Mithun Chakraborty

Biography

Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty in Calcutta on 16 June 1950) is an Indian film actor whose career also extends to singing, production, business and, for a few years, politics. Over more than five decades, mostly in Hindi and Bengali cinema, he has become one of the most recognisable names in popular Indian film, and he has won three National Film Awards.

He made his debut in 1976 with Mrigayaa, Mrinal Sen's drama that earned him his first National Film Award for Best Actor. That same year he had a brief part in Do Anjaane, and in 1978 he entered Bengali cinema with Nadi Theke Sagare, a hit that made him known in Calcutta. Commercial titles such as Surakksha (1979) followed, and by the early 1980s he had become a star of the Bombay film industry.

His breakthrough came with Disco Dancer (1982), directed by B. Subhash, whose Bappi Lahiri soundtrack did much to drive its box office success. The film was also a phenomenon in the Soviet Union and China, where Mithun became a household name. In 1985 he starred opposite Padmini Kolhapure in Pyar Jhukta Nahin, another big hit that confirmed his place among the period's leading box office draws.

From the mid-1990s he stepped back from mainstream commercial cinema and turned to low-budget productions, many of which did poorly. Even so, he kept working across a wide range of films. In 1992 he won his second National Award for Tahader Katha, directed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta, and in 1998 a third, for Best Supporting Actor, for Swami Vivekananda, in which he played Ramakrishna Paramahansa.

Off screen he owns the Monarch Group, which has interests in hospitality and education, and he founded his own production house, Mithun's Dream Factory. He also helped set up the CINTAA, an association that assists actors in need. In 2012 he acted as a go-between for Pranab Mukherjee and Mamata Banerjee during the presidential election, and in 2021 he joined the BJP. He is remembered today as one of the big names of 1980s popular Indian cinema, although his later career was more uneven.

Key films

• Mrigayaa (1976): his first major role, directed by Mrinal Sen, which earned him his first National Award for Best Actor.
• Nadi Theke Sagare (1978): his breakthrough in Bengali cinema, a hit that cemented his standing there.
• Disco Dancer (1982): the role of the street dancer Jimmy, which made him a superstar in India and the Soviet Union.
• Agneepath (1990): opposite Amitabh Bachchan, a commercial failure that nonetheless won him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.
• Tahader Katha (1992): directed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta, his second National Award for Best Actor.
• Swami Vivekananda (1998): G. V. Iyer's biographical drama, which brought him his third National Award, for Best Supporting Actor.