Veteran actor Mumtaz has once again addressed the controversy surrounding her remarks on Sanjeev Kumar, maintaining her stance that while he was a brilliant performer, she wouldn’t classify him as a “big star.” For those not in the know, the actress had once said that she doesn’t consider Sanjeev Kumar a huge star. When further asked about it again, the actress clarified her comment saying that there’s a big difference between a good actor and a star.Mumtaz revisited her earlier comment and stood firm, during a chat with Vickey Lalwani. She 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.”
Clarifying that her words were taken out of context, she added, “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 reflected on how, in her view, the label of ‘star’ is often overused in the film industry. When the discussion shifted to Zeenat Aman, she remarked, “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.”Emphasising how rare true stardom is, she said, “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.”She concluded by naming the actresses she believes truly embodied stardom, saying, “Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Nargis, Rekha, these were the real stars among heroines.”
