shades: Mithun Chakraborty with son Mimoh

‘Mi’ for Michael Jackson and ‘Moh’ for Mohammed Ali, are the two stars that add up to make the name Mimoh. Quite a filmi touch for Mithun Chakraborty’s eldest son who is all set to join the Bollywood band of star sons.

“My father has always been a great admirer of both these legends who rose from the grassroots, and he decided to name his first born after them,” says the 22-year-old whose actual name is Mahakshay, meaning immortal in Sanskrit.

Back in Calcutta with his entire family after seven long years for the unveiling of a fashion leather accessories store, Mimoh rewinded to some childhood memories in Calcutta, which he would frequent with his father. “I love Bengali food and have only been gorging on aloo posto for the past two days,” smiled Mimoh.

A complete entertainer is what he wants to be. “As a newcomer my priority is to gain acceptance first. I want to do comedy, action, emotional sequences and my first film Jimmy is a complete package where I get to portray all these different shades,” he said.

Apart from his debut film Jimmy, where he plays the title role of a DJ, Mimoh has The Murderer, to be directed by Raj Sippy years after he directed dad Mithun in Boxer. “My father is a multifaceted actor and I’m trying to follow his footsteps but I don’t feel pressurised,” pointed out Mimoh who has attended classes on acting, direction and scriptwriting at the New York Film Academy.

“I’ve picked up most of my dancing skills from watching him perform. I’m comfortable doing the disco, hip-hop and a little bit of Indian style of dancing as well,” said the son.

Although Mimoh rues that his father dismissed his dancing abilities at the first go, Mithun chooses to differ: “Mimoh is a much better dancer than me. In fact, these days you can catch me following his fashion fundas. I don’t feel the need to instruct him. I’m more like his buddy who he can fall back on for help, anytime.”

After an end-2006 release of debut film Jimmy, Mimoh will also appear in Dhanraj’s He — The Only One, the remake of a Telugu film.

The GenX hopeful is not averse to Bengali films either, having quite enjoyed watching MLA Fatakeshto and Abhimanyu. “Once I gain recognition in Bollywood I’d surely like to try my hand at Bengali films, too. I understand Bengali very well but need to speak the language more,” said a reticent Mimoh who dreams of working with Mrinal Sen one day and is looking forward to catch Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Kaalpurush.

n See Barbie’s magical world come alive next Sunday at noon as her latest film Barbie In The 12 Dancing Princesses premieres on Cartoon Network. The animated movie combines the grace of ballet to relate an adventurous story of Barbie and her 11 sisters. The dance sequences in the film are choreographed and performed by the New York City Ballet, brought alive in animation via the latest motion-capture technology.

In The 12 Dancing Princesses, Barbie stars as Princess Genevieve, the seventh sister and most graceful dancer of the princesses who live with their father. Their lives change when the King’s wicked cousin, Rowena, comes to live with them — no dancing, music or fun!

A toast to team spirit, the film shows how the princesses fight the evil designs. So keep those dancing shoes ready for Sunday noon.

n Sonu Nigam recently collapsed while performing on stage in New Delhi. The reason? A slipped disc!

According to sources, Sonu had been ill prior to the show and was on medication but once he got on stage he forgot about all his ailments and started entertaining the crowds in his usual style.

But after some time, he began feeling acute pain and was forced to take a break. But the packed show had to go on and Sonu came back out and started singing again.

As the singer bent down to shake hands with a little admirer he heard “a loud crack in his back” and collapsed in pain. He had to be removed from the venue on a stretcher but he refused to go to a hospital, as he had to perform in Ludhiana the next day.

Sonu says: “I slept on the floor of my room and the next day we drove eight hours to Ludhiana with me lying down in the back of the vehicle, but the show was great and so it was worth it.”

If that wasn’t enough, the singer was back in Mumbai the very next day to perform in Vashi for the Durga puja festivities.