Mumtaz, not Jaya Bhaduri, was the original choice for female lead in Prakash Mehra's Zanzeer Mumtaz's marriage to Mayur Madhvani led to the entry of Jaya in the film By Rajesh Ahuja Bollywood history is replete with stories of missed opportunities and one actor's loss turning out to be another actor's gain. As is well known, Prakash Mehra's action thriller Zanzeer is a typical case of the film proving to be a missed opportunity for actors like Dev Anand, Dharmendra and Raaj Kumar and turning out to be a fortune for Amitabh Bachchan, who skyrocketed to fame as the new 'angry young man ' of Bollywood with the film. Prakash Mehra's Zanzeer also proved to be a missed opportunity for actress Mumtaz. It turns out that Mumtaz, a huge star in the late 60s and early 70s, was the original choice for the heroine of Zanzeer . According to the biography of legendary actor Pran, Mumtaz was originally slated to be the female int...
