Mumtaz Recalls Raj Kapoor Didn't Want Her To Work After Marrying Shammi, 'Kapoor Family Ki Bahu...'

Veteran actress, Mumtaz once dominated Bollywood, having worked with some of the industry’s heartthrobs, including Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, and Dharmendra. While her on-screen pairing with Rajesh Khanna was a big talk of the town, off-screen, it was her Brahmachari co-star, Shammi Kapoor, who stole her heart. Sadly, their love story hit a dead end. The reason was Shammi’s father, and legendary actor, Raj Kapoor.

Mumtaz reveals she wanted to marry Shammi Kapoor, but not at the cost of her acting career

Mumtaz recently got candid in a chat with Vickey Lalwani, speaking up on various speculations, controversies, and assumptions around her. The actress did not hold back and spoke openly about her love for Shammi Kapoor, calling him ‘very good-looking’ and their 17-18 year age gap didn’t bother her in the slightest. However, Shammi’s father, Raj Kapoor, was against the idea of his daughter-in-law pursuing cinema after marriage. Mumtaz shared:

“Shammi Kapoor was a very good-looking man, and I liked him. There is nothing to hide, nothing to deny. There was a 17 to 18-year difference between us, but I didn’t care. I wanted to marry him… But Papa ji (Raj Kapoor) was very strict in those days. There was a rule till he was alive, that ghar ki bahu kaam nahi karegi. It was as straightforward as that.”

Mumtaz talks about her missed role in Mera Naam Joker

Not only did Mumtaz give up on marrying Shammi Kapoor, but she also missed out on a role in Raj Kapoor’s iconic Mera Naam Joker. She had already done a look test and loved the photos, but Raj backed out, as the role required her to wear short clothes, which would not have been acceptable in the Kapoor family. Even after reassuring him that she and Shammi were not planning to marry, the actor didn’t want to take a chance. She said:

“He did a look-test as well, and I thought the photos were great. But he said that the character would need to wear very short clothes. What will happen if you get married in our family? I can’t give you that role, he said. I told him that we weren’t getting married, and that he could confirm this with Shammi ji. But he was worried. What if we changed our minds halfway through his film?”

The ‘no working bahu’ rule of the Kapoor house

In the same conversation, Mumtaz revealed that the rule of daughters-in-law not working was imposed by not Raj Kapoor but his father, Prithviraj Kapoor, who believed in traditional family values. The actor strictly followed in his father’s shoes even after Prithviraj’s passing. Mumtaz shared:

“The rule was enforced by Prithviraj ji, he never wanted that bahu log kaam karein. He was an old-fashioned man… The Kapoor family is highly respected to this day. They wouldn’t want women of the house wearing loose clothes and jumping in the air.”

When Kareena addressed the ‘Kapoor bahu’ rule

Fast forward to the next-gen Kapoor girls, Kareena Kapoor Khan once addressed this “Kapoor bahu” rule in an interview with Mid-Day. Her elder sister, Karisma Kapoor, was the first woman from the Kapoor khandan to ever work in front of the camera, and later, Bebo followed suit. Thus, the tradition of only men working in acting was broken. Kareena remarked, “I think women in the Kapoor family chose not to work... maybe someone said ‘don’t do it’, or it was just assumed. But look at Karisma and so many others after that.”

What do you think about Mumtaz’s revelation?

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