Mithun Chakraborty comes from a very poor family. ####He used to roam around the streets of Calcutta then, like everyone does. Mrinal Sen, one of the most admired directors of Bengal, spotted some talent in Mithun and signed him for an adivaasi’s role in Mrigayaa.

I was just a student then and used to get into any cinema hall showing Bollywood, Hollywood or Tollywood films. I was an avid cinegoer, and watched almost three films a day. Those days cinema halls were the only means of entertainment. One day, as usual, while loitering outside the cinema halls I found Mithun’s maiden release, Mrigayaa, being shown at Lighthouse which was the pride of Calcutta then. I immediately booked a ticket and took my seat inside the hall expecting a mediocre film with two newcomers, Mithun Chakraborty and Mamata Shankar. But as the movie started, slowly I got engrossed by the charisma of Mithun the actor. His acting made me spellbound. By intermission Mithun had grabbed everyone’s heart. I went out, as usual, for a smoke and heard a commotion on the first floor of the house, and people were shouting, “Tomorrow’s hero Mithun is there to speak to the audience.” I was also very curious to see him in flesh and blood so I ran to the crowd and managed to hold his hand and wish him all the best. Director Mrinal Sen, actress Mamata Shankar, and the cinematographer K. K. Mahajan, too, were by his side. I shook hands with everyone and spoke highly of the budding actor called Mithun Chakraborty. Mithun smiled humbly and won our hearts instantly. As the bell rang, we all rushed back to the hall to take our seat. The film was over with thumping applause for Mithun and we hailed aloud: ‘Mithun, the star is born.’

In my wildest of dreams I never dreamt that Mithun Chakraborty, the volcano of talent, would travel this far to be applauded by people all over the globe. He is the only actor whose debut film won the coveted National Award. The success story continued, and followed films of Mithun getting best openings and there came the film of the century by B. Subhash called Disco Dancer. The film was dedicated to his dancing ability and it was well received by everyone all over India. The Mithun fever spread to even Russia and created a history of sorts with Disco Dancer celebrating Silver Jubilee and then Golden Jubilee in Russia. Mithun is the only Indian actor who became a darling of the Russians after Showman Raj Kapoor. Mithun’s popularity skyrocketed and all his films released thereafter became jubilee hits.

In spite of so much popularity Mithun the human being remained the same. He became more humble and generous towards the poor and was finally labelled the messiah and the godfather. He kept on helping the poor and the downtrodden with medical help and educational backup. In the early 90s, our dear Mithunda left for Ooty to build his chain of hotels called Monarch. He kept on acting in ordinary films dished out from Tamil Nadu just to help the needy. He still does that for the Tollywood industry. Hats off to Mithunda!