Mumtaz on her romance with Shammi Kapoor

In an interview with Vickey Lalwani, Mumtaz admitted that she and Shammi Kapoor wanted to marry each other in the late 60s after starring in Brahmachari. “Shammi Kapoor was a very good-looking man, and I liked him. There is nothing to hide, nothing to deny. There was a 17-to 18-year difference between us, but I didn’t care. I wanted to marry him. Whoever he married is a very nice person, a very good human being, a good housewife. But Papa ji (Raj Kapoor) was very strict in those days. There was a rule till he was alive, that ghar ki bahu kaam nahi karegi (daughter-in-law won’t work). It was as straightforward as that,” she said.

Mumtaz added that the rule had been enforced by the Kapoor family patriarch Prithviraj Kapoor. This rule also meant that Mumtaz missed out on being cast in Mera Naam Joker. Even after doing look tests, Raj Kapoor told Mumtaz he couldn’t cast her as the role required wearing short clothes and if she was to marry into the family, it would be ‘disastrous’. Even as Mumtaz told him that she and Shammi had cancelled their plans, Raj Kapoor didn’t budge. “The rule was enforced by Prithviraj ji, he never wanted that bahu log kaam karein. He was an old-fashioned man. Raj ji said, ‘If you get married in between the movie, and you’re wearing such short clothes, it would be disastrous’. He was right. The Kapoor family is highly respected to this day. They wouldn’t want women of the house wearing loose clothes and jumping in the air. There was a rule, and they were right,” she added.

Mumtaz’s personal life and marriage

Mumtaz eventually married Mayur Madhvani in 1974 and bid adieu to films soon after. After her 1976 release, Nagin, she took a long sabbatical. The actor attempted a comeback in 1990 with the film Aandhiyan. It also starred Shatrughan Sinha, Prosenjit Chatterjee, and Madhushree. However, the film failed, and Mumtaz never returned to Bollywood again.