National Award ke baad main khud ko Al Pacino samajhne laga tha: Mithun

Mithun Chakraborty was presented with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award at the 70th National Film Awards ceremony in the capital on Tuesday. Looking back on his early days, he recalled the comments he used to get. “People would shout kalia at me on the streets,” he said, adding that it was then he decided that he’ll dance so well that no one will even notice his skin colour.

‘PEHLE NATIONAL AWARD KE BAAD MAIN KHUD KO AL PACINO SAMAJHTA THA’
Mithun shared, “I’ve stood on this stage three times before, but this is the first time I’m admitting – after I won my first National Award, people around me were saying, ‘Oh my God, you’ve won a National Award!’ toh mera brain thoda kharab hone laga tha. Jaise bahut kuch bada kar diya hoon!” He added, “Main khud ko Al Pacino samajhne laga tha.”
With a gesture mimicking Al Pacino, Mithun demonstrated how he would sit in front of producers, and said,“Producer mujhe dekhta tha aur sochta tha yeh kyun kar raha hai yeh sab. Woh samajhta nahi tha ki main Al Pacino kay jaise kar raha hoon.” Once, he even told a producer to send the story to his house, but instead, “ek producer maara laat, bola nikal yahan se.” That, he joked, marked the end of his Al Pacino phase, leaving the audience in laughter.

‘FILM INDUSTRY MEIN YEH KAALA RANG NAHI CHALEGA’
Mithun also spoke about the prejudice he faced early in his career because of his complexion. “Film industry mein yeh kaala rang nahi chalega. You can understand, jitna apmaan ho sake (utna logon ne kiya),” he said. Mithun said that he even prayed to God to change his skin colour.
Mithun shared how nothing was handed to him, and that everything he achieved came through hard work. He said that he often complained to God about the struggles he faced, but after receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, he said, “Aaj award milne ke baad maine shikayat karna chhor diya. Sab sood (interest) ke saath wapis ho gaya.”

On Disco Dancer fame
“Maine socha ki aisa dance karoon mere pairon se ki log mere pairon ko dekhein aur mere colour ko nahi, mere skin ko na dekhein. Aur aap maaniye maine wohi kiya, sab filmon mein pairon se dance kiya, pair ko rukne nahi diya kahin bhi. Log mere rang ko bhool gaye aur main ban gaya – the sexy, dusky Bengali babu”