Biography Mumtaz - The Big Chase

Mumtaz was born on July 31, 1947 in Bombay, India. She is a renouned veteran bollywood actress. Mumtaz originally of Iranian origin was born to Abdul Saleem Askari and Sardar Shadi Habib Agha. She entered Bollywood at the tender age of twelve.

She started as an extra in films in the early 1960's. She accepted small roles in big films like Mujhe Jeene Do and big roles in small budgeted stunt films like Boxer, Samson, Tarzan, and King Kong. In the 1960s, she starred in as many as 16 action films with freestyle wrestler Dara Singh and was tagged and streotyped as a stunt film heroine.

She first gained attention in a supporting role as a vamp in the A grade color hit film Mere Sanam (1965). Finally, she gained major attention when she played one of Dilip Kumar's leading ladies in Ram Aur Shyam (1967). The film became one of the top hits of the year, and
she received her first Filmfare nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Suddenly, Mumtaz was flooded with offers, but still not for major leading lady roles. She supported Sharmila Tagore in several films in the late 1960s, such as for Saawan Ki Ghata, Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi, and Mere Humdum Mere Dost. She had a memorable song and dance number ("Aaj kal tere

mere") with her then-boyfriend Shammi Kapoor in the hit
film Brahmachari (1968).

It took Raj Khosla's blockbuster Do Raaste (1969) starring the phenomenon Rajesh Khanna to finally make Mumtaz a full-fledged star. Earlier, Shashi Kapoor had refused to work with her because she was a "stunt film heroine" in Saccha Jootha, now wanted her to be his heroine in Chor Machaye Shor.

Mumtaz had no problems acting sexy and due to her great looks, easily had several more hit films. She acted in over a hundred films in a career that spanned just 12 years. She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for one of her favorite films Khilona in 1970. Mumtaz starred in
many movies with Feroz Khan and her other popular pairing have been with Jeetendra and Rajesh Khanna. She has also acted with Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar and other top heroes of her era. She was proud of her work in her other favorite films Tere Mere Sapne for director Vijay
Anand, as well as Roop Tera Mastana, Aap Ki Kasam, and Aaina.

She quit acting after her appearance in Aaina (1977) for marriage to a millionaire and only returned for one final film appearance 12 years later in the 1989 film Aandhiyan, which flopped and she turned down other film offers. In 1996, she received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.

In June 2008, she was honored for her "Achievement in Indian Cinema" by the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) in Bangkok.


Mumtaz married millionaire Mayur Madhvani on May 29, 1974. They have two daughters Natasha and Tanya. Natasha, the elder daughter, married actor Fardeen Khan, son of Feroz Khan, in a lavish ceremony, in December 2005. Mumtaz had acknowledged that she has successfully battled cancer and that she and her husband have overcome personal problems in their marriage.