From the Footpath to Paths of Glory

Mithun Chakraborty / X

I spoke to him last year in December 2023, just before the release of Suman Ghosh's Bengali film Kabuliwala, in which he plays the titular role of Rahmat in this adaptation of Rabindra Tagore's story. In Kolkata, the Afghan trader befriends a writer's daughter, Mini, who reminds him of the young daughter he left behind to pay off a loan he had taken when she'd fallen ill. 

Dada, as he is fondly called in the film fraternity, was in the US then, with his daughter who was studying acting and filmmaking, and admitted emotionally that both his wife, Yogita Bali, and he would die if Dishani went far away. That's Mithun Chakraborty, a simple family man, who has always attributed his phenomenal success to naseeb, pointing out that there are many actors who work as hard and are as talented, but unless destiny favors you, be it a good role or a brilliant performance, nothing works.

Gouranga, as he was named by his parents, Basanta Kumar and Shanti Rani Chakraborty, was born on June 16, 1950, grew up in the City of Joy with a passion for football, graduated in chemistry from Scottish Church College and like many impressionable young boys at the time was sucked into Bengal's Naxal movement. He might as well have become a rebel leader like Ravi Ranjan aka Bhaa whom he befriended had he not le lost his brother to a freak accident. 

Then, despite comrades calling him a deserter, he returned to his family, but because of his Naxal connections, he was constantly hounded by the police, and after a few close shaves, fled to Pune where he enrolled at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). 

Mrinal Sen saw him at the institute in 1973, during the convocation ceremony, and the tall boy with sinewy muscles and a smile that lit up his face, stayed on in his memory, though he didn't remember his name. A couple of years later, when he was scouting for an actor to play the Adivasi archer Ghinua in his 1977 film Mrigavaa, a telegram was dispatched to his cinematographer KK Mahajan to trace the boy for him. 

And Mithun, who after graduating from the FTII with a gold medal, had only landed a couple of short films, an uncredited appearance in the Rishi Kapoor starrer Khel Khel Mein and Amitabh Bachchan's neighbor's role in Do Anjaane, suddenly bagged the leading role opposite Mamta Shankar. Mrigayae bagged the National Award for Best Feature Film and also won Mithun his first National Award for Best Actor.

From darkness to light 

However, the prestigious national honor did not impress Bollywood's dream merchants who favored fair-skinned boys from the North and Mithun's dusky charm didn't appeal. Also, after seeing him bare-bodied, wearing just a dhoti, in Sen's art house film, they weren't convinced he could carry off a suit-booted look. 
So, except for a passing appearance as a stage artiste in the Shashi Kapoor-Sanjeev Kumar-Vidya Sinha starrer Mukti in 1977, Mithun was jobless for two years. He survived by dancing on stage, lived in a kholi in a Mumbai slum, and on really dark days, even contemplated suicide. 

A hattrick of surprise hits, Mera Rakshak in 1978 with a goat as the real hero, the Bond-like action-thriller Surakksha and rich-boy-poor-girl love story Taraana in 1979, got him into the mainstream, but a tsunami of box-office duds followed and might as well have cut short his career. But, as they say, destiny favors the brave, and on December 10, 1982, B. Subhash's debut production, Disco Dancer, opened and brought him back into the game. 

A self-confessed Elvis Presley fan, Mithun acknowledges that his dancing in the film was partly inspired by his idol though the moves were his own and he quickly came to be labeled 'Pelvic Presley', 'Desi Michael Jackson' and 'Disco King'.

He had more than 100 releases in the eighties alone and for a few years, was India's highest taxpayer. But while another actor would have been happy fighting and dancing on screen, Mithun refused to be stereotyped and experimented with romantic dramas like Pyar Jhutkta Nahin and Jaag Utha Insaan. The latter brought Sridevi into his life, and the actor who would joking refer to himself as a "married bachelor", found himself torn between his wife and the other woman. 

While Yogita Bali was not prepared to divorce him, Sridevi was not ready to be the second wife. His personal turmoil spilled into his professional life and he literally sleep walked through many of these films, eventually moving to Ooty where he started a hotel, Monarch. 

At least 30 odd films were shot in the Karnataka hills station, within 30-35 days, on a tight budget, which ensured that these assembly line productions were commercially viable for their producers. As a result, the workload of the eighties continued into the nineties. Most of the films were run-of-the-mill, with a few exceptions like Agneepath, his coconut seller, Krishna lyer M.A., winning him the National Award for Best Supporting Actor. 

A double role of a corrupt father and his avenger son in Jallad also bagged him the Filmfare Award for Best Villain. He also won a second National Award for Best Actor in 1992 for the Bengali film Tahader Katha, and a third, for Best Supporting Actor, for his portrayal of Ramkrishna Paramhans in the 1998 biopic Swami Vivekanand. 

Never the quitter 

The experiments continued into the new millennium with OMG-Oh My God! Guru, The Tashkent Files and The Kashmir Files and this time they were not limited to cinema. He became a household name with TV talent hunt shows like Dance India Dance, Dance Bangla Dance, Dadagiri and Bigg Boss (Bengali). 

He also boosted Bengali cinema with blockbusters like Chore Chore Mastuto Bhai, Tiger, Juddho, Shukno Lonka, MLA Fatakeshto and its sequel, Minister Fatakeshto. A dialogue from Fatakeshto, "Marbo ekhane, laash porbe shomshane" is still quoted in his home state.

Alongside these masala medleys were outings which proved that Mrigayaa had not been a flash in the pan, like Rituparno Ghosh's Titli and Buddhadeb Dasgupta's Kaalpurush, for which he was in contention for a fourth National Award. There were also forays into Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bhojpuri and Odia cinema as well. 

He disappeared for a few years, fanning rumors of an incurable illness that had forced him into early retirement. He answered them with a roar, "No one is going to kick Mithun out, I will be the one to call it quits."
This year on February 10, while shooting for the Bengali film in Kolkata, he felt uneasy and early on February 10 was rushed to hospital. He had suffered an Ischemic Cerebrovascular Stroke. He was discharged a couple of days later and after resting for a while, he was back on the sets. 

The 74-year-old Padma Bhushan awardee had just walked into the shoot of the Bengali film, Shriman vs Shrimati, when he learnt that he had been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Award for 2024, the highest honor for cinema in India, for a five-decade journey that have inspired many. 

The tears came easily and the words were typical of Dada, "I come from the by lanes of Kolkata; I have risen from footpaths. A boy from such a place winning such an honor...I could not have imagined this. I am extremely happy. I dedicate this to my family and my fans across the world."