Before becoming one of Hindi cinema’s most sought-after heroines, Mumtaz had the label of a B-grade actor. The veteran actor, who started her acting career at the age of 11, recently recalled the time nobody wanted to work with her and how her career took a pivotal turn with her role in Dilip Kumar’s Ram Aur Shyam.
Speaking to DawnNews, she said, “I was given the label of a B-grade actor because I did a lot of small roles. I also did comedy with Mehboob sahab. I just closed my eyes and did work. I thought the rest is in god’s hands. My start in the film industry was wrong. I won’t blame the heroes for not working with me because everybody wants to climb the ladder of success. But Mehboob sahab showed one of my scenes to Dilip Kumar sahab and asked him if he would work with me in Ram Aur Shyam. He told him that the girl was nice and he agreed. Dilip sahab was a very down-to-earth person.”
Mumtaz and Dilip Kumar had a significant age difference when they signed Ram Aur Shyam. During an interview, Mumtaz disclosed that Dilip Kumar initially raised concern with Mehboob after watching the trial shot of the film. However, he eventually agreed to the project, recognising Mumtaz’s qualities such as her good height, fairness and proficiency in dancing.
During the conversation, Mumtaz agreed that she never refused to work with an actor or discriminated between them. She said, “I used to think of my time when nobody wanted to work with me and nobody accepted me. So when god made me something then it’s not right for me to do the same thing that I faced to other people. So, I used to think that if I have the ability, I will work with everyone and if the actor is not good, they won’t get work in the future.”
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Mumtaz recalls being labelled B-grade actor before starring with Dilip Kumar in Ram Aur Shyam: ‘My start in the film industry was wrong’ – The Indian Express
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