MITHUN CHAKRABORTY

MITHUN CHAKRABORTY - Film Actor

Mithun Chakraborty, born as Gouranga Chakraborty (on June 16, 1950) in a Bengali Hindu family in Kolkata. He received his schooling at the Oriental Seminary. He later graduated with an honors in chemistry from the Scottish Church College at the University of Calcutta. Subsequently he studied acting at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune.

Mithun Chakraborty was a staunch Naxalite before entering the film industry, but tragedy struck his family when his only brother was electrocuted and killed in a freak accident. He returned to his family and left the Naxalite fold, even though this posed a grave risk to his own life. He had also undergone expert training in Martial Arts to the grade of black belt  that made him excel in fight sequences.

Mithun Chakraborty made his debut in the 1976 Mrinal Sen-directed film Mrigaya, for which he won the coveted National Film Award for Best Actor. Even after winning the National Award, the struggling days were almost same when he reached Mumbai from Kolkata. Then he became an assistant to then famous dancer Helen under the name Rana Rej.^[21] In this time Mithun Chakraborty fought against struggle for existence. Then, he shared the screen with Amitabh Bachchan, a small role in Do Anjaane, followed by Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan, Hamara Sansar and Amar Deep. In between, his film Mera Rakshak was a success of 1978 . Mithun rose to stardom with the low budget Ravikant Nagaich directed spy film Surakshaa, released in 1979. The film was so successful, that many movies starring Mithun in the lead role were launched. The combination with director Deepak Bahry also happened for the first time in 1979 with Tarana. Another important film for Mithun in the late 70s was Prem Vivah, directed by Basu Chatterjee.

Mithun had much success in Bollywood throughout the 1980s, being a part of over 110 releases. The minimum guarantee tag he earned with the hit film Surakshaa continued with its sequel Wardat. His lead roles in Hum Paanch, Unees-Bees and Aadat Se Majboor made him the most bankable star of the 1980s. He had also done lighter roles in Shaukeen, Sun Sajna and Aamne Samne, which made him a favourite among family audience. But Disco Dancer directed by B. Subhash became the real blockbuster in 1982, the breakthrough role of musical drama which was a huge success and remains a cult favorite to this day. Along with Disco Dancer and other musical films such as Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki and Dance Dance in a time where dancing was essentially a woman's forté in India, showcased him as a talented dancer. As Amitabh Bachchan moved to politics, Mithun became the numero uno of Bollywood with consistent hit films and became Bollywood' s second highest paid star after Big B. He also became India's highest tax payer in 1986. Chakraborty went on to star in a number of successful romantic and family dramas during the 1980s, such as Mujhe Insaaf Chahiye, Ghar Ek Mandir, Pyaar Jhukta Nahin, Swarag Se Sunder and Pyaar Ka Mandir. These films remain his most commercially successful films to date. He was also widely recognized as an action hero in hit films like Jagir (1984), Jaal, Dilwaala (1986), Watan Ke Rakhwale (1987) and Waqt Ki Awaz.His action movies always were a hit especially in B and C class theatres. However his teaming with Amitabh Bachchan again in Ganga Jamuna Saraswati flopped, but Mithun had a good teaming with Jeetendra and Dharmendra in many successful movies of the 1980s. His good performances never won any award in 1986 and 1987 as Filmfare Awards was never announced due to technical reasons. As Mithun always had higher number of releases, sometimes it affected the business of his own films as happened in 1989, where he had a record 19 films. Still some of his films like Jeete Hain Shaan Se, Ilaaka and Mujrim were successful. Had he concentrated in spacing out his releases, the success ratio would have been higher.

Mithun had another 100 plus releases in this decade too, starting with Agneepath which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Films like Shandaar, Pyar Ka Karz, Gunahon Ka Devta, Pyar Ka Devta, Pyar Hua Chori Chori, Trinetra and Mere Sajana Saath Nibhana followed. In 1992, the critically acclaimed Bengali film Tahader Katha won him his second National Film Award for Best Actor. In this period he decided to take a break from Mumbai. He shifted his entire family to Ooty and he constructed The Monarch Hotel. Mithun then decided to do movies only to be shot at Ooty and nearby locations and he provided discount rates to the film crew to stay in his hotel as well. This strategy paid off as numerous films starring Mithun was launched every week, so he shifted his focus from mainstream Hindi cinemas to low-budget movies. Hit film Dalaal was released followed by other low budget hit films like Phool Aur Angaar and Ravan Raaj: A True Story. Jallad won him the Filmfare Best Villain Award and Star Screen Award Best Villain for the year 1995. His economical film production was popular as Mithun's Dream Factory. Even he could not do Mani Ratnam's Tamil film Iruvar as his character had to crop his hair, which would have affected his other 15 films at that time. He paid more tax than anyone else in the country in the mean period for 5 years, from 1995 to 1999. By this time, Chakraborty held the record for appearing in the most number of Hindi films as a hero. A third National Award followed in 1998, this time for the Best Supporting Actor, for his portrayal of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, in G V Iyer's Swami Vivekananda. Once again the overdose of Mithun releases affected the business as 1998 and 1999 itself had almost 30 releases. This decade proved Mithun as a businessman more than a star as low budget filmmakers were given their due by Mithun. He operates hotels in Mudhumalai and Ooty in Tamil Nadu, Darjeeling, Siliguri and Kolkata.

 Mithun's Dream Factory films still continued to hold the audiences, moreover he started doing more Bengali films and gave consistent hit films like Titli, Guru, Barood, Yuddho and Tulkalam. The Fatakeshto series too was a huge success. Chakraborty also made a comeback to the mainstream Hindi film industry in 2005 with the film Elaan. After a few supporting roles in films such as Lucky: No Time for Love (2005) and Dil Diya Hai (2006), he starred in Mani Ratnam's hit film Guru. He was also acclaimed for his villainous role in Kalpana Lajmi's Chingari (2005). His 2009 movie Zor Lagaa Ke...Haiya! won multiple International awards and Chal Chalein was appreciated by critics for its bold theme. Critically acclaimed Phir Kabhi with Dimple Kapadia had a very successful première through a direct to home (DTH) release in September 2009 and won as many as six awards in as many categories at the Los Angeles Reel Awards-2009.

In 2010, Chakraborty's act along with Salman Khan in Veer, though a commercial failure, won him rave reviews, but three blockbusters Golmaal 3, Housefull 2 and OMG! Oh My God once again made Mithun busy in Bollywood. Khiladi 786 along with Akshay Kumar also met success. Now he is working on Enemmy with his son Mimoh Chakraborty & Sunil Shetty, Subhash Ghai' s Kaanchi... and Anthony D'souza's Naam Hai Boss once again with Akshay Kumar.

Parallel to his Bollywood career, Mithun Chakraborty has also worked in Bengali, as well as in realistic or arthouse movies including Troyee, made in 1982. He appeared in director Buddhadeb Dasgupta's Tahader Katha which got him his second National Award in 1992. Mithun occasionally did Bengali films like Anyay Abichar, Swarna Trishna and Jiban Yuddha, but after 2000, he has concentrated more in Bengali films. He also appeared in Goutam Ghose's Gudia in 1999 as well as Rituparno Ghosh's Titli in 2002. In 2008, he collaborated again with Buddhadeb Dasgupta for Kaalpurush and later appeared in hit films Shukno Lanka and Target-The Final Mission. His performances in Mrigaya, Tahader Katha, Kalpurush and Titli won him National Film Awards and nominations. His debut Bhojpuri film Bhole Shankar is considered as the biggest Bhojpuri hit. Similarly his Oriya film Ae Jugara Krushna Sudama where he co-starred with Oriya icon Uttam Mohanty was also a huge success. The latest Bengali hits for Mithun are Nobel Chor and Le Halwa Le. His new Bengali films are Buddhuram Dhol Duniya Gol, the guest appearance in Rocky and the science fiction Jole Jongole with White Mischief .

After the success of Dance Bangla Dance a Bengali reality show competitive dance program, Mithun Chakraborty developed the concept of Dance India Dance, an Indian dance competition show that airs on Zee TV in the India, produced by UTV Software Communications and has become India's largest dance-based reality show. The contestants get a chance to perform before a panel of judges composed of Terrence Lewis, Remo D'souza and Geeta Kapoor. The selection of the season's Top 18 live show finalists are overseen by head judge Mithun Chakraborty. The show has won several Television Awards for Most Popular Dance Reality Show. Mithun is also the Grand Master for Dance India Dance Li'l Masters as well as the host of the reality show titled Dadagiri Unlimited on Zee Bangla channel. He replaced Sourav Ganguly as the host of the show. 

Mithun Chakraborty was also the co-owner of Royal Bengal Tigers, a cricket team of the now abandoned Indian Cricket League. He is also the co-owner of Bengal Football Academy, aimed to promote football talents of the country.  In a football match, he even captained celebrity XI against team of ex-footballers captained by former Indian Cricket Captain Sourav Ganguly. It was a benefit match to raise charity fund.

Mithun Chakraborty is married to former Indian actress Yogeeta Bali and has four children, three sons and a daughter. The eldest son, Mimoh Chakraborty is an actor in Bollywood who made his debut in the 2008 film Jimmy. His second son, Rimoh Chakraborty played Mithun's younger version in the film Phir Kabhi. Mithun's other two children, Namashi Chakraborty and Dishani Chakraborty, are currently studying.

During the 1980s, Chakraborty had a love affair with Sridevi, the then leading actress of Bollywood. Sridevi had fallen in love with Chakraborty on the sets of Rakesh Roshan's Jaag Utha Insan. Chakraborty and Sridevi became really close to each other. But when Yogita Bali, Chakraborty’s wife, got to know about the affair she said that she will never ever leave Chakraborty. Sridevi and Chakraborty had got married secretly and later Chakraborty admitted it to the press but only when a fan magazine published their marriage certificate. Yogeeta Bali took an overdose of sedatives, after which Mithun went back to his wife. Then Sridevi drifted closer to Boney Kapoor. Mona Kapoor, Boney's first wife, later recalled in a Savvy cover story that at one stage, Sridevi had even tied a rakhi on Boney’s wrist to prove to Chakraborty that it was only a platonic relationship.