Mumtaz – the dancer of the swinging 60s.
Mumtaz stormed the silver screen with her dancing capabilities in the bollywood films of 60s. She impressed the viewers with her item number in the film Brahmchari, opposite Shammi Kapoor, titled “aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche”, where SJs rock and roll composition was given adequate expression by Mumtaz. She acted very well opposite Dilip Kumar in Ram Aur Shyam. She acted as a village girl who did not recognise the difference when Ram came to the village, who had identical get up as Shyam the person she loved.
Mumtaz matched Jeetender in the film Jeegri Dost. She was very polite and submissive in the film and gave good lips in the songs “raat suhani jag rahi hai” sung by Lata and Rafi and composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. She had been very successful in the films opposite Rajesh Khanna most of which everlasting hits like Aap Ki Kasam, Roti, etc. In Aap Ki Kasam, she was thrown out of the house by Rajesh Khanna due to misunderstanding, who repented for the cruel act throughout his life. He returned back when Mumtaz had solemnized the marriage of her child at the end of the film.
She also did well in Pyar Kiye Jaa, opposite Mehmood. It was a comedy film where Mehmood wanted to be a director but never got a producer who invested money in his film. He was duped by Shashi Kapoor and Kishore Kumar who posed to be rich men, and when he could not direct any film he ultimately married Mumtaz. Mumtaz showed her rock and roll dancing style in the song “o mere maina”, sung by Asha and Manna Dey and composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal.
Mumtaz also acted in a number of films opposite Firoz Khan, including films like Apradh. She left films in the late 70s and did not appear even in character roles after that. Viewers still feel that she had acting talent in her and if she wanted she could have acted in modern films. Still she is remembered by the viewers and whenever her films like Loafer, opposite Dharmender, or Patthar ke sanam, opposite Manoj Kumar is shown in TV Channels, viewers refresh their old memories about her sweet performances in these films.
By: Rumi Chatterji.
4 comments:
Mumtaz is one great actress and could play any kind of role with ease. She started her career with scores of films with Dara Singh but soon found her way to the top and bagged some of the best roles against very stiff competition from Waheeda Rahman, Sadhna, Asha Parekh and many more heriones of her time. While her role in Patthar Ke Sanam was that of a rich and spoilt brat in love with Manoj Kumar who gave his heart to Waheeda Rahman, she played the village belle roles in many more films including Dushman. Her song "Aye Dushman-e-jaan, chal diya kahan, yeh hawa..." from Patthar Ke Sanam is a westernised song compared to her rustic songs in Ram Aur Shyam, Dushman and several other movies. Her top movie was Khilona opposite Sanjeev Kumar and Jitendra where she very ably played the role of a 'tawaif' in love with the poet Sanjeev Kumar. The opening song in the movie - Agar Dilbar Ki Rusvai Humein Manzoor Ho Jaye" is testimoney to her versatility and dancing skills. She had however very typical dancing steps which are very noticeable in Patthar Ke Sanam and also in Ram Aur Shyam, Dushman etc. Great article on a star who was one of the brightest in her hay days.
Mumtaz also acted with Vaijayantimala in the film Suraj as her maid. It was a film based during the times when kings ruled territories in India. Mumtaz also did well in Aadmi Aur Insaan.
Souvik Chatterji.
Mumtaz, the dancer as the title of your article aptly suggests, was also one of the few heroines of her time to do skimpy clad dances and roles. What was the domain of Helen, Mumtaz stole some of the dances too. In Humjoli (Jeetender, Leena Chandravarkar & Mumtaz), there is the song "TIK TIK MERA DIL BOLE, TIK TIKI TIK DIL SE DIL BOLE" and you can see Mumtaz doing what is termed as an "item number" these days. Coming from her background and for the era that she represented, Mumtaz can be called as a very "bold" actress too.
Super Star Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz were greatest pair of bollywood ever made
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