MUMTAZ – Hindi
Film’s Greatest Actress of all Times
Mumtaz was uninhibited co-star. ‘I don’t want to play your sister,’ she
said, ‘for I don’t feel like one when you are with me.’ We both laughed.
I was doing a film with Mumtaz for my brother Goldie,
called Tere Mere Sapne; together we made a good looking pair. She was friendly,
very amiable, an easy-going, uninhibited co-star. We responded to each other
exceptionally well on the sets. As soon as she heard of my project to be shot
in Nepal, she showed her keenness to participate in it. I gave her a brief
narration of the story. ‘It’s a hell of a role for any girl who does it,’ she
said, ‘but I don’t think I want to play your sister.’ She was quite emphatic
‘Why not?’ I asked her. ‘For I don’t feel like one, when you are with me,’ she
explained. We both laughed. ‘Would you agree to do the smaller and less
significant part?’ I asked. ‘Only if it is the romantic one,’ she replied. ‘In
that case, let me have the privilege of asking you, “Will you be the romantic
leading lady opposite me, Mumsy, in my film Hare Rama Hare Krishna?”‘ I said in
great style. She was equally stylish as she answered, ‘Privilege granted!’ We
shook hands.
• Dev Anand in
India Today, October 1, 2007
Mumtaz
was my absolute favourite. We used to listen to the radio at night and this is
when all my dancing abilities were best showcased. One had to just tell me that
the song on radio was from a Mumtaz film and I would move 20 frames per second,
like the way people move in the old Charlie Chaplin films.
I loved the way she moved her hips. I think nobody in
this world can be as beautiful a sight as she used to be. She was sensual,
innocent, naughty and very energetic, all at the same time. She was the first
personality I mimicked. I loved to walk like her and dance like her.
Usually actors have very important personalities and
performers as their idols. Mine was Mumtaz. Not to say that she was unimportant
or not special. What I mean is that for a guy she was an unconventional role
model. To me she was the single most important cause of my tilt towards
anything that had vaguely to do with the performing arts.
• Shah Rukh Khan
Fame has favoured many in Hindi Film (HiFi) history, yet very few have
wielded that supreme power. Cine Blitz has included Mumtaz in their list of the
31 most compelling personalities whose very names are synonymous with lasting
glory.
Super
Powers!
Oomph personified, Mumtaz’s little upturned
nose and saucy pout sent the men into a tizzy. But there was more to her than
an electric screen presence. If she sizzled in Aap Ki Kasam and Do Raaste
she proved her acting credentials in Khilona.
The original patakha (bomb), she rose
from B-grade roles to playing vamp to finally becoming the darling of the
nation, whose navel-baring, tightly draped saris and uninhibited dancing style
were all the rage for years!
• Cine Blitz, March
2005
Mumtaz
is a complete professional where her work is concerned. There, she won’t
concede any ground to me. Off the sets she’s outspoken, frank and loyal. We’ve
made many jubilees together. She’s been my luckiest co-star.
• Reminiscences of
Rajesh Khanna from February 1975, Cine Blitz, March 2007
Snub nose and no
poetry-inspiring eyes either, yet Mumtaz rocked the nation with her oomph and
yes, her pout appeal! She wasn’t slender and delicate looking, yet the way she
moved left many a hearts panting for more!
• Femina, March
2007
Bees Saal Baad (After Twenty Years)
The original patakha,
Mumtaz had all the trappings of a rags-to-riches superstar in the making. From
B-grade roles to being Dara Singh’s heroine in Samson and Rustam-e-Hind
to vamp roles in Mere Sanam and Kajal to finally becoming queen-bee of
the movies with films like Do Raaste,
Sachcha Jhootha, Aap ki Kasam, Mumtaz was the undisputed numero-uno.
And at the age of 26, she chucked it all up to become
Mrs. Mayur Madhvani. Her sensitive performance in Khilona snagged her the Filmfare Best Actress trophy. Her songs
like Yeh hai reshmi zulfon ka andhera,
Bindiya chamkegi, Jai-jai shiv shankar, are the stuff
chartbusters are made up of.
Years later, she made a disastrous comeback with David
Dhawan’s Aandhiyan. After a near
fatal brush with cancer, Mumtaz attempted to reconcile her strained relations
with her husband. She has two daughters, Natasha and Tanya, who look after their
father’s burgeoning business empire. Mumtaz now divides time between her homes
in London and Mumbai.
• Jitesh Pillai,
Times News Network
Before HRHK,
Dev Anand had directed his Indo-Pakistan war film Prem Pujari which had flopped. Surely he needed to play it safe at
the box-office with his next celluloid adventure. Hence, Mumtaz as the Nepali
beauty who steals the man with a mission away from his vision just long enough
for tantalizing song breaks. And to think that Dev Anand had earlier rejected
Mumtaz as his leading lady because of her pug
nose!
• Internet
Mumtaz was the maharani of operatic oomph. Loud,
in-your-face earthy and seductive, her big-built charisma saw many films cross the
finish line. From the time she was a starlet, Mumtaz had a certain quality that
generated hit films. While other sex symbols down the years were reserved,
aloof and unattainable, Mumtaz was the voluptuous girl next door getting into
beach-wear with Feroz Khan for torrid clinches in Apradh or joining Rajesh Khanna for a romp in the rain in Do Raaste.
• www.hindustantimes.com
If the stars could project any sexuality, it had to be
with the kind of flair that only delightful Mumtaz could manage.
She was the classic example of an actress who had reached the top, out of sheer
pluck and talent. In a given week, six new films featuring Mumtaz were
released, an all time record. When she was not the main point of
interest in a film, she was the proverbial scene-stealer. When she
appeared in the woman-oriented Khilona
(1970), she was rated as a supreme actress and received many prestigious
awards.
• Filmfare, March
2002
Mumtaz had arrived and with a bang and man, what a
bang! With films like Do Raaste
(1969), Sachcha Jhootha (1970), Khilona (1970) and Aap Ki Kasam (1974) she established herself. Mumu conveyed a
certain bon-homie to the audience; her sunny persona and impish charm did the
trick. Whether it was here skin-tight salwar-kameezes or her dancing style,
Mumu set many trends. The original jhatka queen, till now actresses are
told to dance like Mumtaz! Need we say more…?
Mumtaz provided the oomph. She stood for sauciness and
her skin-tight salwars in Roti, Sachcha Jhootha, etc.
Khilona also begins the second, more respectable phase of Mumtaz. Having risen
from C grade films, Mumtaz had slowly climbed up. An in-love Yash Chopra had
given her more footage in Hamraaz
than to the heroine Saira Bano and Mumtaz’s fortunes had started changing for
good.
• 3 to 6
The tight and short blouses which proudly flaunted a
high bosom and navel and tightly-wrapped saris she wore were imitated in all
the Indian cities during the late sixties and seventies. She was among the few
lucky ones to escape the industry and marry a London-based tycoon, Mayur
Madhvani. However, after 16 years of marriage, now on the rocks, Mumtaz tried
making a comeback with Aandhiyan
(1990). The hero was a grateful Shatrughan Sinha who she had helped during his
struggling days. Unfortunately, neither make-up nor the camera filters could
hide her haggard looks. This film was disappointing. Mumtaz went back, away
from limelight again.
http://www.cinestarz.com/profiles/actress/mumtaz.htm
When V. Shantaram was shooting for Boond Jo Ban
Gayi Moti, he was once kept waiting for two hours by his own daughter
Rajshree who was juggling with several shoots at the time. Not used to such
undisciplined behaviour, an angry Shantaram asked his assistant to check out
what other shootings were going on at Raj Kamal Kalamandir that day. The man
returned with the news that Dara Singh was shooting on the next set.
“Who’s his heroine?” Shantaram enquired. He was told
that it was a little-known girl called Mumtaz. “Bring her to me,” he ordered.
The assistant rushed to Mumu with the message that Baba wanted to see her. Mumu
dropped everything she was doing and followed him back to the set of Boond
Jo Ban Gayi Moti to be told to her astonished delight by the great man that
he wanted her to step into his errant star daughter’s shoes, immediately.
“But you have to promise me that till my film is ready
you will not sign a single new film and not complete any of your pending
projects,” he told her. “Yeh vaada raha,” his new heroine retorted,
unable to believe her luck. And the girl who till then had only graduated from
a chorus dancer to Mehmood’s and Dara Singh’s consort, was fitted into
Rajshree’s clothes and brought to the sets to rehearse. Half-an-hour later Shantaram
came down to can the shot.
When Rajshree finally turned up she was told that she
was no longer wanted. Mumtaz was the new gem in the Shantaram camp. And while
all this drama was going on, bechara Dara Singh was patiently waiting
for his heroine to return. She never did!
• Screen
Santhali saris were in vogue in late 60s. The sari is
draped in such a way that the pleats are avoided and it hugs your figure like
second skin. Mumtaz made a scintillating entry to the big-time with her
navel-popping glittering orange sari with a very small sleeveless blouse in Brahmchari
(1968). Mumu and Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche thus became immortal!
Mumtaz did the trick once again! One more orange sari,
complete with dazzling, gold ornaments and a big bindi! This time she
stole everybody’s hearts in the Bindiya chamkegi song in Do Raaste
(1969).
• 3 to 6
Once Amitabh Bachchan entered Zanjeer, Mumtaz
began to have second thoughts about the film. He was not a saleable star like
Dharmendra. She waited till the release of Bandhe Haath in which she was
paired with him, and when that bombed, she decided it would be foolish to risk
another film with Bachchan. As it is, her days in the industry were numbered.
Mayur had popped the question and she had accepted. Soon she would be the wife
of a non-resident Indian industrialist? Why leave the industry with a debacle?
It was wiser to walk out of Zanjeer.
• Screen
When Dev Anand started working on Hare Rama Hare
Krishna he toyed with the idea of casting Mumtaz as his sister, Jasbir or
Janice, in the film. Mumtaz was appalled when he approached her with the role.
“How can I play your sister?” she argued. “After Tere Mere Sapne, will
anyone accept us as brother and sister?” Dev realised that she had a point and
cast her as his Nepali sweetheart in the film.
• Screen
Mumtaz started her film career as an extra and went on
to become one of the top actresses of the 70s. She is a living example of
patience and endurance, as she had to wait for long before she played the lead
heroines role. She was Dara Singh’s heroine in a dozen films such as
Rustam-e-hind and Sikandar-e-Azam, where her role was reduced to
glamorous nothing. However, that didn’t deter the lovely Mumtaz, and she got
her first major break with Ram aur Shyam.
And then as they say, the sky was the limit. She made
her way into everybody’s heart, and her pairing with the then superstar Rajesh
Khanna gave many blockbusters including Do Raaste, Sachcha Jhootha, Aap ki
Kasam and more. She won the precious Best Actress award for her performance
in Khilona.
Her cute looks coupled with oodles of sensuality made
her the oomph girl of the 70s. She left the film industry in her 20s, and
married the London-based tycoon, Mayur Madhvani. She made a rather unsuccessful
comeback with Aandhiyan in the 90s.
Recently, she made a brief appearance in the Filmfare
awards nights, when she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from her
co-star of many films, Rajesh Khanna.
• India Times
Languishing for years, Mumtaz ignited like a
firecracker when she met her match in Rajesh Khanna. Do Raaste,
Sachcha Jhootha, Apna Desh and Dushman made them the box office duet
to die for.
The toast of the early 70s, Mumtaz with her supple
youth, luscious sensuality and work(wo)manly shoulders-to-the-wheel attitude
was just what the distributors ordered. Her subsequent attempts at
respectability — Aap ki Kasam and Prem Kahani — didn’t quite come
off and once again Bollywood under-utilised an actress whose forte wasn’t
melodrama but whose joie de vivre gave her a direct hotline to the
audiences heart-line.
• Cine Blitz
Mumtaz began with non-featured roles (Anpadh),
worked her way up to side-roles (Sehra). Then graduated to being the
heroine of umpteen B-grade Dara Singh and Feroz Khan starrers and second lead
in bigger films (Sawan ki Ghata, Hamraaz). Now finally, Mumtaz makes her
first breakthrough and is offered heroine roles — albeit still with new comers
like Rajesh Khanna, Jeetendra and Sanjay Khan.
Nobody can say she hasn’t worked for it. In both 1966
and 1967, Mumtaz is easily the heroine with maximum releases (never mind their
quality or her roles). The first portent of bigger things come when Dilip Kumar
plucks her out to be one of his heroines in Ram aur Shyam. She is
publicised as much as Waheeda. So it is a major deal for Mumtaz when veteran V.
Shantaram summarily ejects his daughter Rajshree (she is being elusive with
dates) from his Boond jo ban gayi Moti and replaces her with Mumu.
Mumtaz says that she fainted with joy when she heard the news.
Though Boond… sinks, Mumu rises above it. Her
affair with Shammi gives her sheen of respectability. And after Sharmila’s
bikini created waves, Mumu is the first starlet to slip into a bikini of her
own in Feroz Khan’s starrer Woh koi aur hoga. Energetic, perky, hard
working (she always gets good reviews) and willing to pay the dues, there is no
stopping Mumu.
• Cine Blitz
Mumtaz started her career by playing many junior
artist roles. She should be considered as the luckiest of the lot because none
of the junior artists so far have been able to graduate into a top heroine. Her
stars were good to her and so were her pin-up good looks.
In her struggling days, she was always mocked for her
features, especially her nose? “With a pug nose like yours, you will never ever
be a heroine,” was the refrain she was constantly faced. But success changed it
all; the same pug nose was considered the sexiest feature of her face after she
became a successful heroine!
She was courageous also because she worked with the
likes of Mehmood and Dara Singh. In the case of the latter, there were at least
a dozen films like Sikander-e-Azam and Khakaan. Some of her
movies with Mehmood were Do Dil and Bedaag. Soon the top
filmmakers discovered Mumtaz
and her future shone brightly for her.
She was oomph
personified. Her pert upturned nose and an exaggerated pout sent men into a
wild tizzy. She was an electric screen presence. She sizzled particularly with
Rajesh Khanna in Aap Ki Kasam and Do Raaste. Her acting talent
surfaced in Khilona where she played a nurse to a tragic Sanjeev Kumar.
Some of her major movies were Ram Aur Shyam
(1967) with Dilip Kumar, Do Raaste (1969) and Sachcha Jhootha
(1970) with Rajesh Khanna, Khilona (1970) with Sanjeev Kumar, and Aap
Ki Kasam (1974) with Rajesh Khanna and Sanjeev Kumar.
Many of her ways, like the way she dressed and carried
herself, were imitated by all the eve-populace of India. She retired from the
industry after she tied the knot but after 16 years tried to make a comeback.
Her comeback film Aandhiyan with Shatrughan Sinha was badly accepted by
the audiences. She had changed completely and her fans did not accept the
changes in the once beautiful Mumtaz. This forced her to retreat her steps from
the world of glamour and expectations.
Did you know, for instance, know that Mumtaz, in her
struggling days, was always mocked for her features, especially her nose? “With
a pug nose like yours, you will never ever be a heroine,” was the refrain she
was constantly faced. But success changed it all; the same pug nose was
considered the sexiest feature of her face after she became a successful
heroine!
http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2000/may/11inside.htm
The men -- young and old -- were totally fascinated by
Mumtaz’s voluptuous personality. Even the old men would sit still intently and
stare at all the eroticism and semi-eroticism. In the case of two old men --
definitely over 50 -- it seemed that the song and dance sequence culminated in
an orgiastic exhaustion. One of the two men even got up and went out for a
while, almost as if the end of the sequence marked the end of one exciting
visual and sensory trip --- a catharsis.
http://www.indiastar.com/Gehlawat.html
Mumtaz is an example of endurance and guts starting as
a sidey who played the female leads opposite Mehmood in films like Bedaag and Do Dil (1965) and the heroine of Dara Singh in over a dozen stunt
films like Khakaan and Sikandar-e-Azam (1965) she ultimately
became the glamorous heroine of Dilip Kumar in Ram Aur Shyam (1967), Rajesh Khanna in Do Raaste (1969) and Sachcha
Jhootha (1970). Mumtaz proved her talent in films like Khilona (1970) and Aap Ki
Kasam (1974). She was the Oomph girl whose button nose, once considered a
defect, became her sex-plus point.
The Artist’s
Delight Beauty
If you are a juvenile sketcher, you probably had been
advised “Draw the eyes accurately – the right shape and size to make your
sketch perfect.” If I were that instructor, I would simply give my students an
exercise in drawing the eyes of Mumtaz,
one of the most beautiful faces that graced in the late 60s and early 70s.
Though her performances never took her to the pinnacle of ‘The Heroine’, she
always was the most preferred actress for her dazzling beauty. Aaj kal nahi, hamesha tere mere pyar ke
charche har zabaan par honge.
•
http://www.mouthshut.com/readreview/36208-1.htmlmu
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