Yesteryears’ legendary actress Mumtaz recently had a surreal experience in London .
“I was at the Marks & Spencer store shopping,when an India couple spotted me and approached me. They seemed super-excited to see me . The wife said , ‘We are your biggest fan.Would you do us a favour?’ I though she wanted a selfie. But her request was something completely unexpected.”
What was the request? “ She said, ‘M’aam, would you give my husband a hug . His life’s dream would come true. I found the request very unusual.But I agreed. They went away happy.”
Mumtaz finds the interactions with fans to be very important. “Fans are the ones who have made me what I am. That they remember me to this day fifty years after I quit acting, says something about my enduring relationship with my fans. They approach me wherever I go. They tell me I still look beautiful. It is very motivating.”
When and how does Mumtaz intend to put her life-story in a book? “I’ve been approached to do my memoirs. Yes, I do have a story to tell. But the problem is, I cannot be dishonest and I cannot tell the truth without hurting certain people in my life.”
About returning to the screen Mumtaz says, ““But it has to be something substantial ,no? If I come back in something insubstantial it won’t be appreciated by my fans,”
Mumtaz who mesmerized her fans in films like Khilona, Tere Mere Sapne, Prem Kahani,Dushman and Aaina in the 1970s before she quit in 1974 to marry millionaire Mayur Madhvani, was surprised to know people still remembered and loved her.
“I am amazed at their memory. People come up to me here in Mumbai on the road asking for pictures. They want to know why I am not doing any films. Arrey baba, I can’t work for the sake of working.”