Mumtaz reminiscing style icon Feroz Khan, the legend
By
RUBY ZAIDI

60’s to the mid 80’s Mumtaz was the Queen of the Indian Film Industry, in an interview she recalls Feroz Khan, she said, “Feroz Khan was an icon, style icon, he was unarguably t
he most handsome man in the industry. So perfect. Aise log dikhte nahin, ek bhi nahi hai. We cant find even one single man like him. I used to wish that I have a BF like him.”

“Were you attracted to him?”
“Yes, all the women were attracted to him but he liked english girls, we shared a different kind of a bond because it is not necessary that two people who are attracted to each other should have an affair. Earlier, he had an Anglo-Indian girlfriend Penni, she was extremely beautiful. Later, there was Sundri (she later married Feroz Khan) in her life. If you are friends with someone, you should know where to draw the line.
Till his last breath, Feroz was the Indian cowboy. His mesmerizing auro was talk of not only India but many other countries as well.
”
According to Mumtaz, who was not only Feroz’s favourite heroine but also a close family friend and later in-law (Mumtaz’s daughter is married to Feroz’s son) remembers him as irresistibly handsome and none was like him.

“There were other handsome heroes, no doubt. But according to me, Feroz Khan was the most handsome. Later Shammi, the handsome man and I fell in love, but Feroz and I remain best friends. Feroz was also a wonderful human being like my three other heroes, Shammi, Sunil Dutt and Dharmendra. Feroz and I were family friends even before we met. His mother, a beautiful woman loved me like her own child because I was beautiful and fair-skinned or so she said, I don’t know,” Mumtaz laughs. I assure her she is indeed both. “Thank you. Feroz’s family had Irani blood just like my family. We were both Syed
Muslims. We hit it off even before we worked together. When did we first work together? It was in 1962. In a film called Main Shaadi Karne Chala. I was only 18 then. And I was not the heroine of the film,” recalls Mumtaz, asserting that she was close not only to Feroz but also to his brothers Sanjay Khan and Sameer Khan.
In fact, I did two films with both the brothers Feroz and Sanjay co-starring as brothers Mela and Upaasna. Both Feroz and Abbas (Sanjay Khan) took really good care of me on the sets… Not that I ever needed taking care of. I was one of the few heroines who went to shot without a chaperone. But if I was shooting with Feroz I knew I would be well looked after.”
more than anything else. I did films with superstars. I did films with newcomers. Amitabh was not a star when I did O.P. Ralhan’s Bandhe Haath with him. I even did a film with Feroz’s youngest brother Sameer, Gomti Ke Kinare, in which he was launched as a hero. When Feroz turned director with Apradh I was most excited. We had a lot of fun shooting that film in Germany. We also shot in Beirut. The song Tum miley pyar se was shot in Beirut. Feroz and I also did Yash Chopra’s Aadmi Aur Insaan. Halaanki main supporting actress thi iss film mein, Saira was the heroine.She was the producer of the movie as well.But my song Zindagi ittefaq hai became very popular. I also liked my other solo song in Aadmi Aur Insaan, Itni jaldi na karo raat ka dil tootega. I can’t forget Feroz Khan neither none of us, as legends never die. Feroz Khan lives in billion hearts.”