Mithun Chakraborty
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
A brief biography
1969- 2024
Avijit Ghosh, Oct 1, 2024: The Times of India
New Delhi : In the summer of 1969, Mithun Chakraborty was asked to leave Kolkata by his father for getting involved with the Naxalites, the radical Reds whose ideology had enchanted hundreds of young men in search of a cause in Kolkata. In the years that followed, among other things, Mithun slept on pavements of Mumbai and was forced to cough up a fee for the precious space. On Monday, he was declared as the next recipient of Indian cinema’s highest honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke award, by Union I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on X.
Life’s been a rollercoaster for the actor who has won the National Award on three occasions. Mithun got the best ac- tor prize for his portrayal of a wronged tribal in his first major film, Mrinal Sen’s Mrigayaa (1977) and again for his celluloid interpretation of a disillusioned freedom fighter in Buddadev Dasgupta’s Tahader Katha (1992). A third award as the best supporting actor came for his part of Sri Ramkrishna Paramhans in GV Iyer’s Swami Vivekananda (1995). The profundity that Mithun brought to these var- ying parts has often been overshadowed by his image of a star of mainstream movies.
Even in commercial cinema, the 74-year-old Kolkataborn actor has done more than often given credit for. Mithun toiled for 10 years in the harsh Mumbai filmdom before finding his feet and success; 1979 being his breakthrough year when Surakksha, where he played the desi Bond, Gunmaster G-9, became a box-office winner. He was the first dancing star to emerge in the video era that the non-gentry audience loved and identified with. Nobody took dancing to the street as a way of expressing joy and celebrating weddings and festivals like Mithun.
The actor also overcame colour prejudice that was subtly embedded in the choice of heroes in colour conscious 1980s Bollywood; Mithun made dusky sexy. Even today Mithun is an icon in Russia where Disco Dancer (1983) is an inter-generational hit. In Tokyo too, there’s a shrine to the Disco Dancer. Now over four and half decades in the acting business, he acted in the 2022 blockbuster, The Kashmir Files. Over the years, the actor widened his repertoire. He has delivered hits in mature action yarns (Ghulami), romantic dramas (Pyar Jhukta Nahi) and southern-made melodramas (Ghar Ek Mandir, Swarg Se Sundar and Pyaar Ka Mandir), not to forget in comedies (Golmaal 3).
Mithun has also acted with success in low budget films such as Jallad creating a template of such movies. His dialogues like ‘Marbo ekhane lash porbe shoshane (Hit you here, and the body will land up in the crematorium)’ in the Bengali film, MLA Fatakesto, is played on YouTube to this day.
The actor has always been at the forefront of social causes. In 1986, he took the lead in organising the Calcutta version of Hope 86, a concert in aid of Bombay film industry workers. In the 1990s, he was often conferred with Rashtriya Samman for being one of the highest taxpayers in the country. Politics has been a playful rainbow for Mithun. He has enjoyed its different colours and shades. After starting from the extreme Red, he warmed up to the gentler hues of CPM politicos in the 1980s. He became a RS MP via centrist Trinamool. And embraced BJP’s saffron in 2021.
“Mithun Da’s remarkable cinematic journey inspires generations!” said Vaishnaw in his post. The truth is that Mithun’s life has more drama than most films. It has been an exceptional life overall which will certainly inspire any ambitious young man or woman trying to reach for the stars.
Politics
2021
Avijit Ghosh, March 8, 2021: The Times of India
If politics is colour, Mithun Chakraborty has seen every shade. In his youth, he embraced the extreme Red. The hue got lighter with success as he grew friendly with CPM politicos. Down the line, he turned blue becoming a Rajya Sabha member, courtesy centrist Trinamool. On Sunday, the 70-year-old actor’s political life came full circle when he daubed himself in saffron joining BJP. “Koi shaque? (Any doubts?),” as the fauji he played in Ghulami would have asked.
Back in 1969, Mithun was asked to leave Calcutta by his father for his involvement with the Naxalites. After a degree in acting from Pune’s Film Institute, he struggled for years before finding box-office gold as an action-dancing star.
But his pro-poor orientation persisted. In 1986, he took the lead in organising the Calcutta version of Hope 86, a concert in aid of Bombay film industry workers. Mithun’s nearness to Bengal’s sports minister and CPM leader Subhas Chakraborty helped green light a project that had initially met with strong opposition. In 2014, the actor joined Rajya Sabha. Around the same time, he got embroiled in the Sharada Chit Fund scam and was summoned by ED. He quit the Upper House citing health reasons in 2016. According to PRS Legislative Research, he asked zero questions, didn’t participate in a single debate and had a 10% attendance in Parliament.
His new political affiliation was speculated upon when he met R S S supremo Mohan Bhagwat on Feb 17, a meeting then described as personal, not political. It was political, not personal, when on Sunday, PM Modi addressed him as “Banglar chhele” (Bengal Boy). The PM hailed him for overcoming the odds to wrench out a successful career. There was a time when Mithun self-admittedly slept on pavements and paid Rs 50 for the space. In the Nineties, he was regularly conferred with Rashtriya Samman for being one of the highest tax-payers in the country.
On Sunday, the actor described himself as “a Cobra”. The self-description sounded as filmi as the iconic dialogue from Bengali film, MLA Phatakeshto, “Marbo ekhane lash podbe shashane (Will hit you here, and the body will land up in the crematorium).
Not only politics, even Mithun’s film career is a heady cocktail of contradictions. No Bollywood filmography is such a unique mix of the sublime, the regular and the asinine: Mrigayaa, Tahader Katha, The Naxalites, Gunda, Jallaad, Hitler, Surakksha, Disco Dancer, Ghulami, Pyaar Jhukta Nahin, Agneepath and Golmaal 3. He received the national award for best actor in Mrigayaa and Tahader Katha.
“I do three kinds of films. One kind of movie I do only for money. Another I do only to satisfy myself. The third kind I do is to please my fans,” he told this reporter in 2010. In his prime, Mithun Chakraborty wasn’t just a hero; he was an idea whose time had come. He was the star who emerged when theatres faced a video piracy crisis and the gentry had abandoned them. Whether the sweetheart of the masses now finds the same resonance in his Bengal BJP avatar remains to be seen.
