Mumtaz Calls Sharmila Tagore 'Far More Educated', Speaks On Their 'Rivalry': 'She Had Flops...'

Veteran actress Mumtaz recalled that despite her and Sharmila Tagore working extensively with Rajesh Khanna, the veteran actor never encouraged any rivalry.

Veteran actress Mumtaz has dismissed any notions of rivalry with fellow veteran Sharmila Tagore. While she previously mentioned that they cannot be friends or socialize together, she clarified that there is no animosity between them. She also recalled that despite both of them working extensively with Rajesh Khanna, the veteran actor never encouraged any rivalry.

Mumtaz on rivalry with Sharmila Tagore

In an interview with Rediff, Mumtaz said, “I respect Sharmila Tagore a lot. She is far more educated and sophisticated than I am. I started working at the age of eight and learned everything on the job. Whether it is Sharmila or any other heroine, I never had time to interact with them.”

She continued, “But yes, I did more films with Kaka (Rajesh Khanna) than Sharmilaji. It was God’s blessing that not one film of mine with Kaka flopped. Sharmilaji had flops with him.” Mumtaz further added that while Rajesh Khanna worked with both actresses, he was possessive about her.

“Rajesh Khanna never fueled the rivalry or spoke a word against Sharmilaji. But he would get upset when I signed films with other heroes like Dharmendraji or Devsaab. But he worked with other heroines; I never sulked. He thought he owned me. But never mind, it meant that he cared for me.”

What Mumtaz earlier said about Sharmila Tagore

For context, in an old interview with Times Entertainment, Mumtaz had spoken about her “rivalry” with Sharmila Tagore, saying, “Heroines cannot be friends, not then, not now. We didn’t do dinners or hang out together. It’s always been like that.” Mumtaz made her Bollywood debut at 11 years old and worked in films for nearly 30 years. She often made headlines for her candid statements about her colleagues.

During a recent chat, the 77-year-old actress also shared her experience of working with Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu, describing it as a “pleasure” because they treated her with “so much care.” “Sairaji was so warm during the shooting. The first scene required me to hit Dilipsaab. I was petrified. He said, ‘Why won’t you hit me? Hit me hard.’ I will never forget the kindness of people like Prithviraj Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Mehmoodsaab, Sunil Duttsaab… we lost them so early,” she reminisced.