By Sanjeev Kumar Patro
Bhubaneswar: Dashing long hair with a glint in eyes and vibrancy in feet, the six feet tall young man’s sheer magnetism captivated the cinema lovers in 80s. Be it High school going boys or college goers, every one redo his hairstyles. Such was the craze for this star. For the mundanely movie watchers, who come in hordes to watch him on screen by dipping into their daily wage pockets, he is just godsend.
The craze of 80s is for the star who is none other than our own Mithun Chakraborty, fondly called as Mithun Da - the original Disco Dancer of Bollywood who has left a trail blazer of legacy that’s beyond compare.
Mithun Chakraborty has been a legend in Bollywood cinematic history. He is a pole star on the skyline of B-Town. He was charming hero of the masses. He was the massy hero. For the not so fortunate producers, he was Amitabh Bachchan.
“Poor Man’s Amitabh Bachchan” is an epithet earned by Mithun da, for the reason that poor producers, who can’t afford Amitabh Bachchan, raked moolah in the box office with the Mithun starred movies. Pyar Jhukta Nahin was made in a budget of Rs 50 Lakh, but the fim went to mint around 5 crore in box office.
It’s a day of rejoice for millions of his fans and cine lovers, as the legendary actor will be bestowed with the legendary Dada Saheb Phalke Award on October 8. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has broken this exciting news for the cinephiles today.
MITHUN DA’S EMOTIONAL REACTION
“I became speechless after receiving such a prestigious award… I don’t know how to express this. I can’t cry, I can’t smile either. I am dedicating this award to my family and fans across the world,” said Chakraborty. Mithun also reflected on his long journey, saying that he came from the 'narrow lanes of Kolkata' to reach this feat and he will never forget his roots.
MITHUN DA’S ROLLERCOASTER SHOW
This pied paper of masses had a tough roller coaster ride to fame. The 74-year-old star faced a hell lot of discrimination in the beginning for having gaping teeth and pronounced Bengali accent. He was trolled for his skin color in an era of predominantly fair-skinned heroes.
Mithun Chakraborty had the reflexes of martial art. He did with great ease martial –art inspired action sequences. He had his unique dialogue delivery style. He could perfectly co-ordinate with the complex dance steps to the fast beat of disco numbers of Bappi Lahiri. He played the cult icon in India.
With his films and songs, he gave ‘the party’ to the population. Mithun da proved himself as an actor in his very first film Mrigaya. He was awarded the National Award for his debut film Mrigayaa (1976).
MITHUN DA – THE RULE BREAKER!
Until the ‘70s and ‘80s, Bollywood heroes were born out of royalty, and Mithun broke the norms. He achieved stardom through another route other than being elbow-to-elbow with Bachchan. This man has no godfather. He had broken the shackles by sheer talent. He had his fans as proletarian working men, but this dream star has the hunger to grab everyone’s eye ball.
Initially, Mithun could not get the attention of any of the top actresses of that era. But things changed for Mithun when the director Brij Sadanah introduced Mithun as the hero in Taqdeer, and Zeenat Aman seconded him. Taqdeer made Mithun an A-category actor. Mithun went on to shoot successful films such as Yaadon Ki Kasam and Baat Ban Gayi. He also starred in Ashanti and Hum Se Hai Zamana. Despite playing a secondary role to Amitabh Bachchan in Agneepath, he stole the show as Iam Krishnan Iyer, MA
With over nearly five decades in the B-Town, Mithun Chakraborty has juggled Hindi and Bengali cinema and acted in over 300 films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Odia, and Bhojpuri films. He has won two Filmfare Awards and three National Awards for Mrigayaa (1976), Tahader Katha (1992), and Swami Vivekananda (1998).
