Veteran actor Mumtaz is happy that female artists today have vanity vans and proper sanitation facilities on film sets, which was not the case back in the day. She also talked about her relationship with Bollywood actors like Waheeda Rehman and Vyjanthimala, and how actresses of her time didn’t talk to the ones who they thought were ‘inferior’ to them.
Recalling the time when she shot the Aap Ki Kasam (1974) song Jai Jai Shiv Shankar, Mumtaz told Dawn News, “For miles and miles there were no bathrooms during the shoot of the song Jai Jai Shiv Shankar. So, if I had to use the washroom, I would take my hairdresser along in search of one. Now, they have air-conditioned rooms. People today are quite lucky to have everything. All of these facilities were not there in our times.”
She continued, “I am happy that today girls have the facility to use the washroom else it’s difficult for a woman to go miles and miles for certain things which are very important for them.” Earlier, veteran actor Asha Parekh had also highlighted how yesteryear actors faced several challenges due to a lack of sanitation facilities in the past.
Also read | How Mumtaz, once shunned by Shashi Kapoor, Jeetendra, Dharmendra, and ignored by actresses, became Bollywood’s ‘highest paid actress’
When Mumtaz entered the Hindi film industry in the 1960s, actors like Waheeda Rehman and Vyjanthimala were ruling the roost. But only a few of them would mingle with the newcomers, as per Mumtaz. She said, “Vo logg toh bohot bade the aur hum toh chote the, they didn’t like mingling with us. There were a few exceptions like Waheeda (Rehman) ji. She used to be very down to earth. Vyjantimala also belonged to the same era, but she didn’t talk to me.”
Mumtaz felt that it also depended on a person’s nature, “Some people don’t want to talk to people inferior to them. Some artists don’t even give autographs when they are on the street.” However, Mumtaz managed to make friends with Anju Mahendru and Poonam Sinha (Shatrughan Sinha’s wife) and continues to share a close bond with them. She agreed that she doesn’t make friends easily.
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