When Mumtaz revealed why she couldn’t marry Shammi Kapoor despite being in love

• Mumtaz ended her romance with Shammi Kapoor due to family rules
• She lost a Mera Naam Joker role due to Kapoor family restrictions.
• Mumtaz later married businessman Mayur Madhvani in 1974

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Veteran actress Mumtaz used to rule Bollywood, collaborating with popular actors including Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, and Dharmendra, among other industry heavyweights.

However, she fell in love with her Brahmachari co-star Shammi Kapoor, even though her on-screen relationship with Rajesh Khanna was the buzz of the town. Unfortunately, their romance came to a halt allegedly because of Shammi's father, the renowned actor Raj Kapoor.

In a throwback conversation with Vickey Lalwani, Mumtaz addressed several rumours, disputes, and presumptions that have been made about her. Speaking candidly about her love for Shammi Kapoor, the actress described him as "very good-looking" and said that the 17–18 year age difference didn't worry her in the least.

However, Shammi’s father, Raj Kapoor, was against the idea of his daughter-in-law pursuing cinema after marriage.

Mumtaz said, “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.”

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 added, “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?”

Mumtaz disclosed in the same chat that his father, Prithviraj Kapoor, who upheld traditional family values, was the one who enforced the rule that daughters-in-law should not work, not Raj Kapoor. Even after Prithviraj's death, the actor continued to act exactly like his father.

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Mumtaz noted, “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.”

Mumtaz tied the knot to businessman Mayur Madhvani in 1974. They shared two daughters.