Film director 'Vikram Bhatt' signs Iranian actress

Iranian actress   ''Mandana Karimi'  

Iranian actress Mandana Karimi is all set to debut in Bollywood with filmmaker Vikram Bhatt's Bhaag Johnny.

She will be playing a lead in the film alongside Kunal Khemu and Zoa Morani.


Born to an Indian father and an Iranian mother, Mandana grew up in Tehran, before globetrotting and landing in India and being discovered by Vikram Bhatt. "I don't want to be known just for my looks," said Mandana.

"I'm ready to experiment with roles from everything cliche to bizarre. My aim is to enact varied characters with all kinds of shades," she said.

Asked about her role in Bhaag Johnny, she said, "Wait and watch. Let me not spoil the surprise."

Coming from a foreign country, one might think that Mandana would have to learn Hindi first. But the she revealed, "I can speak Hindi pretty well, though I'm working on perfecting my accent now."

Mandana has walked the ramp for many fashion designers including JJ Valaya, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, Rohit Bal, Anna Singh, Satya Paul and even done an advertisement for Royal Stag with superstar Shah Rukh Khan, and another one for Sony Ericsson with Kareena Kapoor.