TV
Previously, the veteran actor was reported to be unwell and said to be in Los Angeles, USA. His last Hindi film was ‘Hawaizaada’ starring Ayushmann Khurrana which released in 2015, but tanked badly at the box-office. Mithun Chakraborty is playing the character of Shambhu Dada on the show who will be the owner of a drama company. “I play the owner of a drama company who takes a class of all the members of the troupe. I do not teach any one anything. But just play a character for the first time on the small screen. You can say that I almost play the role of Gabbar Singh. I was inspired by someone who was living in my mohallah. I promise you that it will be a altogether different experience for me as well as the viewers”, says Mithun Chkraborty
Mithun says that he enjoys playing what he calls a fraud though the members of his group believe that he is a good guy. “I have played different kinds of roles all my life but enjoy doing comedy, because I feel that comedy has become a 100% guaranteed winner today at the box office. It was my call to play Shambu Dada and Not Mithun Dada because I did not want to be called Dada as it is too personal. I fraudulently tell the people in my drama company that I will take them on a tour of the world though I have no such intention.”
Mithun adds, as a matter of fact.” Life has come full circle for me as my real name is Gaurang and I kept my stage-name as Mithun. While I was studying at the Film Institute in Pune, for some reason I kept my name as Rana Rez. In my youthful days, I used to act in street-plays and local dramas on stage. The TV medium has resurrected my global fame among the gen-now, as a ‘Grandmaster’, so I feel I should also now dabble with acting in a laugh-riot, like The Drama Company on TV”.
Mithun adds, “As an actor, I am of the opinion that you should be ready to take up challenges thrown at you. I have been doing comedy roles like I did in Golmaal 3 and Houseful 3. It is not at all a joke to do comedy, though people tend to think that comedy is very easy to do. It is very challenging and tough to try your hand at comedy. Making people laugh is not a joke, it’s tough. You cannot fabricate comedy; it’s a comical situation that happens. If you try to create comedy it will not work. Comedy is something that will happen naturally. You have got to create your own dialogues most of the time if you want the comedy to work spontaneously.”
“As an actor, I am of the opinion that you should be ready to take up challenges thrown at you. I have been doing comedy roles like I did in Golmaal 3 and Houseful 3.”
Mithun says that over the years, comedy as a craft has not changed at all. “What has changed is the generation alone. I have shot with celebrities like Jackie Shroff’s son Tiger Shroff and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. I am particular about seeing to it that the show does not lampoon any celebrity because it is a family show which is aimed at everyone in the family from the tiny tots till the old senior citizens. Our attempt will be to present a humane drama, which will be funny but we will not stoop low or hurt sentiments.”
“Kapil Sharma is one of the biggest talents in our country. Our intention is not to copy his show or to snatch away his glory from him. His show is very huge today in our country. The show will not be restricted to just stand-up comedy but it will explore multiple genres of comedy–from topical to physical comedy. .I do not mind confessing that if our show is one fourth successful as his show, it would be wonderful.”
The actor, however, says that he is not making a come-back to TV as the comedy show cannot be termed a comeback especially as he was continuously getting a lot of offers. It was my own decision to stay away from television as I was not physically fit. I wouldn’t call it a comeback as the industry did not leave me. They always wanted me but I couldn’t do it so it is not a comeback. I am happy to be with them. Now, I want to do good work,” he says. According to Mithun, talent is only secondary to click in films. “Luck is primary.
Take for instance Amitabh Bachchan. Even though he churned out a hit with Anand, five following films of his turned turtle at the box office. Yet he did not lose hope.Once, Amitabh was even thrown out of a film called Haseeno Ka Devta after six reels were canned and replaced by Sanjay Khan. Look at him today. Even if you have talent in abundance, it remains of no use, unless it is supplemented by luck. For all my talent, if Mrinal Senda hadn’t offered me the Mrigaya role, I’d have been completely wiped away by the struggles I had to face as a new comer. After passing,I struggled day and night for two years without even a single concrete offer.”
“The show will not be restricted to just stand-up comedy but it will explore multiple genres of comedy, from topical to physical comedy.”
Mithun confesses that in his career spanning nearly four decades or so, he has acted in over 350 films. “I have enjoyed doing each and every role, whether the film has flopped or clicked at the box office but do not have the guts to play a similar role if any one of my films is remade today. The technique has changed a lot and movie making has gone through an overhaul. Today’s youngsters will not like to see my films but those of Salman Khan or Hrithik Roshan or Shah Rukh Khan. I do not blame them for this, but I try to reach their hearts through TV. It has given me an opportunity to be recognized by them as Dada or Grand Master.”
The actor who is still referred to as the performer who won a National Award for films like Mrinal Sen’s Mrigaya and Mukul Anand’s Agneepath has kept himself busy at the age of 67 with a number of interesting projects, after hosting the Bangla version of the reality show The Bigg Boss. He is doing a Telugu film now which is a thriller inspired by real life incidents. He agreed to be a part of this flick, after hearing the script.He is also a part of Anil Sharma’s Genius being made to launch his son Utkarsh Sharma.
