Among friends: Mithun Chakraborty with Juhi Chawla and Shah Rukh Khan at an Anandalok programme in town

He managed to make an impact even in those few fleeting seconds in the star-studded Om Shanti Om title track, making Shah Rukh Khan dance to his moves. Mithun Chakraborty is back in Bollywood with a bang, thanks largely to his power-packed Manik Das Gupta act in Mani Ratnam’s Guru. The result is a line-up of about eight Hindi films that Tollywood’s Mahaguru has chosen with care.

The 50-plus star — who is still 27 at heart — in a free-wheeling Bolly chat with t2...

Om Shanti Om

Director Farah Khan approached me to appear in the title track. They wanted all the superstars of that decade and since the film is a tribute to Bollywood I agreed.
It was great fun on the sets. Shah Rukh kept telling me that he is one of my craziest fans, and Farah kept raving about my steps when I started dancing. The shot was okayed in one go. After that Shah Rukh posed for a photograph with me, so did Farah and the rest of the team. There were so many of them that there was almost a stampede!

Actually, Shah Rukh is a very loving human being and he knows how to love and respect others. I appeared in Om Shanti Om partly because I can never refuse Shah Rukh. It was a wonderful experience!

Don Muthuswamy

This film is being made by Asim Samanta, son of Shakti Samanta. It’s a comedy and I play a notorious don whose father coaxes him into promising at his deathbed that he would quit this path for good.

But the moment Don Muthuswamy decides to go clean, problems start cropping up from all quarters. His wife, daughter, neighbours — all drive him mad.

The situations are hilarious. It will remind the audience of my role of the blabbering Tamilian, Krishna Iyer MA, in Agneepath.

Heroes

I have some great co-stars in this film, including Salman Khan and Priety Zinta. It’s being directed by Samir Karnik. I play Dr Nagvi, the emotional father of a boy who has been killed in war. It is about how he deals with the memory of his son. There is a lot of turmoil in my character. He is completely shattered and tormented by the death of his only son. There are various shades.

Nowadays, I only focus on the character. Neither the director nor the story matters much. I am game if I find my portion interesting. But I am also very particular about what I portray on screen. I still do my share of homework, like reading the script and going through the dialogues.

Phir Kabhi

I play a 65-year-old married man who cannot forget his first love. Dimple (Kapadia) plays my lover, while Rati (Agnihotri) is my wife. And my granddaughter (newcomer Neha) is the only one who knows about this long-lost affair; she helps me out. The film deals with the idea of eternal love. It’s a beautiful love story, directed by Hari. It’s his first film.

My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves

I have a special appearance in this E. Niwas film. I am the father in a church who runs an orphanage where he teaches martial arts to kids. My role is very brief but I found the character interesting.

Zindagi Tere Naam

This film, directed by Ashu Tirkha, is very close to me. It will mark the return of Ranjeeta and me together after almost 24 years.

We play two elderly characters who are in love. But I won’t reveal much about my character. Basically, it’s a love story. We shot a portion of the film in Dalhousie in Srinagar.

I became very nostalgic while shooting with Ranjeeta. Memories came rushing back. We were considered to be the best pair of the Seventies and we starred in a host of films together. Ranjeeta is also my lady luck; whichever film I was paired opposite her was a superhit. I owe a lot to her.

C Company

Balaji is the producer of this film and Sachin Yardi is the director. Here too I play a don but this one is obsessed with TV artistes! He is a complete madcap. Television is like his extended family and he religiously follows all the serials. He cries and laughs with the characters! The film also stars Raima Sen and Tusshar Kapoor.

Ghosla

In this V. Prakash film, I play a disturbed sculptor who leaves home and starts living on the pavements after a fight with his family members. The film traces his journey.

Kushali Nag
(Which is your favourite Mithun film? Tell t2@abpmail.com)