Vinay Kumar
Mithun Chakraborty turns 76 today – born in the year (1950) India became a Republic. And through these seven decades, he has seen and survived it all, much like the country itself. It has been possible, thanks to his inherent ability to reinvent himself that helped him remain relevant. A stunning debut in 1970s with a Mrinal Sen arthouse film, Mrigayaa, that earned him his first National Award. Followed by minor supporting roles in a few films, and then (almost) monopolising the ‘80s with the typical Mithun-da barefoot disco dancer rhythm that announced the arrival of a non-Hindi speaking, dark-skinned rank outsider as the man who had all the right moves. For the next decade through the ‘90s and beyond, he inspired many with his acting, action, and the signature hairstyle and skinny pants.
Mithun Chakraborty and Bappi Lahiri had a successful innings in the 1982 film Disco Dancer.
As liberalised Bollywood turned glossy with designer weddings and NRI romances, Gouranga – who took up the screen name Mithun – saw the writing on the wall. He transitioned to the supporting role in a stellar way: the mentor to Abhishek Bachchan in Mani Ratnam’s Guru, the nuanced hero battling mid-life crisis in Rituparno Ghosh’s much-acclaimed Titli, among others. And then became a frequent TV fixture as a judge on dance reality shows, his affable mannerisms a hit with the young and the old.
The Art of Staying Relevant
Reinvention = Relevance. In Mithun’s book of life, it certainly is. His political choices, too, reflect his transformation over the years. Influenced by popular Naxal figure Ravi Ranjan, he dropped out of Kolkata’s Scottish Church College where he was pursuing a B.Sc in Chemistry to become a part of the Naxalite movement in the early ‘70s. On his return to mainstream life following then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi clamping down on the movement, he enrolled himself at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune that gave wings to his reel dreams.
Mithun Chakraborty has mastered the art of reinvention, from Naxal rebel to BJP mascot.
A dream opening done in 1976 with Mrigayaa, Mithun’s career in Bollywood picked up six years later with the stupendously successful Disco Dancer. The Babbar Subhash directorial made him a household name as his character Jimmy exploded on the big screen, setting a new tempo to the beats of Bappi Lahiri. Much like the raw and vulnerable on-screen Jimmy, the tall, dark and lanky Mithun became a symbol of middle-class hope and aspiration. And soon, he was a force to reckon with: at the box office, and at the tax collection centre for being one of the highest income tax payers of India.
Left is Right. Right is Right, Too.
As Mithun’s success graph soared north, the actor’s Left-leaning ideology remained intact, validated by his close association with then West Bengal CM Jyoti Basu. The actor who has played the lead role in more than 300 films famously performed gratis at the 1986 “Hope ’86” cultural and fundraising event, at the request of “Jyoti Uncle”. Jyoti Basu was not the only politician whom Mithun admired. Miles away in Bombay, the actor found a guardian in Balasaheb Thackeray who helped him navigate the choppy waters of Bollywood that was notorious for according preferential treatment to North Indian actors. For Mithun, the Shiv Sena supremo remained “Daddy”, as he used to call him, till his death.In ‘Mithun Chakraborty: The Dada of Bollywood’, author Ram Kamal Mukherjee writes that “Mithun’s proximity to the Shiv Sena chief was the shield that deflected his critics’ barbs and kept his enemies at bay. With Thackeray’s affectionate hand on his head, Mithun was invincible and inspired fear and respect in everyone in Bollywood.”
Apart from Netaji, two people whom I really respect and admire are Jyoti Basu and Balasaheb Thackeray.
Mithun Chakraborty
Dilli Chalo!
After two decades in Bollywood, Mithun looked at gharwapsi (homecoming) in Bengal in the late ‘90s and did his bit to resuscitate filmdom with his home productions and acting. In his second innings, Mithun was done doing the typical hero act, romancing leading ladies. Fatakeshto and other movies showed him as the fiery, middle-aged man in saviour mode who took on the mafia, and the corruption practised by the system. In Bengal, it struck a chord.
After 34 years of uninterrupted Left rule, anti-incumbency sentiment had become a powerful force in Bengal politics, and Mithun’s anti-establishment movies provided just the right spark to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) campaign in 2011. Reel met real life as he campaigned for TMC in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, three years after Mamata Banerjee ousted the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government to become the chief minister. In return, the three-time National Award winner received a Rajya Sabha berth from the TMC. However, things soured and he made an early exit in 2016 citing health reasons, months after the Saradha group chit scam blew up where his role as brand ambassador came under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate.
The 5-Year-Itch
After calling it quits in the Rajya Sabha – where he hardly showed up – in December 2016, Mithun took a political sabbatical, for five years.In March 2021 as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stepped up its campaign to oust Mamata Banerjee after her ten-year rule, Mithun was roped in to revive the anti-establishment narrative. Often seen with senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvarghiya campaigning in the rural areas of Bengal, he regaled the audience with his classic, filmy one-liners. Unfortunately, all the punchy dialogue failed to ensure a BJP win. But, like many others from the fold, the defeat did not discourage Mithun. Even as he was battling health issues, he threw his weight behind the saffron party, mobilising the booth-level workers and calling for Hindu unification, campaigning aggressively for the BJP to make its debut with a historic win on May 4 in 2026.
Right at Home
Cut to May 9, 2026. Brigade Parade Ground. Kolkata.Mithun Chakraborty, wearing a black cape and cap, was among the key figures seated on stage as Suvendu Adhikari took oath as West Bengal’s first BJP chief minister. His ease and camaraderie with senior BJP and National Democratic Alliance leaders suggested that Mithun had found yet another political home, completing a journey that had taken him from the Left to the Right.
Much like his character in the hit film MLA Fatakeshto, remembered for the iconic line, “Marbo ekhane, lash porbe soshane” (If I thrash you here, your lifeless body will land in the crematorium), Mithun has built a career on taking on the establishment, whether on screen or off it.For more than five decades, Mithun Chakraborty has reinvented himself. Sometimes driven by ideology and instinct, and often by challenging the status quo and taking on the established, a role that he aced on screen. The rebel, the outsider, the actor, and the political campaigner – all go on to make the enduring phenomenon that is Mithun Chakraborty.
For many Bengalis of a certain generation, Mithun Chakraborty represents the change that has swept the state: he who once flirted with revolutionary Left politics, and then the TMC, now speaks the language of Hindu consolidation.
