I don’t see any logical reason as to why Bollywood films are not being screened in Pakistan,” says legendary Bollywood actress Mumtaz, sitting in the PCR (Panel Control Room) of a news channel in Karachi.

Her statement does not come as a surprise at all. The veteran leading lady, who starred in 10 super-hit films with ‘Bollywood’s first superstar’ Rajesh Khanna in the ’70s, was puzzled as to why, even in this age, such restrictions are enforced and entertained.

Born as Mumtaz Askari in Bombay (now Mumbai) around the time of Partition to parents who hailed from Iran, the leading lady of yesteryears had wanted to visit Pakistan all her life. Due to her British passport, and admirers everywhere, she had no qualms in travelling to Karachi.

“I had heard a lot about Karachi from my parents, who used to visit it before my birth. I myself wanted to visit it sometime and finally got the chance.”

Veteran Bollywood actress Mumtaz was and still is just as popular in Pakistan as she was and is in India and even abroad. On her recent fi rst visit to Pakistan, Icon managed to sit her down for a brief chat session

Overwhelmed by the warmth of the people, she was short of words. “It’s a nice place and whoever I have met is quite loving. I managed to meet the beautiful Mahira Khan in Karachi, and now I plan to meet the handsome Fawad Khan on my visit to Lahore.”

Back in the day, none of Mumtaz’s films were ever released in Pakistani cinemas, yet her popularity is proof that pirated VHS cassettes were quite a force to reckon with during the ’70s and ’80s. Of course, Pakistani families that lived in the Middle East region in the ’70s were totally smitten by her beauty and grace, and had the luxury of watching her films freely and repeatedly on the VCR.

“I do watch a lot of Pakistani TV dramas in my spare time in London, and I am a big fan of many Pakistani actors,” she admits. It is believed that British-Pakistani actor Ahsan Khan is the instigator of her two-week-long trip to Pakistan, which also includes a visit to Lahore and Islamabad.

“I have to be back in India by early next year, as I would be presenting an award to the team that made the unmanned trip to the moon possible, and there is also a Padma Shri function I have to attend.”

I do watch a lot of Pakistani TV dramas in my spare time in London, and I am a big fan of many Pakistani actors,” she admits. It is believed that British-Pakistani actor Ahsan Khan is the instigator of her two-week-long trip to Pakistan.

Mumtaz is accompanied by her elder sister, former actress Malika, and both were constantly asking everybody for good shopping locations in Karachi.

Mumtaz had the privilege of working with almost all the Kapoor leading men of her time, sans Raj Kapoor. From Prithviraj to Shashi to Dev Anand, she acted with them all and was almost nearly cast in Raj Kapoor’s Mera Naam Joker.

“Raj ji had me audition for the role of the trapeze artist — later enacted by a Russian girl, as Shammi Kapoor asked him not to cast me. Shammi ji was planning to marry me and the idea of a Kapoor bahu [daughter-in-law] acting in an R.K. film made me lose both the character and the opportunity.”

The Khilona star eventually refused the marriage proposal, first due to the considerable age difference and, second, due to her career which was just starting to pick up. Shammi Kapoor was adamant Mumtaz could not continue to work after marriage.

Beginning as a child star at the age of 11, Mumtaz became the heroine of stunt movies, mostly featuring the legendary wrestler-turned-actor Dara Singh. No A-list actor wanted to work with her until comedian/producer Mehmood recommended her to Dilip Kumar, who was looking for a girl to play Shanta, the heroine for Ram’s character in Ram Aur Shyam (1967).

“Mehmood bhaijan persuaded Dilip sahib to sign me for the role and made him watch reels of my acting in Pyar Kiye Jaa [1966], where I was paired with Mehmood. Dilip sahib agreed and I was cast in Ram Aur Shyam. The rest is history,” the Meena from Pyar Kiye Jaa recalls as if it had happened yesterday.

Shashi Kapoor — who played the lead in Pyar Kiye Jaa and was seen wooing the lady years later in the song ‘Le jayenge dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge’ from the film Chor Machaye Shor (1974) and Prem Kahani (1975) — had earlier refused to act opposite Mumtaz in Sacha Jhoota (1970), and was eventually replaced by Rajesh Khanna. Prem Kahani (1975) also marked the end of a 10-movie streak of super-hit films with Rajesh Khanna for Mumtaz, which began with Bandhan (1969).

“I owe a lot to Rajesh Khanna, who could have refused to work with me in Bandhan as I was still not that popular. He had no issues with me and it paved the way to a great friendship. We were quite close and Kaka, as Rajesh Khanna was known to many, termed my marriage equivalent to the cutting off his right hand!

“Somehow, he failed to find my replacement after we parted on screen,” says the actress who had filmed super-hit songs such as ‘Jai jai Shiv Shankar’, ‘Kajra laga ke’, ‘Yeh reshmi zulfein’, ‘Prem kahani mein’, ‘Jana hai toh jao’ and ‘Karvatain badaltay rahay’ with the late actor.

She also had a successful partnership with Feroz Khan, Sanjay Khan, Dharamendra and Jeetendra, yet her pairing with Kaka was something extraordinary. The eternal song ‘Aaj mausam barra beyimaan hai’ from the film Loafer (1974) would not have been the same without Mumtaz, even though she had no lines in the song and only served as a romantic prop for Dharamendra lip-syncing to Muhammad Rafi’s voice.

Her tall frame, energy and spontaneity remained unmatched during the time she ruled the big screen. As the highest paid actress of the time, Mumtaz was influential in getting Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha find their feet in Bollywood.

“I persuaded the producer to have Shatrughan signed in Khilona (1971), as he was mostly doing negative roles in films. Shatru’s luck changed and he went on to become one of the leading heroes of the ’70s and the ’80s.”

As for Amitabh Bachchan, Mumtaz, who herself stood tall at 5-foot 7-inches, agreed to work with him in Bandhay Haath (1973), the film that became the last flop for the then struggling actor Amitabh. Until then, no one was willing to work with him as he was too tall for the screen. Known to support new talent, Mumtaz agreed without hesitation and she appeared opposite Bachchan, who had a double role in the film.

Mumtaz also became good friends with the late Melody Queen Madam Noor Jehan during the latter’s frequent visits to London. But she seldom recalls meeting any actors from Pakistan during her heydays. However, when she planned a comeback in 1990, she was asked to do a role that was earlier enacted by Shabnam in Hasan Askari’s Dooriyan (1984).

Bollywood’s David Dhawan had just turned director with the super-hit Swarg (1990), which gave Rajesh Khanna’s acting career a lifeline. In order to relaunch Mumtaz, he selected a powerful movie from Lollywood, where Talish, Muhammad Ali and Faisal Rehman essayed three generations of a family.

For Talish and Muhammad Ali’s role, David Dhawan selected veterans Om Shivpuri and Shatrughan Sinha, but the decision of casting an unknown Prosenjit Chatterjee backfired, and the carbon-copy of the Pakistani film sank without a trace at the box office.

Mumtaz managed to achieve everything that an actor dreams of quite early in her career. With her trip to Pakistan, she has ticked off yet another box in her bucket list. She sincerely hopes good relations between India and Pakistan resume at the earliest, and films, once again, become the reason for more people-to-people contact between the neighbouring countries.

Published in Dawn, ICON, December 24th, 2023