Mumtaz

and

Rajesh Khanna

have done around 10 movies together and are they’re one of the best on-screen pairs in Hindi cinema. Even after Khanna passed away, he’s remembered as the first superstar of Hindi cinema and his stardom remains unparalleled. Not to mention, all the songs in his movies are eternal. His pairing with Mumtaz is largely spoken about, not to mention their iconic songs – from ‘Jai Jai Shiv Shanker’ to ‘Yeh Reshmi Zulfein’ amidst many more.
In a recent interview, Mumtaz has opened up about her pairing with Khanna which also led to speculations of her rivalry with

Sharmila Tagore

.

Khanna and Tagore’s chemistry and movies like ‘Aaradhna’, ‘Daag’, ‘Amar Prem’ are also memorable. Mumtaz revealed during a chat with Rediff, that Rajesh Khanna was possessive about her. “Rajesh Khanna never fueled the rivalry or spoke a word against Sharmilaji. But he would get upset when I signed films with other heroes like Dharmendraji or Devsaab (

Dev Anand

). But he worked with other heroines; I never sulked. He thought he owned me. But never mind, it meant that he cared for me.”
Mumtaz further spoke about rivalry with Tagore. “I respect her (Sharmila Tagore) a lot. She is far more educated and sophisticated than me. I started working at the age of eight, so I learned everything on the job. Whether it is Sharmila or any other heroine, I never had time to interact with them. But yes, I did more films with Kaka (Rajesh Khanna) than Sharmilaji. It was god’s blessing that not one film of mine with Kaka flopped. Sharmilaji had flops with him.”