Remembering A Dashing Star On 85th Birth Anniversary: Marrying Him Would Have Led To Heartbreak, Says Mumtaz

Bhubaneswar: Veteran actor Feroz Khan’s charming and charismatic personality had made him a hot favourite among women in tinsel town. Bollywood beauties Zeenat Aman, Saira Banu and Mumtaz were also among his fans. 

Sharing about her bond with Feroz, Mumtaz said in an interview with ETimes that though she was a very close friend of the late actor, she never thought of tying the knot with him. 

Mumtaz believed that marrying Feroz — who passed away in 2009 — would have led to a heartbreak as the  actor was in love with an Anglo-Indian girl at that time.  

“Tying the knot with Feroz would have led to heartbreak, it would be like jumping into a lake,” Mumtaz had said. 

Saira Banu also shared her memories with the ‘Apradh’ hero, who would have turned 85 on September 25 if he was alive.

“The first shoot of ‘AADMI AUR INSAAN’ featured an ensemble of us all in a glamorous song number, where Mumtaz is singing “Zindagi Ittefaq Hain” seductively twirling around the heroes and me. It was fun to watch the happy-go-lucky atmosphere of the set where old friends, Feroz and Mumtaz kept needling each other with witticisms and humour. Dharamji and I would roll with laughter at this game of one upmanship between the two,” Saira wrote on her social media handle. 

She also referred to the actor as “Industry’s style icon, dashingly handsome and famous for his sophisticated looks”.   

Zeenat recalled working with Feroz, saying that she was in awe of his ‘Qurbani’ co-star’s charisma, after a rocky start. 

“It was the 70s, my star was on the rise, and he called me on the telephone to offer me a role in his upcoming production. It was a secondary part, and so I politely refused the offer. Feroz was incensed and let out a stream of expletives while I held the receiver away from my ear!” said Zeenat. 

“Many months later, he called again. This time he started his pitch by saying – ‘it’s the lead role so don’t reject it’. And that’s how I joined the cast of Qurbani,” she added. 

“He wanted to be and do the best. He did everything larger than life. When he didn’t like a set for Qurbani, he actually got it dismantled and built a new one. He wouldn’t compromise on his vision. What he made was what he was in real life. Feroz was suave, charming and polished. He was a talented actor-director, and Qurbani remains one of my favourite projects to date,” said Zeenat. 

Known for pathbreaking films like ‘Qurbani’, ‘Dharmatma’ and ‘Jaanbaaz’, Feroz brought the wild West to Bollywood with his swag, leather boots, hats, cigars and jackets.