Legendary actor and recent recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Mithun Chakraborty, recently shared the challenges he faced early in his career. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, he recalled a time when many female actors were hesitant to work with him, except for Zeenat Aman, who supported him during this difficult phase. The veteran star recalled that despite receiving a National Award for his first film, he experienced a significant lull in his career. He noted, "Bohot rukawatein bhi thi (There were many obstacles). I was going ahead in life at a great speed, so obstacles were inevitable."
He revealed that during this tough period, several actresses were advised not to work with him. "I didn't want to bow down to that lull, I had decided that if I had to lose, then at least I'll battle it out, that I'll not just give up," he said.
Mithun Chakraborty further revealed that Zeenat Aman played a crucial role in changing this situation. He explained, "Zeenat Aman helped me a lot. She was working on a film with Brij Sadanah and he had decided 'Mithun hi mera hero hai' (Mithun is my hero). So he went to her and said, 'See, there is this boy, I think he is very good,' so Zeenat ji said, 'he is a very handsome looking boy. He dances well, I will work (with him).'" She broke the cycle by working with me. After her, all the big heroines restarted signing films with me. I am forever grateful to Zeenat ji."
Mithun Chakraborty was born in Calcutta and made his acting debut in the 1976 film Mrigayaa, a performance that earned him the National Film Award for Best Actor. Over the years, Mithun received two more National Film Awards for his roles in Tahader Katha (1992) and Swami Vivekananda (1998). Recently, he appeared in The Kashmir Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri. His son, Namashi Chakraborty, made his Bollywood debut in the film Bad Boy.