Whenever beautiful actresses of the 60-70s are mentioned in Hindi cinema, Mumtaz’s name is first remembered. His journey is no less than a film script. His start was very modest, but the path was full of difficulties and finally a dazzling life was seen. There was a time when Mumtaz was considered only the ‘heroine for higher’ of stunt films.

Mumtaz, born in Mumbai on 31 July 1947, was Mumtaz Begum Jahan Dehalvi. He entered the film world as a child artist at the age of just 11 years. She continued to move forward on the strength of her confidence and hard work.

Shining identity in stunt films
The first major turn of Mumtaz’s career came from the film ‘Faulad’ released in 1963, in which he played the lead role with famous wrestler and actor Dara Singh. It was an action film. He was cast with Dara Singh in action films like ‘Sikander-e-Azam’, ‘Raka’, ‘Veer Bhimsen’, ‘Tarzan Cums to Delhi’, ‘Rustom-e-Hind’, and ‘Dakaru Mangal Singh’.

In these films, Mumtaz was sometimes seen running swords, sometimes climbing trees and doing stunts. He played a lot of collision with villains in films and played a rich character. Mumtaz acted in about 16 films with Dara Singh, out of which 12 films were successful at the box office. The industry awarded her the tag of ‘heroine of stunt films’.

Heart won by acting
However, this tag also distanced him from big banners and star heroes. Many actors, especially like Shashi Kapoor and Jeetendra, shy away from working with them, Mumtaz did not give up. She showed people through the 1967 film ‘Ram Aur Shyam’ and in the 1969 film ‘Do Rasta’ that she can play not only the stunt scene, but also the emotion and romance scenes.

In 1970, she received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for his strong performance in the film ‘Toy’. Apart from this, in 1996, he was also awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mumtaz’s most famous pair was with Rajesh Khanna. The two worked together in eight films and every film proved to be a hit. In films like his chemistry on screen, especially ‘Prem Kahani’ and ‘Aapi Kasam’, left an indelible mark on the hearts of the audience.

Distance made from films after marriage
When Mumtaz was on his career peak in 1974, he married Mayur Madhwani and kept distance from films. After marriage, he kept distance from the industry for a few years and gave priority to the family.

In 1990, Mumtaz once again made a comeback with the film ‘Antaris’, but the film could not run. After this, he retired from the film world, but a serious turn took place in his life when he came to know of cancer. He immediately decided to get treatment and got a difficult and painful treatment from chemotherapy to surgery in the US, but mentally she did not give up and returned to heal.

Message given for every woman struggling with cancer
Mumtaz said in an interview at that time, “I want to tell every woman who is struggling with cancer that this is not the end. If a woman like me can overcome it, then anyone can do it. Don’t give up courage, life is very beautiful.”