Veteran actor Mumtaz opened up about her experience on sets, her role in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, and how nobody believed that she’d rejected Shammi Kapoor’s proposal, during a recent interview.
Mumtaz told Times of India that while she got along with all her male co-stars, the ‘heroines never spoke to her’ with the exception of Waheeda Rehman.
“Barring Waheeda Rehman who I got along very well with, the heroines never spoke to me- they just pulled up a chair and sat afar- not even a hello. I have no idea why they did that. But I used to happily sit with my group dancers and share lunch. I enjoyed my work. I did not sulk; in fact I never sulked,” Mumtaz said.
Mumtaz had earlier revealed that she didn’t marry Shammi Kapoor because the “Kapoors didn’t like it if the bahus in their family were in the film line,” and that didn’t go down well with Mumtaz since she wanted to focus on her career.
In the recent interview, Mumtaz said that Shammi Kapoor was a caring person, adding, “Nobody would believe that we were in love. Nobody believed that I had said ‘no’ to him for marriage because Shammi’s status in riches was higher; they said ‘how can Mumtaz refuse Shammi?’”
Mumtaz married businessman Mayur Madhvani in 1974. Their daughter Natasha married Feroz Khan’s son Fardeen Khan in 2006. Mumtaz denied the rumours of Feroz asking her to marry him.
Talking about Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Mumtaz said that Dev Anand had told her that she hers would be the main role and Zeenat Aman’s track was a side story. “But it went on to become the opposite,” Mumtaz said.
When asked if she brought it up with Dev Anand, Mumtaz said, “Kya poochti? (What would I have asked?) He was such a sweet man, always saying ‘Mumzy’ and showering love and care. He used to even call me and ask to choose which coloured handkerchief he should tie around his neck. The movie went on to become a super hit and in hindsight, I can say that he did it for the betterment of the film.”
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