Mumtaz recalls top actors denied working with her and actresses would not be her friend; Says, ‘Heroines cannot be friends’

As the actress celebrates her 77th birthday on 31st July, the actress once spoke about her insecurities, regrets and complexities in her career.

Submitted by TellychakkarTeam on Sun, 08/04/2024 - 19:00

MUMBAI : Mumtaz was the reigning queen of the Hindi film industry in the 70s and 80’s her films like Roti, Aap Ki Kasam, Do Raste, Khilona were massive hits and made her a superstar of her time. As the actress celebrates her 77th birthday on 31st July, the actress once spoke about her insecurities, regrets and complexities in her career.

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Who can forget Mumtaz’s iconic dance in ‘“Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyaar Ke Charche’ in that orange saree or her amazing chemistry with top heroes of her time. She has shared screen space with top actors like Shammi Kapoor, Jitendra, Rajesh Khanna, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Sunil Dutt, and Dharmendra, among others.

Speaking of her days in the industry, Mumtaz said, “I just closed my eyes and did work. I thought the rest is in god’s hands. My start in the film industry was wrong. I won’t blame the heroes for not working with me because everybody wants to climb the ladder of success.”

Mumtaz worked on a number of films with Dara Singh, including Tarzan Comes To Delhi, Tarzan and King Kong, Veer Bhimsen, Samson, Hercules, and others, for which the actress was appreciative in order to shed the label of B heroine. She ultimately traded the B-tag for the title of "stunt heroine," though, and this resulted in no worthwhile offers.

But because of Dilip Kumar's kindness, the actress was able to land one of the key roles in his movie Ram Aur Shyam. She became well-known and had a completely different professional path because of this and her phenomenal hit combination with Rajesh Khanna. But this wasn't the only setback she encountered. Mumtaz eventually opened up about a number of problems and insecurities she had during her stint in the Hindi film industry.

Mumtaz went on to explain how none of the heroines of her time wanted to be friends with her. She said, “I wouldn’t know what’s in someone’s heart. I was a tomboy. I was closer to the boys than the girls. You should ask the heroines why they were not close to me. No one went out of their way to make friends with me. People may be jealous of you or love you; it doesn’t make a difference.”

She added, “Heroines cannot be friends, not then, not now. We didn’t do dinners or hang out together. It’s always been like that.”

Being insecure of her body, Mumtaz said, “We Iranians have heavy thighs. I’ve always had a complex about my thighs. I do seven kilometres of cycling daily to firm them up.”