Mumtaz has revealed that Shammi Kapoor got angry when she rejected his marriage proposal as a very young girl because he wanted her to quit acting.
In a recent interview with Times Now, she said, “His wife Geeta Bali had passed away. We came closer and fell in love. Were together for two-three years. He professed his love to me and asked me to marry him.”
“I loved him deeply but he told me that I couldn’t work after marriage as women marrying into the Kapoor clan didn’t work,” the veteran actress added.
At the time, she was just 17-years-old, whereas the Dil Deke Dekho lead was double her age.
Despite this striking difference, they had developed “deep” feelings for another. Concepts such as that of ‘grooming’ weren’t known back then.
Mumtaz continued, “I told him I couldn’t marry him because I wanted to work and fulfill my dreams. I didn’t want to be a homemaker, taking care of his children and managing the household.”
According to her, saying “no” to marrying Shammi filled him with resentment.
She recalled his reaction, “He was angry and told me, ‘If you would have truly loved me, you would’ve accepted my proposal and left working in films. You only pretend to love me because you wanted to score big films opposite me.’ ”
The yesteryear star has expressed that this exchange left her “completely heartbroken,” although she was content with her decision.
In 1974, Mumtaz married Mayur Madhwani and eventually decided to quit Bollywood after moving to London.
