Mumtaz (actress)

Mumtaz (born 31 July 1947, Bombay) is a Bollywood actress, best remembered for her roles in Tere Mere Sapne (1971), Khilona (1970) and for her 8 films opposite Rajesh Khanna. Her performance in Khilona got her the Filmfare Best Actress Award, while the film itself won the Filmfare Best Movie Award. She is cited as the top most Bollywood actress in the period 1969-76.[1] Mumtaz was born to Abdul Saleem Askari and Shadi Habib Agha in Bombay now Mumbai, India, on 31 July 1947. She entered Hindi cinema at age 12.[2] She started as an extra in films in the early 1960s. She accepted small roles in big films like Mujhe Jeene Do and big roles in small budgeted stunt films like Boxer, Samson, Tarzan, and King Kong. In the 1960s, she starred in as many as 16 action films with freestyle wrestler Dara Singh and was labelled as a stunt film heroine.Dara Singh-Mumtaz pair had 10 of the 16 films as box office hits.Faulad, Veer Bhimsen, Samson , Hercules, Tarzan Comes to Delhi, Sikandar E Azam, Rustom-E-Hind, Raaka, Boxer, Daku Mangal Singh were her successful films with Dara Singh.In the films that the pair Dara Singh-Mumtaz did together, Dara's remuneration was 4.5 lakh per film and Mumtaz's salary was 2.5 lakh per film.[3] She first gained attention in a supporting role as a vamp in the A grade color hit film Mere Sanam (1965). The memorable sexy song "Yeh Hai Reshmi Zulphon Ka Andhera" was picturized on her. The success of the film led to another sizzling song "Aye dushman jaan" in another big-budget film Patthar Ke Sanam. Finally, she gained major attention when she played one of Dilip Kumar's leading ladies in Ram Aur Shyam (1967). The film became one of the top hits of the year, and she received her first Filmfare nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Suddenly, Mumtaz was flooded with offers but not for major leading lady roles. She supported Sharmila Tagore in several films in the late 1960s, such as for Saawan Ki Ghata, Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi, and Mere Humdum Mere Dost. She had a memorable song and dance number "Aaj Kal Tere Mere" with her co-star Shammi Kapoor in the hit film Brahmachari (1968). It took Raj Khosla's blockbuster Do Raaste (1969) starring Rajesh Khanna to finally make Mumtaz a full-fledged star. Oddly, it was an inconsequential girlfriend role, but director Khosla, so good at picturizing songs, filmed four hit songs on Mumtaz.[4] The film made her hugely popular, and she acknowledged that, even though she had a small role, it was still one of her favorite films.[2] In 1969, her film Do Raaste and Bandhan with Rajesh Khanna became top grossers of the year earning around 6.5 crores and 3 Crores respectively.[5] When earlier, she had played a small role as Rajendra Kumar's sister in Gehra Daag, now she was elevated to playing his leading lady in Tangewala. Shashi Kapoor who had earlier refused to work with her in Saccha Jootha because she was a "stunt film heroine" now wanted her to be his heroine in Chor Machaye Shor. Mumtaz acted in 108 films in a career that spanned just 15 years till 1977. She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for one of her favorite films Khilona in 1970, and she was "very happy that the audience accepted her in an emotional role."[2] Mumtaz acted with Feroz Khan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar and Biswajeet but her pairing opposite Rajesh Khanna was the most popular with the audience and critics alike. Mumtaz had 8 superhits opposite Rajesh Khanna as the solo lead hero in the period 1969-1975.[6][7] Her own other favorite films from her carrer are Tere Mere Sapne for director Vijay Anand, as well as Roop Tera Mastana, Aap Ki Kasam, Prem Kahaniand Aaina. Mumtaz decided to marry millionaire Mayur Madhwani in 1974 and at that time shooting for three films Aap ki Kasam, Roti and Prem Kahani with Rajesh Khanna was yet to begin.She decided to complete these three films and complete her other pending projects of that time Lafange, Nagin and then leave the industry permanently. She returned for one final appearance 12 years later in the 1989 film Aandhiyan, which flopped in India and became silver jubilee hit in Pakistan and after that she turned down other film offers. In 1996 she received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. In June 2008, she was honored for her "Achievement in Indian Cinema" by the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) in Bangkok. Mumtaz has featured recently in UniGlobe Entertainment's cancer docudrama 1 a Minute with a number of international stars. Mumtaz married Mayur Madhvani on 29 May 1974; they have two daughters, Natasha and Tanya. Mumtaz has acknowledged she successfully battled cancer.[8] Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumtaz_(actress)