" Kabhi gairon pe bhi apnon ka gumaan hota hai ,
Kabhi apne bhi nazar aate hain begaane se
Kabhi khwaabon mein chamakate hain muraadon ke mahal ,
Kabhi mahalon mein ubhar aate hain veeraane se ..
Koyi ruut bhi sada nahin
Kyaa ho kab kuchh pata nahin
Har khushi ittefaaq hai
,,..............Zindagi ittefaq hai.."
( Sahir wrote these lines for 'Aadmi Aur Insaan' . The song was picturised on Mumtaz, Feroz Khan and Dharmendra.)
Mumtaz was one of the top actresses in the sixties and the seventies of the last century. During that period , she worked with the top actors like Dev Anand (Hare Krishna Hare Ram and Tere Mere Sapne), Dilip Kumar (Ram Aur Shyam), Dharmendra (Loafer and Aadmi Aur Insaan), Rajesh Khanna ( Do Raaste , Aap Ki Kasam , Roti , Dushman , Apna Desh, Prem Kahani and Sachaa Jhutha) and Sunil Dutt (Humraz and Nagin). She succeeded in presenting her individual image on the big screen that combined sensuality with innocence. She fought cancer.
Mumtaz belongs to a family that came from Mashhad,Iran and settled in Mumbai. Mashhad is a holy city known for its Saffron, and fruits. About 40 kilometres outside of Mashhad is the small town of Tus, which is synonymous with the burial site of Iran’s national poet, Ferdowsi.
On July 31, 1947, Abdul Sameed Askari and Begum Habib Agha, both of Iranian origin settled in Bombay, India, were blessed with a daughter, who they decided to name Mumtaz, who would be sister to Malika. Her parents were divorced when she was a child. Mumtaz and her sister lived with their mother. She has two stepbrothers.The family had to struggle hard to make both ends meet. Her mother, Naaz, was also an actress in films. When her family faced a financial crisis, Mumtaz agreed to act in films as a junior artist and started appearing in group scenes, at a very young age. Mumtaz started her career as a child artist with the film Sone Ki Chidiya in 1958. She later appeared as a teenager in films like Vallah Kya Baat Hai, Stree, and Sehra in the 1960s. She bagged her first major film role in Gehra Daag in 1963. She later bagged the lead role in 16 action films and was also tagged as the 'stunt film heroine'. From B grade films, Mumtaz went up the ladder to work with every top star in the Industry. It was her talent, hard work and professionalism, and above all punctuality. She was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996.
Some songs picturized on Mumtaz that became all time hits could be listed as under :-
1. “Aajkal tere-mere pyaar ke charche". ..Brahmachari
2 . “Yeh hai reshmi zulfon ka andhera “..Mere Sanam
3.” Bindiya chamkegi churi khankegi.” ..Do Raaste
4 “Humein toh ho gaya hai pyaar" ..Mere Humdum Mere Dost
5 “Dhadka toh hoga dil zaroor".. CID 909
6. “ Koyi Shahri Babu “.. Loafer
7 “ Kaanchi Re Kaanchi Re “ ..Hare Rama hare Krishna
8 “ Karvatein Badalte rahe “ .. Aap Ki Kasam
9 “ jai Jai Shiv Shankar “.. Aap Ki Kasam
10 “ Chhup gaye Saare Nazaare “ .. Do raaste
11 “ Le jaayenge Le jaayenge “ ..Chor Machaaye Shor
12 “ Yeh Hai Reshmi Zulfon ka andhera “ ..Do raaste
13 “ Gore Rang pen a itnaa Ghumaan kar “ ..Roti
14 “ Ye to public hai sab jaanti hai “ .. Roti
15 “ Ek daal par tota bole “.. Chor machaaye shor
16 ” Paas nahin aana door nahin jaana “ .. Aap ki Kasam
17 “ Chal dariya mein doob jaayein “.. Prem Kahaani
18 “ Phool aahista Phenko “ .. Prem Kahaani
19 “ Yuun hi tum mujh se baat karti ho “ .. Sacha jhootha
20 “Suno Kaho Kaha Suna” .. Aap ki Kasam
About working with Dara Singh, Mumtaz says this :-
“To a certain extent, I can say I owe my career to Dara Singh because after doing films with him, I started getting good offers. I have very high regard for Dara Singh Ji . My role used to be very small, maybe a couple of romantic scenes and some songs. I still remember I used to get a remuneration of Rs 2.5 lakh, which was considered a big amount in those days."
Even though most of his films were relegated to a B-grade category, Dara Singh made special appearances in mainstream films like "Mera Naam Joker" (1970), "Ajooba" (1991), "Dillagi" (1999) and "Kal Ho Naa Ho" (2003). He was last seen in "Jab We Met" (2007). One of his notable heroines was Mumtaz . With Mumtaz , he starred in 16 Hindi films including "Faulad" (1963), "Veer Bhimsen" (1964), "Hercules" (1964), "Aandhi Aur Toofan" (1964), "Tarzan Comes to Delhi", "Tarzan and King Kong" (1965), "Sikandar-e-Azam" (1965), "Rustom-E-Hind" (1965).
Mumtaz also acted with Randhawa, brother of Dara Singh. Her sister married Randhawa. About falling in love with Shammi Kapoor , Mumtaz has said this:-
“I was all of 18, and in love with Shammi Kapoor while we were filming Brahmachari. He wanted me to give up my career, but I wasn’t ready. I had my family to look after. I had lost my mother during Boond Jo Ban Gaye Moti. I was lucky that men wanted to marry me. There was an attraction, yes, but I didn’t act on it. I’d wake up at 4 am every day and reach the studios on the dot at 9. I had far too many responsibilities to have affairs. There was no time for love and romance. Of course, I was fond of Jeetu. Dharmendra was an attractive man. Dev Saab was so handsome. But it’s not always necessary to have an affair with your co-stars. You can admire them from a distance ."
Big-time success came her way when she paired with superstar Rajesh Khanna in Do Raaste (1969). The film was a blockbuster and her chemistry with Rajesh Khanna was noticed and appreciated. It put her on a higher pedestal in the cinema world.. The duo went on to star in 10 successful films together, including Sachcha Jhootha (1970), Apna Desh (1972), Aap Ki Kasam (1973) and Roti (1974). About Rajesh Khanna, Mumtaz has said this:-
" I met him on the sets of Do Raaste. He was choosy about his friends, very reserved. I was flattered to be his close friend. I was voluptuous, so he’d always say, ‘ Aye moti, idhar aa…” He was a perennial latecomer. He wasn’t strong on dance or rhythm, so, when we did combination shots, main sambhaal leti thi. The dance masters would cheat with his close-ups. We had trouble doing the Chal dariya mein doob jaaye (Prem Kahani) song. But we managed somehow.I would pull his leg and tease him about his female fan following. Whenever Rajesh entered a hotel in Madras, there was a queue of 600 girls waiting to see him at midnight! As a result, even I would get some importance, as people would ask for my autograph as well. I met him before his death. He was very happy. He wasn’t meeting anyone for a while. Thanks to Dimple (Kapadia) and Anju (Mahendroo), I got to meet him at his bungalow, Aashirwaad. We spoke about my fight against cancer and surviving chemotherapy. Dimple said they were ordering all the things he liked to eat, but he wouldn’t eat anything. She joked that they ended up eating all the stuff. I gave him duas, and said he’d survive his ailment."
In 1974 she took a break from acting. She returned to the big screen in 1990 after a long gap with David Dhawan's Aandhiyan.
She lives in London although she owns two flats in Mumbai.Her elder daughter Natasha is married to actor Fardeen Khan and settled in India, while her husband Mayur Madhvani, whom she married in 1974, and younger daughter Tanya are constantly travelling for the family business. Mayur Madhvani is the youngest son and child of Muljibhai Madhvani (1894 -1958), the family patriarch who founded the Madhvani Group in 1930 in Africa. The family had to leave Uganda during the rule of Idi Amin .After Amin was deposed in 1979, the Madhvanis returned to Uganda and reclaimed their assets. Kakira Sugar Limited, the flagship company was successfully recovered in 1985. Kakira Sugar Ltd. is the largest producer of refined sugar in East Africa. Madhvanis are also in power projects and Ethanol production. This group has varied business interests in Africa.
Living in London, Mumtaz says she feels lonely. This is what she has said in an interview:-
"After I got married, my husband has given me lots of comforts. I enjoy the life of affluence. But I am a bit lonely."
The public adoration for Mumtaz remains strong even to this day. The demand for screening of her movies on various television channels proves it . Even after more than two decades of her self-retirement, her charisma remains unabated . That makes her to enjoy an everlasting popularity.
