Veteran actor Mumtaz is currently in the limelight for giving her opinions on various yesteryear actors. In a recent interview, the actor drew a clear line between being a “star” and being a “good actor” stating that she never considered Sanjeev Kumar as a “big star” and Zeenat Aman was “not a good actor”

In a conversation with Vicky Lalwani, Mumtaz defended her remark that Kumar was not a star and said, “What did I say wrong? I’m not denying he was an excellent actor. There’s a world of difference between being a star and being an actor. Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, these were all stars. Sanjeev Kumar did character roles and even supporting roles. He was a very good human being, very well-mannered, but there is a difference between a star and an actor. You said he was a very big star, and I responded that he was not a very big star. He was a good actor, but I consider people like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and the top heroes as big stars.”

Mumtaz also spoke about how the term “star” is often used too loosely in the industry. Talking about Zeenat Aman, she added, “Zeenat Aman, okay. Zeenat Aman was not a very good actress, sorry to say, I would say sorry to her as well. How many awards did she get? If you call everyone a star, how will that work? Not everyone is a star. Not everyone can be a star; not everyone can be Dilip Kumar. It takes years to become a star, you lose your hair by the time you get there. Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Nargis, Rekha, these were the real stars among heroines.”

Mumtaz Askari Madhvani, known as Mumtaz, started her career at the age of 11 with Lajwanti (1958).  She was known for her work in Ram Aur Shyam (1967), Mere Hamdam Mere Dost (1968) and Brahmachari (1968). She had her career breakthrough with Do Raaste (1969). Her final appearance was in the 1990 film Aandhiyan.