| Mithun Chakraborty. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gouranga Chakraborty 16 June 1950[1] India |
| Other names | Mithunda |
| Occupation | Actor Entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Spouse | Yogeeta Bali (1979–present) |
| Children | Mahakshay Chakraborty Rimoh Chakraborty Namashi Chakraborty Dishani Chakraborty |
Mithun Chakraborty (Bengali: মিঠুন চক্রবর্তী Miṭhun Chôkroborti, born as Gouranga Chakraborty on June 16, 1950) is an Indian film actor, social activist, and entrepreneur, who has won three National Film Awards. He made his acting debut with the arthouse drama Mrigaya (1976), for which he won his first National Film Award for Best Actor.
He gained a fan following as a dancing star and went on to establish himself as one of the more popular actors of India, particularly recognized for his role as street dancer Jimmy in the 1982 Bollywood movie Disco Dancer. He also attracted worldwide audiences, particularly in the former Soviet Union[2] where he became a household name for his role in Disco Dancer.[3] He later won two more National Film Awards for his performances in Bengali film Tahader Katha (1992) and Hindi film Swami Vivekananda (1998).
Chakraborty has appeared in about 350 films [4] including Bengali, Oriya and Bhojpuri pictures. He owns the Monarch Group, which has interests in the hospitality sector [5] and educational sector.[6]
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Mithun Chakraborty was born in Kolkata (West Bengal) to a Bengali Hindu family.
He was educated at the Oriental Seminary and also graduated with a degree in chemistry from the Scottish Church College in Kolkata.[7] He was initially associated with Naxalites in West Bengal, which he later left and joined Mumbai films. For rest of his life, his family had continuous threat from Naxalities. After that he attended and graduated from 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 doing so posed a grave risk to his own life. He had also undergone expert training in Martial Arts to the grade of black belt.[8]
Mithun Chakraborty made his film debut in the 1976 Mrinal Sen-directed film Mrigaya, for which he won the coveted National Film Award for Best Actor. 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. 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 sucess in Bollywood throughout the 1980s, being apart of over 110 releases. The minimum guarantee tag he earned with Surakshaa continued with its sequel Wardat. His lead roles in Sitara, The Naxalites, Hum Paanch and Aadat Se Majboor made him the most bankable star of 80's. He also done lighter roles in Shaukeen, Sun Sajna and Aamne Samne, which made him a favourite among family audience. But Disco Dancer 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. Alongwith 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. 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.[9] He was also widely recognized as an action hero in hit films like Jagir (1984), Bepanaah (1985), Jaal (1986), Watan Ke Rakhwale (1987), Commando, Jeete Hain Shaan Se, Waqt Ki Awaz (1988) and Guru (1989). His action movies always done good business 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 80's. His good performances never won an 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 his Prem Pratigyaa, Ilaaka and Mujrim were successful. Had he concentrated in spacing out his releases, the success ratio would have been higher. The success of Anil Kapoor in the late 80's finally doomed Mithun films upto an extent. Anyhow the 80's belonged to Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty and upto an extent, Anil Kapoor.
This decade started with films like Shandaar, Pyar Ka Karz, Gunahon Ka Devta, Pyar Ka Devta, Pyar Hua Chori Chori, Trinetra, Mere Sajana Saath Nibhana and Yugandhar. 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 and Mithun shifted his focus from mainstream Hindi cinema to low-budget movies. Dalaal was released followed by other films like Meherbaan, Aadmi, Kranti Kshetra, Janta Ki Adalat, Cheetah, Phool Aur Angaar and Ravan Raaj: A True Story. His economical film production was popular as Mithun's Dream Factory.[10][11][12][13][14] He paid more tax than anyone else in the country in the mean period for 5 continuous years, from 1995 to 1999.[15] By this time, Chakraborty held the record for appearing in the most number of Hindi films as a hero. He operates hotels in Mudhumalai and Ooty in Tamil Nadu, Darjeeling, Siliguri [16] and Kolkata in West Bengal.[17] His performances in Mrigaya, Tahader Katha, Swami Vivekananda, Kalpurush and Titli won him National Film Awards and nominations. He won two Filmfare awards: The Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance in the 1990 film Agneepath, and the Filmfare Best Villain Award for his performance in Jallad.
Chakraborty 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), he was acclaimed for his villainous role in Kalpana Lajmi's Chingari (2005). In 2007 he starred in Mani Ratnam's hit film Guru. His 2009 movie Zor Lagaa Ke...Haiya! won multiple International awards [18] 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. Mithunda's last Hindi releases Veer, along with Salman Khan, though a commercial failure, won him rave reviews, but Golmaal 3 became a blockbuster at the box-office. He has worked on Spaghetti 24 x 7 with his son Mimoh Chakraborty, and is doing Housefull 2 in an action role 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 the second National Award in 1992. A third National Award followed in 1995, this time for the Best Supporting Actor, for his portrayal of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, in G V Iyer's Swami Vivekananda. Mithun, occasionally done Bengali films like Anyay Abichar, Swarna Trishna and Jiban Yuddha, but post 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 Ami Shubhash Bolchi.
Mithun Chakraborty was also the co-owner of Royal Bengal Tigers, a cricket team of the now abandoned Indian Cricket League.[19]
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 the film Phir Kabhi. And Mithun's other two children Namashi Chakraborty and Dishani Chakraborty are still into their studies.
| Book | Language | Writer | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amar Nayikara | Bengali | Sumit Dey | Mithun Chakraborty the cinema actor and his heroines. |
| Ananya Mithun | Bengali | Subrata Gangaphadya, | Biography of Mithun Chakraborty |
| Mithuner Katha | Bengali | Jayanta Ghosh | Mithuner katha / edited and compiled by Jayanta Ghosh |
| Cinemay Naamte Hole | Bengali | Mithun Chakraborty | Mithun Chakraborty answering questions to his fans |
| Marbo Ekhane Lash Porbe Shoshane | Bengali | Ashishtaru Mukhaphadya | Life story of Mithun Chakraborty |
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