‘Won't play Shah Rukh Khan's mother in a film': Mumtaz has a rule about on-screen sons being at least 20 years younger than her

Indian Express

01-05-2025

Veteran actor Mumtaz said that she has a rule about not playing mothers to actors who aren't at least 20 years younger than her. Although she has been retired from years, she said in a new interview that she won't even entertain the idea of playing a visibly older woman on screen. She cited Jane Fonda as somebody that she would like to emulate on screen, and said that she would be open to playing older women if they looked a certain way. She wouldn't, for instance, play a character with grey hair.
In an interview with journalist Vickey Lalwani, she was asked why she wouldn't play SRK's mother if Jaya Bachchan can, and she said, 'That's Jaya's decision, but I'll only play a mom to an actor who is 20 years younger.' Shah Rukh will turn 60 this year; Mumtaz is 77. She continued, 'And that, too, provided I look good on screen. I got married at a young age, and my children don't look much younger than me to this day. I could consider playing mothers if I look nice.'
Citing Jane Fonda in the film Mother-in-Law, she continued, 'I'll do a movie like that, where my son is played by a young hero. Her character was so stylish, wealthy, and she looked down upon the ordinary girl that her son falls in love with. She says, 'I don't want to accept a girl who is gareeb'. She was given the freedom to look how she wants and wear what she wants. I'll work in a film like that. If Shah Rukh wants me to look like I actually look, tell him I'll work. But he'll say no. Why should I have grey hair?'
Recalling when Shah Rukh said that she was his first crush, she said, 'Perhaps he said that in jest.' Addressing Shah Rukh directly, she asked, 'Will you work with me if I look like I actually look? Will you?' She added, 'He'll say no, just you see. He's a very intelligent boy, very smart, and a lovely person. He knows (what looks good on screen). Just because he likes me, that doesn't mean he'd do anything.'
Shah Rukh first spoke about having a crush on Mumtaz and Saira Bano over a decade ago. 'My first two crushes have been Mumtaz ji and Saira ji. Now I address them with a 'ji'. I always felt that they were the most beautiful ladies in the world. My father used to find Madhubala ji very beautiful,' Shah Rukh said at a press event in 2011.