Mumtaz recalls how Rajesh Khanna ‘would sulk in a corner’ when she worked with other actors: ‘He wanted me to work only with him’

Mumtaz recalled that some of her most famous on screen numbers were with Rajesh Khanna and the audience ‘simply loved us together’. “I have to admit Kaka ke saath kuch baat hi aur thi (there was something about us). We had great chemistry on screen,” she said.

She shared that in their films, he was often the ‘star attraction’ and she ‘didn’t have that much to do in many of my films with Kaka’ but shared a ‘warm connect’. She added, “Humari jodi chali, aur khoob chali. (Our partnership worked, and it worked a lot),” recalling that they had nine hits together.

In an earlier chat with Pinkvilla, Mumtaz had said that they were ‘lucky for each other’. “None of my films with Kaka flopped (from Do Raaste to Prem Kahani between 1969-1975). We didn’t give a single dud. Shayad hamare sitare milte the (Maybe our stars aligned). We were lucky for each other,” she said.

Rajesh Khanna passed away in 2012 and she had spoken about visiting him when his health was deteriorating. “I visited him when he was unwell. Anju (Mahendroo) was there. Dimple (Kapadia) was there too. The family looked after Kaka extremely well. Even I miss him. When I happen to watch him on TV, I wonder kyun itni jaldi chale gaye? (Why did he go away so soon?)”