Kamal Ghorui
Veteran actress Mumtaz is now 78, but she continues to impress with her timeless charm and remarkable fitness. Defying age with ease, she credits her disciplined lifestyle—marked by strict eating habits, consistent workouts, and guidance from Akshay Kumar—for keeping her in top form. In a recent interview, she also spilled the beans on her fitness and things that she does for looking good at this age. Mumtaz didn’t hold back while addressing what she sees as the biggest hurdle to staying fit. “Ninety percent of people in this world are lazy,” she said during a chat with Vickey Lalwani. Sharing insights into her routine, the actor revealed that she completely avoids eating dinner. “I don’t eat in the evening. Even Akshay Kumar once told me the same, don’t eat at night, and he follows it too,” she explained. Mumtaz sticks to a strict cut-off, finishing her meals by 4 pm and consuming nothing until the next day, except for an occasional apple if hunger strikes.
Her mornings begin on a simple note. “I wake up and have what the English eat, cereal with milk,” she said. Lunch is her primary meal: “My cook makes one roti of jowar or bajra, which I eat with meat or vegetables.” After that, she refrains from eating for the rest of the day, sometimes opting for fruit if needed.She acknowledged that maintaining such a regimen requires strong willpower. “People won’t do this,” she remarked, underlining the level of discipline involved.Fitness, for Mumtaz, also means daily physical activity. She dedicates around 90 minutes each day to exercise, including strength training. “I lift 5 kg weights, do leg exercises, everything,” she shared. For her, staying fit goes beyond diet and workouts—it’s rooted in consistency and hard work. “I became Mumtaz because I worked hard. Without hard work, you get nothing in life,” she said, reiterating her belief that laziness holds people back.In an earlier interaction with ETimes, Mumtaz reflected on a piece of advice from Dev Anand that continues to inspire her outlook on ageing. She recalled, “I remember Dev Anand once told me that I should take care of my hair and body. He said that I should always try and look young. He said, ‘Mumzi, age is a bloody number’. He said if I look good I can have a boyfriend at 90 too. He asked me if I wanted proof. He opened a door and showed me that three girls were waiting for him in the other room to have a date with him. Mind you, he was 80 then.” She added, “I follow Dev Anand’s advice. And I follow Akshay Kumar’s advice that we should not eat after 6 pm.”Akshay Kumar, too, has consistently advocated for early dinners. Speaking at a book launch last year, he said, “It is important to eat around 6:30 pm so your body has enough time to digest the food. By the time you go to sleep—around 9, 9:30, or 10—the stomach is ready to rest. It’s a very simple thing.”
