The hotel; (above) Mithun Chakraborty speaks at the inaugural programme on Thursday. Pictures by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, Aug. 11: The Monarch has come to town and Siliguri can boast of a Mithun connection.

Mithun Chakraborty today inaugurated Hotel Monarch Aachal in Shivmandir, a collaboration between Siliguri-based businessman Tapan Das and the actor’s Monarch Group of Hotels based in Ooty.

People had started gathering outside the hotel 10km from here since 2pm for a glimpse of the actor. By evening, the crowd swelled to more than 500 people causing traffic jam on NH31.

The actor obliged his fans only after 6pm when he appeared on the hotel porch and waved at them.

Later while answering queries from guests and media at the banquet hall, the actor said he would be frequenting Siliguri more, now that a unit of the Monarch hotels has been opened here.

“Tapan is a friend and he had been insisting on opening a franchisee of my hotels here. I can see that he has built a beautiful hotel and hope that it will maintain the standards of the Monarch Group. I will be looking after the administration and provide consultancy as and when he requires it. Now that a Monarch hotel is here, I will frequent Siliguri more often,” he said.

The three-storey hotel has three restaurants that offer Continental, Indian and Bengali cusines, 34 rooms and banquet and conference halls. A swimming pool, spa, gym and hair saloon will be added later.

Later Mithun said Ami Subhash Bolchhi, a film on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose to be release tomorrow, has been the “boldest” film of his career.

“Ami Subhash Bolchhi is the boldest film of my career. It tries to remind the present generation of our rich culture which has been forgotten. It is a good film based on the principles of Netaji Shubash Chandra Bose and I request all of you to watch it,” the actor said.

The film produced by Shree Venkatesh Films is the first Bengali movie to be directed by Bollywood director Mahesh Manjrekar.

Mithun plays the male protagonist in the film which portrays the current socio-economic condition of the country and how Netaji would have reacted if he were alive. It also tries to depict a Bengali culture forgotten by current generation.

Many in the audience wanted to know about his political leanings and his meeting with chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Calcutta yesterday. Initially he skirted all questions, saying it was a “visit to my sister”.

Later, to a query on what he expected from the new Bengal government, Mithun said: “I would not like you to associate me with any political party. But since you insist, I would like to say that the new government will deliver, will do well.”