Catfights among actresses was a casual phenomenon in the 80s and 90s in Bollywood and two actresses who were always in news for it was Sharmila Tagore and Mumtaz. The divas were among the highest paid actresses of Bollywood and were in contention for starring with actors like Rajesh Khanna, Shammi Kapoor, Jeetendra among others. In a recent interview, Mumtaz opened up about her rivalry and revealed if she called Sharmila after attack on Saif.
Mumtaz on rivalry with Sharmila Tagore
In an interview with Vickey Lalwani, she spoke about the decade-old rivalry with the Aradhana actor. Mumtaz said, “Rivalry for what? I had nothing to do with Sharmila Tagore. She has among the top actors and so was I.”
However, Mumtaz did swiftly put across the point that she won more awards than Sharmila, saying, “On the contrary, I think I have won more awards than what she had ever won. I got more awards. She and I both were beautiful, so why would I be jealous of her? I was never jealous of her, I don’t know why people think that.”
Mumtaz also opened up about whether she reached out to Sharmila when her son, actor Saif Ali Khan, suffered a brutal knife attack earlier this year. She said, “No, I didn’t call her. I call nobody. So many people died, I didn’t call anybody. Also, I live in London and travel to Kenya, Uganda, wherever my husband goes. I come to Mumbai only once in 6 months because I was born and brought up here and I love India. I am what I am because of the love I got from Indians.”
Stating the distance they have always maintained, Mumtaz said, “I was never close to her. I was not friendly with her and neither was she. She had her own set of friends and I had mine.”
On the work front, while Sharmila Ji recently starred in a Bengali movie Mumtaz left Bollywood at peak after she married a businessman.
Also Read: Sharmila Tagore Shares Honest Review Of Ibrahim Ali Khan’s Performance In Nadaaniyan; Says, “The Film Wasn’t Great But…”
