Mithun Chakraborty has been selected for this year's Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest film honour by the government. The legendary actor will receive the award on October 8 at the National Film Awards ceremony. The veteran star's son, actor Namashi Chakraborty, shared his immediate reaction to the happy news with NDTV. Expressing his joy, Namashi said, “We all are very very overwhelmed. We are feeling extremely proud and elated. And I genuinely feel that my father is truly a legend. This is a long-due award for my father. But I am so so happy that he has been finally honoured with what he actually truly deserves.”
Talking about how Mithun Chakraborty has fans worldwide, Namashi Chakraborty said, “I am in Los Angeles. I am shooting. Just to give you an anecdote of what a famous man Mithun is, my father is - Do you know in LA, there are a lot of Armenian and Russian people? The population of Los Angeles has a lot of Armenian crowd. Whenever I ever sit on an Uber and if they ask me which country I belong from and I say India. The first thing they say is, ‘My favourite actor is Mithun Chakraborty.' And this has been happening ever since I got into LA. So, his stardom is not just in India but worldwide.”
When asked about his favourite Mithun Chakraborty films, Namashi responded, “Well, I think he has done more than 375 films till date. I can proudly tell you that I have seen all of his released films till date. My personal favourites would obviously be Mrigayaa, Tahader Katha, (Swami) Vivekananda and of course the commercial blockbusters like Disco Dancer, Agneepath and many more. Most recently, if you look at films like Guru, The Kashmir Files, to name a few, I think all these films have been very very iconic. And most recently the movies like Kabuliwala and Projapati, these would be my favourite.”
Namashi Chakraborty also spoke about how his father is extremely emotional after he got to know that he will be conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Reflecting on the legend's “rags to riches” story, Namashi mentioned, “Well, I totally get his feeling. We should always remember that my father is a self-made man. He was not born with a silver spoon. He has become the star, the icon, the legend that he is, totally on his merit and dedication. My father's success is actually an inspiration not just in India, but anyone out there, who has dreams in their eyes. My father is the definition of how rags to riches stories come to life.”
Recalling the struggling phase of Mithun Chakraborty, Namashi Chakraborty said, “I have seen my father being a star all his life. But of course, when you talk about his career. He came in 1976, he won the National Award. But then he struggled very very much for 2-3 years. He landed his first leading role in Suraksha and then how he slowly and steadily became a star and then after Disco Dancer, he became a superstar. After that, he won two more national awards. He won Best Actor again in 1993, then he won Best Supporting Actor in 1996. He has also won 4 Filmfare Awards and in the last 2 years, he has won consecutively. So yes, there was a low, of course, in the mid ‘90s. We all moved to Ooty and there was a shift in placement. He was doing a couple of films, but then he came back with Mani Ratnam's film Guru. And, ever since then, he has been making films continuously.”
Namashi Chakraborty also mentioned how his father is “the first dancing star of India.” Recounting the shooting of his first film Bad Boy, Namashi said, “The biggest moment for me as an actor was that when I got to dance with my dad in my debut film Bad Boy. We shared a song in the film. He did a cameo appearance with me and we also shared moves together. For me, that was like a dream come true because I also have been a fan of him, the actor, the star that he is.”
“His dance influence is unparalleled. He was undoubtedly the first dancing star of India, who, believe it or not, till date, has received so much love. Like I mentioned, people who are Indians, could still understand his fanaticism. The madness, the frenzy, that he even has today, when I visited Russia for my shooting, and now that I am in LA. It is unbelievable how much people love him, even after all these years. And not just Indian people, but people across the world,” Namashi added.
Mithun Chakraborty has given Indian cinema many hits, including Agneepath, Mujhe Insaaf Chahiye, Hum Se Hai Zamana, Pasand Apni Apni, Ghar Ek Mandir and Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki.