Mithun Chakraborty: What makes him so special

Mithun Chakraborty, the original disco dancer, has been the unbeaten king of dance in Bollywood. As our very own Mithun Da turns 67 on his birthday today, know what makes the Indian superstar who ruled the dance floor for decades, so special.

Mithun Chakraborty hit the bull’s eye with his Bollywood debut ‘Mrigaya’ in 1976 and went on to bag his first National Film Award for Best Actor for the first film itself! After delivering a hit with ‘Mera Rakshak’ in 1978, Mithun became an overnight star with the low-budget spy film, ‘Surakshaa’ that released in 1979. He played the role of Gunmaster G-9 in the film. The actor then went on to feature as the male lead in many big films.

Mithun’s popular dance number, ‘I am a disco dancer’ from the film ‘Disco Dancer’, was a major success in 1982. This film catapulted him to the big league. Moreover, the song still inspires the filmmakers and actors. While Ranbir Kapoor grooved to the song in his film ‘Anjaana Anjaani’, the song was revisited and served fresh by Mithun himself in ‘Golmaal 3’. Aamir Khan’s ‘Delhi Belly’ also had the song ‘I hate you like I love you’ inspired by this iconic number of the legendary star.

Mithun Chakraborty was born as Gouranga Chakraborty in Hyderabad. Apparently, Mithun had contacts with the Naxalites. However, after losing his brother in a brutal accident, Mithun reportedly left the group. He is a martial arts expert too and has studied at the prestigious Scottish Church College in Kolkata before graduating from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.

Not many know that Grandmaster Mithun made the record of featuring in most number of films as a hero. With about 30 releases in 1998-1999, the actor dominated the silver screens for long. With so many films releasing simultaneously in a year, there were times when his own films clashed at the box office. He also became the second highest-paid actor after Amitabh Bachchan and was also the highest taxpayer of the time.

Despite being a star, Mithun Chakraborty is an active politician and a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha. He was nominated by none other than the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee. Not only this, he played a crucial role of mediator between Pranab Mukherjee and Mamata Banerjee, winning the Congressman the support of the Trinamool chief in the 2012 presidential election.

Mithun Chakraborty is now back in action and is giving his competitors a run for their money. He has played several memorable characters in films like ‘Chandni Chowk To China’, ‘Boss’, ‘Kick’ and ‘Hawaizaada’. The actor is now happily experimenting with roles and stunned us with the role of Leeladhar Swamy in ‘OMG: Oh My God!’. And of course how can one forget the Grandmaster on TV reality show ‘Dance India Dance’ who rightfully deserves the The Grand Salute!