that she would not move to Iran because she had been banned there a decade ago. She said, “I was banned from Iran 10 years ago. I cannot go back to Iran. Yes, I am leaving India, but I am not going back to Iran. I am upset with India because, for the past few months, I didn’t get any support here. Suddenly, when Khamenei is dead, and when Israel and America’s names have come into the picture, everyone has an opinion in India. Everyone is on the streets, and they can actually mourn for Khamenei, which I couldn’t do, and still cannot do.”

She went on to add, “Because of security reasons, I have been stuck in one place, and none of my closest friends even have my location for safety reasons. Still, I am trying to talk to the media to amplify the voices of Iranians who are still being killed. The last thing is, I haven’t acted in movies for the past six years. That was my decision. So many of you are asking why I have an opinion. I have an opinion because I am Iranian. I know what is happening in my country. I was born and raised there, and I left at the age of 18.”

The journey has been difficult.“But everything is in the name of Iran, Javed Shah, and my people. I would do it again even without support,” she said in her recent interview.

On the work front, the actor was last seen in the 2022 Thar. She has taken a break from acting in recent years. However, recent media attention surrounding the actress has centered less on her entertainment career and more on her personal journey, activism, and evolving relationship with both India and Iran.

She hopes to one day return to Iran if the political situation changes in the nation.