Mithun Chakraborty Will get Reputed Award
Over the course of his nearly fifty-year career, Mithun Chakraborty has carved out a variety of personas, including those of a half clad tribal, an action hero, and a dancing star. He entered Bollywood at a period when Jeetendra, often known as Jumping Jack, was the dancing star and Amitabh Bachchan was the face of the action hero (‘Zanjeer,’ 1973).
Chakraborty skillfully navigated both realms to establish himself as a matinee idol; the 1982 dance-action picture “Disco Dancer” cemented his notoriety. The actor’s popularity spread throughout Asia, the Soviet Union, eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa as a result of the film’s success. “I Am a Disco Dancer,” the movie’s title track, was played for many years at weddings and birthday celebrations back home.
Mithun Chakraborty Opinion
The 74-year-old renowned actor said, “I am dumbfounded,” in response to I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s Monday morning announcement on X that the Dadasaheb Phalke Selection Jury has chosen to present the actor with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2022). I am unable to cry or laugh. I’m still processing everything right now; this is really overwhelming.”
The seasoned actor wears his rags-to-riches story on his sleeve despite having worked on over 350 films in a variety of Indian languages, including Bengali, Odia, Hindi, Bhojpuri, Kannada, Tamil, and Punjabi. The third-highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan, was given to the three-time National Award winner in January of this year.
Early in the 1970s, Mithun Chakraborty entered the film industry from a little alley in Kolkata. Later, he traveled to Mumbai with big aspirations in mind, and the late filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh’s film “Titli” depicted a portion of his life.
He roughed it out and went without food and shelter for several days, much like a typical newbie in the Bombay film industry. For many nights, a seat in Dadar’s Five Gardens served as his sleeping quarters. “I found nothing to be simple. It all feels like a dream now that I’m looking back,” he remarked. “I dedicate this award to my family, which includes my late parents, sister Yogita Bali, and wife, as well as my supporters who have supported me throughout good times and bad.”
He had once mentioned how the business avoided him because of his dark skin while he was judging a children’s talent event. Nonetheless, it was his swarthy, slender frame that made him an ideal fit for his first role as a tribal in Mrinal Sen’s 1976 film “Mrigayaa,” which brought him a National Award. The short story “Shikar” by Odia author Bhagabati Charan Panigrahi served as the inspiration for the historical action-drama in Hindi.
The actor’s career has witnessed many highs and lows, but a few triumphs, including B Subhash’s “Disco Dancer” and Vijay Sadanah’s “Pyar Jhukta Nahin” (1985) and Ravikant Nagaich’s “Surakksha” (1979), stood out among a sea of failures.
“When I look around me at the end of the day, I see my healthy family and my well-raised children; everything I went through counted for something,” he remarked. The moniker “disco dancer” let him ride the high after he was able to make a name for himself among the current generation of stars.
“In the 1980s and 1990s, Mithun was on top of his game, giving a run to superstars and star sons at the time,” producer-distributor N R Pachisia stated. Movies such as “Pyar Jhukta Nahin” made people cry in the checkout lines. On occasion, he would work on four movies in one day.
The hardworking man finally moved his business to Ooty, where he purchased the Monarch hotel and operated a “parallel film industry.” In the 1990s, he shot about 100 movies, most of which were failures. In the end, he made a significant return to Bollywood with roles in films such Vivek Agnihotri’s The Tashkent Files (2019) and The Kashmir Files (2022) and Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal-3 (2010).
But his time in politics hasn’t been consistent.
In the 1970s, Chakraborty became enamored with the fiery Naxal commander Charu Mazumdar and joined the movement. However, he left after a death in the family. He once said to a seasoned film journalist, “The label of being a Naxalite stuck—whether it was at FTII, Pune, or the film industry itself.”
The actor joined the Trinamool Congress, which is run by Mamata Bannerjee, and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2014. However, he resigned from the party in 2016 due to health concerns. His tenure in the Parliament was characterized by a lackluster performance; he is reported to have attended meetings just three times and never took part in a debate.
In 2021, he became a member of the BJP just before the West Bengal Assembly elections. “I work for the BJP. I express my gratitude to Narendra Modi-ji, our Prime Minister. He’s taken great care of me,” he remarked. The Chakraborty family has postponed their Phalke honors celebration because their eldest son Mimoh is filming in Mumbai and his wife is currently traveling with their two kids in Los Angeles.
As a three-decade chair of the Film Studios Setting & Allied Mazdoor Union (FSSAMU), Mimoh views his father as a “crusader, a champion of causes and a man of the masses”. Additionally, he has supported the cinema business and been actively associated with CINTAA (Cine & TV Artistes Association). In addition to honing his skill, he has made an effort to protect the lives of film crew members, according to Mimoh.
Gulshan Grover, who has played numerous evil roles and known the actor for fifty years, said of him, “He is a genuine guy.” “In the 1980s, I recall a swarm of girls gathering outside our hotel in Uzbekistan and yelling, ‘Jimmy, Jimmy, I love you.'” (Chakraborty’s character name from “Disco Dancer”).
Read More: Mithun Chakraborty to Be Honored with Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Actor Shares His Joy
FAQs
Is Mithun Chakraborty the first to introduce Disco in Bollywood?
Yes
