Mumtaz Shanti

Mumtaz Shanti was an actress of the black and white era of Hindi cinema. She acted with actors like Dilip Kumar Muhammad Yusuf Khan was born on the 11th of Decemb >> Read More... , Ashok Kumar Ashok Kumar hails from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. >> Read More... , and Thilak Kapoor and had appeared in films like Kismet(1943), Basant(1942) and Badati Duniya(1943). She is regarded as one of the biggest stars of Hindi cinema in the 1940s. Initially, she started her career in the thirties in Lahore where she used to work in local theater. She got her first break in a Punjabi film ‘Mangit’ and was lured to land up in Bombay. She made her debut in a film ‘Basant’ of Amiya Chakravarty.

In the mid-fifties, she migrated to Pakistan along with her writer-director husband, Wali-Saheb. Their son Zafar Iqbal Bio coming soon... >> Read More... is a noted maker of documentaries, who used to work as a producer in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of Pakistan. She also left to Pakistan like actress Suraiya and never made her comeback. But she is known for her film ‘Kismet’ which was the biggest blockbuster in Indian cinema. The film ran for three years in a Calcutta theater and set a record in those days Mumtaz Shanti was a perfect actress who could deliver dialogues of hopefulness in slow, gusty and breathy tones. Her moist-eyed always brought soft focus on tragic roles. She had her own style in acting, which had its time and own place. When she used to appear in romantic roles, she was indeed movies gorgeous woman. She even acted with Dilip Kumar when he was a young actor and trying for a break as a hero. Even Ashok Kumar went to acclaim that Mumtaz Shanti was his lucky co-star that helped his film ‘Kismet’ to have a long run in the box office.

The film Kismet was a milestone in Indian cinema itself which celebrated many jubilees all over India. The film became a rage in India and Mumtaz became the country’s first female star who weighed equal success with male actors.