Mithun Chakraborty is on an even keel. The Bengali superstar today has roles being written specially for him. In this forthright chat, Mithunda discusses his favourite subjects, son Mimoh included

You were nominated for several awards for your performance in Guru last year.
Yes, but I don’t like to talk about my achievements.

In fact, you got your first National Award for your very first film Mrigayaa.
Yes, followed by another National award two years later. I don’t want to say this again. But I am the man who came to Mumbai with nothing except my dreams, no godfather, no support.

You were the only Bengali actor to make it so big.
That’s because I knew the problems that affected Bengali actors, like the accented Hindi. Mine isn’t that good. But definitely passable. Personality-wise, I wanted to project myself as….

Macho?
Yes, I guess so. The unusual have always been welcome in Mumbai. And I broke the myth of the fair-skinned, chocolate-box hero. I proved even the ordinary boy next door can make it.

You always connected the audience…a brother, a son, a father-figure
I’ve reached 350 films. I’ve been mentioned in the Limca Book Of Records. I’m shy of  speaking about myself. But 249 films as a leading man in Hindi has to be sort of a record. Even as I say this, I feel awkward.

But this is the era of self-promotion.
I believe your work speaks for you.

And what work are you doing right now?
I’ve done a spoofy gangster’s part in Don Muthuswamy. I play a South Indian don who has migrated to Mumbai. Then I just finished Ghosla for Gemini Studios. I play a National Award-winning sculptor who wants Marathi culture to thrive, but finds himself a misfit in today’s generation. Out of frustration, he leads a life of anonymity on the footpath. It’s absolutely splendid. I also have Sujoy Ghosh’s next big film which he’s producing. Very interesting work.

Sujoy is a big fan of yours?
I’m so lucky, yaar. To be working with these guys who are my fans. It’s so interesting to be doing a variety of roles. I remember in 1995, a weird thing happened. I got a National Award for playing Rama Krishna Paramhans. During the same year, I got the best villain’s popular award for Jallad. Isn’t it amazing? Getting applauded for playing bhagwaan and shaitaan in the same year.

When you were staying in Ooty, did you feel you did too many down-market potboilers?
Maybe, but I had no choice. The money I borrowed from banks had to be paid back. I also had to create a secure bank balance for my family. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? I didn’t want to die with my dancing shoes on. I know ek din to neeche aana hai. So I cashed in on my name when I was popular. You can call those films down market. But it’s those films that brought my family financial security.

Has Mani Ratnam’s Guru triggered off a new phase in your career?
Yes, there’s a strange dichotomy in my career. While in Mumbai, I’m getting patriarch roles. In Kolkata, they still want me to play the hero, the messiah of the masses. Yes, I’m the action hero in Bengal. I insist on doing two Bengali films a year. Then there are seven-eight films in Hindi. Out of the ten films coming my way, I’m playing the protagonist in seven.

Your son Mimoh’s debut has been delayed?
I wouldn’t call it a delay. A film has to have its momentum and finesse. We saw Mimoh’s film Jimmy and thought it needed extra songs. Now we feel it’s complete. I get very upset when people snigger about the delay. But we couldn’t release the film until we were satisfied.

The theatrical trailer came prematurely, but that’s because Salman and Sohail Khan love Mimoh very much. They insisted on putting a song of Jimmy with Partner. As a father, I think Jimmy is ready. Mimoh’s cash-factor is his dancing. I’ve trained him for six years. He has all the potential for stardom. Again, like me, he’s unconventional. He has his mother’s looks. Imagine how much he’d have to struggle if he looked like me (laughs loudly).

Seriously, I was the hope for the hopeless. Main uski asha hoon jiski koi asha nahin. People who come to this city of dreams look at me and say, ‘If he can make it, so can we.’ Why does anyone need a godfather? People laugh at me for not producing a film for my son. Who produced my first film? Even if I produce 40 films for Mimoh, it won’t make him a star. I can lead him to the water. But Mimoh has to drink it. I won’t do anything more than that.

How do you rate his dancing?
Audiences will expect Mithun’s son to be a good dancer. Mimoh dances 25 times better than me.

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3. A look at Mimoh Chakraborty’s first film
4. SRK plays big brother to Mimo
5. Film producer Jhamu Sugandh dead!