Mumtaz Shanti (28 May 1926 – 19 October 1994) was an actress in pre-partition Indian cinema. Working in Bollywood films of the 1940s and also the early 1950s, she moved to Pakistan after the partition of India and retired from her acting career.
She was known as "The Jubilee Girl" because of her roles in films Basant (1942) and Kismet (1943). She worked in films including Mangti (1942), Basant (1942), Badalti Duniya (1943), Kismet (1943), Dharti (1946), Ghar Ki Izzat (1948) and Aahuti (1950).
Early life Mumtaz was born in 1926 in Dinga, in the Gujrat District of the Punjab Province of British India into a Punjabi Muslim family. Mumtaz's mother died when she was very young and her aunt took care of her. Mumtaz's uncle encouraged her to learn singing and dancing when she was visiting Lahore. Wali Sahab spotted her and then she went to Calcutta and worked in Sohni Kumharan in 1937.
Mumtaz's uncle Barkat Nizami was briefly married to actress Geeta Nizami in the 1940s.
Career
Mumtaz Shanti's career peaked in the 1940s and early 1950s with hit movies like Basant (1942), Kismet (1943) with Ashok Kumar, Badalti Duniya and Dharti with Trilok Kapoor, and Ghar Ki Izzat (1948) with a young Dilip Kumar.
Kismet was the biggest hit of her career. The film starring her and Ashok Kumar broke all previous records when it came to box office revenues. It ran for a record three years at Kolkata’s Roxy cinema. This record was broken 32 years later by Sholay.
Personal life Mumtaz Shanti was married to Wali Sahab, a film director and writer in pre-partition Bollywood. After the partition of India, they both moved to Pakistan in the early 1950s and had two sons together. Sahab died of heart failure in 1977.
Death Mumtaz Shanti died in Pakistan on 19 October 1994.
Filmography Film Year Film Language 1937 Sohni Kumharan Punjabi 1940 Chambe Di Kali Punjabi 1942 Mangti Punjabi 1942 Basant Hindi 1943 Sawaal Hindi 1943 Badalti Duniya Hindi 1943 Kismet Hindi 1944 Bhartruhari Hindi 1944 Lady Doctor Hindi 1944 Pagli Duniya Hindi 1945 Chand Chakori Hindi 1946 Dharti Hindi 1946 Magadhraj Hindi 1946 Pujari Hindi 1946 Shravan Kumar Hindi 1947 Diwani Hindi 1947 Doosri Shadi Hindi 1948 Ghar Ki Izzat Hindi 1948 Heer Ranjha Hindi 1948 Padmini Hindi 1949 The Honor of the House Hindi 1950 Aahuti Hindi 1950 Biwi Hindi 1950 Putli Hindi 1952 Sanskar Hindi 1952 Zamane Ki Hawa Hindi
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