Mumbai, Oct 31
Actress Kanika Mann opened up about her traumatic first relationship, recalling how her first ever boyfriend was abusive and how one incident left her ears bleeding after he slapped her.
The actress shared her disturbing experience while talking to her Bigg Boss inmates, about her college days and early relationships. Recalling how she did not have a boyfriend until Class 12, Kanika said that moving to Chandigarh for her first year of college made her feel that she was finally experiencing freedom.
Sharing how she eventually got into her first relationship, she said, "I didn't have a boyfriend till 12th. I went to Chandigarh in my first year. I thought it was freedom. I saw everyone lying in the hostel at night. Hello. Hello."
She further added, "It's not like I'm in need of anyone. But I think it's FOMO. This can happen to me too. So I ran a Facebook account. The first guy who got a little bit of attention became my boyfriend."
Describing her former boyfriend, she further expressed, "He was a psycho. He was an abusive man."
Recalling one of the instances of physical abuse, Kanika revealed that her former boyfriend once turned up in her classroom without informing her and slapped her for wearing a striped suit.
Recounting the incident, she said, "He came to my class without telling me. Then he slapped me for wearing a striped suit. He slapped me in front of the whole corridor. He slapped me."
She further recalled that she had recently got her ears pierced when the incident took place and her ears started to bleed. When the other people in the conversation asked whether anyone intervened, she responded that nobody came forward to help her.
Kanika also revealed that her former boyfriend snatched her phone and threw it into a crowd. Recalling how he would try to control her movements, she said that he once threw away the keys to her hostel room.
Talking about how he would emotionally blackmail her, the actress said, "’Now come with me. Otherwise I will call your father. I will tell him that I am your boyfriend’, hevwoukd threaten"
She further revealed that he actually called her father on one occasion, but he did not answer the phone. Looking back, Kanika said, "My father didn't pick up the phone. If he had picked it up, I would have been saved much earlier."
The actress also recalled how she eventually began understanding her rights and decided to stand up for herself. She revealed that she had studied law for around eight to nine months, which helped her understand certain legal aspects.
Recalling the final confrontation with her former boyfriend, Kanika said he followed her from her hostel to her college department. As she was entering the building, he grabbed her hand and pulled her. She also recalled that he was wearing a hoodie and had a knife with him.
Recounting the frightening incident, she said, "He took out a knife and cut the veins in the hand about 3-4 times, and the way he was abusive, I was scared he could kill me too."
Kanika then recalled how she spotted someone she knew passing by and immediately asked him to call the police. She said, "Meanwhile, I knew someone who was passing by. His name was Arjun. I told him to call the police. He called the police and the police came for real. There are police in universities. Within 2 minutes, the police came."
She further revealed that, for the first time, she noticed her former boyfriend looking frightened. "For the first time, I felt that he was also scared of something," she said.
Kanika said she then narrated the entire ordeal to the police, following which her former boyfriend was taken away. She revealed that he remained in jail for two to three days.
However, the ordeal did not end there. The actress revealed that his family members and relatives contacted her after he was taken into custody and began threatening her.
Talking about the pressure she faced, she said, "His family and relatives called me back. They threatened me. They were not requesting, they were threatening."
She further admitted that she was scared about the consequences of speaking up and worried about her family finding out about the incident.
She expressed gratitude for the support she eventually received from her family, adding, "But thanks to my family, when I told them something, they really supported me."
Kanika Mann is known for her work in television shows such as 'Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega' and 'Chand Jalne Laga'. She has also appeared in Punjabi films and music videos.
