Raj Kapoor didn't allow women of the family to work; Mumtaz recalls cancelling wedding with Shammi Kapoor: ‘He didn't cast me in Mera Naam Joker…'
Veteran actor Mumtaz opened up about her infatuation for Shammi Kapoor, and admitted that she wanted to marry him. But she decided not to because his father, the legendary Raj Kapoor, had a rule that the women of the family couldn't work after marriage. Mumtaz decided to focus on her career, but Raj Kapoor wasn't convinced. He refused to cast her in the film Mera Naam Joker, because he was afraid that she and Shammi might change their minds and get married anyway. She would have been required to wear short clothes in the movie, which didn't sit right with Raj Kapoor's idea of Kapoor women.
She was asked about her relationship with Shammi Kapoor in an interview with Vickey Lalwani, and she said, 'Shammi Kapoor was a very good-looking man, and I liked him. There is nothing to hide, nothing to deny. There was a 17-18 years difference between us, but I didn't care. I wanted to marry him. Whoever he married is a very nice person, a very good human being, a good house wife. 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.'
Asked if she lost out on a role in the film Mera Naam Joker because of this 'rule', 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 mind halfway through his film?'
Mumtaz said that working with Raj Kapoor was perhaps not in her destiny. When it was pointed out that she and Shammi Kapoor had already broken up by then, and that there shouldn't have been an issue, she explained, 'Maybe he thought that Shammi ji is infatuated with me, but he was worried what would happen to his movie if we got married. He was right, too. It takes crores to make a movie. He didn't want to take a chance, and I respect him. The rule was enforced by Prithviraj ji, he never wanted that bahu log kaam karein. He was an old-fashioned man. Raj ji said, 'If you get married in between the movie, and you're wearing such short clothes, it would be disastrous'.'
The Kapoor family has been a part of Hindi cinema since its early days. Rishi's father Raj Kapoor set up RK Studio in the early 1950s. His brothers Randhir and Rajeev, uncles Shashi Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor, nephews, nieces Kareena Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor and son Ranbir Kapoor are all part of the Hindi film industry. (Photo: Karisma Kapoor/Instagram)
Mumtaz defended Raj Kapoor, and said, 'He was right. 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. There was a rule, and they were right.' Ironically, the same condition was laid down for Mumtaz by her eventual in-laws, and this time, she agreed. Asked why, she said that her parents were of the opinion that she wouldn't get lead roles anyway in a few years, and that it was for the best to go out on top.
In an interview with Mid-Day, Kareena Kapoor addressed this infamous family rule, and said, 'I think the women in the Kapoor family chose not to work, that's what I feel, and then obviously it was kind of like they don't work, or maybe at that time it was like somebody said, 'Don't do it' or if you come from that background, maybe you won't be successful. A lot of people said, light-eyed actresses won't make it. So I don't know if that's true or not, but obviously, look at Karisma and so many others after that. So I guess it was also quite a personal decision, maybe that our parents took or my mother took.'
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