Ruslaan Mumtaz

Biography

Ruslaan Mumtaz is an Indian actor who works in the Mumbai based Hindi film industry. He is the son of actress Anjana Mumtaz.

He made his acting debut in the romantic drama MP3 - Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar, which was not a big success, but earned him positive reviews. Film critic Taran Adarsh from indiaFM wrote, "Ruslaan does very well. Good-looking, camera-friendly and confident, he has the potential to be the new kid on the block."
Mumtaz was the original choice for the lead role of Jamal Malik in Danny Boyle?s Slumdog Millionaire (2008) but was later dropped from the project, because the film?s producer found "Ruslaan too good looking for the role" and replaced him with British Indian actor Dev Patel[citation needed]. The film went on to win four Golden Globe Awards and receive eight Academy Awards. Despite missing out on the opportunity to work with Boyle and established actors Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan, he hopes to gain success in the forthcoming projects Teree Sang by Satish Kaushik and Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai by Milap Zaveri.

Mumtaz later explained that when he was the original choice for the role of Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire, he had a "lean look" during his first audition for the role, but that the final audition came four months later. During that time, his role as a movie star in Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai required him to have a "beefed up look," which led to him being rejected when it came to the final audition for the Slumdog Millionaire role, which was then given to Dev Patel.