Mumtaz's in-laws forbade her from acting when she was making Rs 7.5 lakh per film, was the highest paid actor: ‘I quit too soon'

Indian Express

30-04-2025

Although it's been 35 years since she appeared in a movie, Mumtaz still holds a place in the hearts of Bollywood audiences. One of the most celebrated female actors of all time in Hindi cinema, she was once even the highest-paid actress. However, while at the top of her game, Mumtaz bid adieu to cinema in the mid '70s to focus on her family and appeared only once since then, in the 1990 film Aandhiyan.
Nevertheless, the veteran actor recently revealed that she quit acting not by choice but owing to pressure from her in-laws, who forbade her from pursuing a film career after marriage. At the pinnacle of success, Mumtaz tied the knot with Ugandan millionaire Mayur Madhwani in 1974 and moved to London, cutting ties with cinema. 'At the time of my marriage, the Madhwani family said that I couldn't continue working. So I quit my job and got married at a time when I was the highest-paid actress. Who else charged Rs 7.5 lakh per film? Yet, when they said I can't work anymore, I left the job,' she said during a chat with journalist Vickey Lalwani.
She continued, 'However, I know that I quit too soon. But my parents themselves told me, 'Look, Mumtaz, the film business is such that, even if not today, once you reach 40 or 50, you will start receiving only a particular type of role. Now that you're getting to be part of a good family, why not?' My family members were not selfish people who kept pushing me to keep working to bring in more money. My mother was a very orthodox person, hailing from Iran. I actually respect my family for letting go of a girl who was making crores at that time,' she said, adding that people still remember her because she left at the zenith of her professional life.
Recalling turning down the offer to do Ramesh Sippy's Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), penned by Salim–Javed, Mumtaz shared that she rejected the project because the remuneration offered to her was not up to the mark. 'Ramesh Sippy ji offered me very little money. So, I said I won't work at this price. Even today, when they call me to work in TV, I don't accept jobs that offer just Rs 2-3 lakh. I have a fixed price. I am not being rude. But if they want me and believe that I am worth it, then pay properly.'