Mumtaz Did Not Give A Single Flop With Rajesh Khanna ( Photo Credit – YouTube )
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Remember the times when we were mesmerized by a beautiful, pretty face with a puffed hair bun trippily dancing to Jai Jai Shiv Shankar with the superstar of the 60 – 70s, Rajesh Khanna?Mumtaz shot to fame once she found her footing as Kaka’s heroine in many films.
It was in Do Raaste, that she landed her first A-grade role. Earlier she was always playing the second fiddle in films. But Do Raaste and the song Chhup Gaye Saare Nazaare gave her an instant stardom and she was suddenly the first choice for the heroine in Rajesh Khanna’s films.
So much so that gossip mills in those days talked about a certain unsaid rivalry between Rajesh Khanna and another leading lady – Sharmila Tagore, as the duo gave the blockbuster Aradhana. But Mumtaz, in an interview with Rediff, talked about her relationships with Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore.
Recalling her professional relationship with the Anand superstar, the actress confessed, “Rajesh Khanna would get upset when I signed films with other heroes like Dharmendraji or Devsaab. But he worked with other heroines; I never sulked. He thought he owned me. But never mind, it meant that he cared for me.”
Talking about how she was cordial with Sharmila Tagore, the actress said, “I respect her a lot. She is far more educated and sophisticated than me. I started working at the age of eight, so I learned everything on the job. Whether it is Sharmila or any other heroine, I never had time to interact with them. But yes, I did more films with Kaka than Sharmilaji. It was god’s blessing that not one film of mine with Kaka flopped. Sharmilaji had flops with him.”
Mumtaz also recalled how Rajesh Khanna never fueled any jealousy or war between his two leading ladies with whom he shared many successful collaborations.
