Do you know Mumtaz was offered both the female lead roles in Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna? However, the actress refused the sister’s role and chose to romance Dev Anand in the film.
When it comes to Dev Anand’s stellar body of work, one film which continues to receive a lot of love even today is his 1971 musical drama, Hare Rama Hare Krishna starring himself, Zeenat Aman and Mumtaz. While Zeenat essayed the role of Dev Anand’s sister in this cult classic, Mumtaz played his romantic interest.
However, do you folks know that before signing Zeenat to play Jasbir aka Janice, Dev Anand had offered both the heroine roles to Mumtaz. However, the Aap Ki Kasam star chose to play Dev’s love interest as she was apprehensive about essaying the role of his sibling after romancing him in Tere Mere Sapne which released in the same year.
In an interview with Rediff in 2022, Mumtaz recalled, “He (Dev Anand) offered me both the female leads, the sister and the love interest. I chose the love interest though I knew it was the less important role. I know Zeenat Aman benefited immensely from Hare Rama Hare Krishna. It was a brother-sister story. How could I play Devsaab‘s sister after playing his wife in Tere Mere Sapne and doing such intimate scenes with him? The audience would have rejected us as siblings.”
She further continued, “Maine toh sirf Dev Saab ke liye haan ke diya. He insisted. I am glad I did Hare Rama Hare Krishna. We shot at a stretch in Kathmandu for a month. It was a whole lot of fun.”
Hare Rama Hare Krishna revolves around the equation between two siblings, Prashant (Dev Anand) and Jasbir (Zeenat Aman) against the backdrop of the dark world of drugs and alcohol. The hippie anthem, ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ from the film crooned by Asha Bhosale enjoys a massive fan-following even today.
