Mithun Chakraborty: The lone ranger

Beyond the gobbledegook of method and spontaneity, in the realm of cinema, there is a Mithun Chakraborty school of acting that simply classifies a performance between convincing and unconvincing. Almost five decades after the dark and handsome young man emerged on the scene with his intense portrayal of a young tribal cheated by the system in Mrinal Sen’s Mrigayaa, the nation awarded his craft of conviction this week with the government bestowing on him the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, the highest honour in the field of cinema.

What makes Mithun special is his perseverance and versatility. He could be an easy breezy star as well as deliver an immersive performance without making a show of it. He could do justice to a larger-than-life Jallad (1995) or Chandaal (1998) and around the same time make you cry with the moving portrayal of saint Ramakrishna Praramhansa in Swami Vivekanand (1998) and an unsung freedom fighter Sibnath in Tahader Katha (1992) where he would squeeze out the last ounce of vanity.

Here is an actor who could catch the bullets on screen and then go on to express the plight of a character who is so tortured by the colonial police that he could not control his bowel movement but when he gets freedom, the sacrifice does not seem worth it.

Opportunities did not come easy to the trained actor. After Mrigayaa, it took him two years of spirit-testing struggle to find acceptance in the commercial cinema. Seldom patronised by Bollywood behemoths, he rose above the camps and condescending labels to create a niche. With titles like Daata Garibon Ka Daata in 1989, he, indeed, was the poor man’s hope when Amitabh Bachchan was no longer angry and young. The two came together in Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswati (1988) and Agneepath (1990)

The disco dancer

When the Friday fever became too hot to handle, he shifted base to Ooty to create an industry of B-grade films around himself. He considers being consistently popular among millions a bigger challenge than earning the nod of critics.

One to credit destiny for his popularity, fame rests easy on Mithun’s malleable figure. His smile disarms the harshest of cynics and his charm works across the class divide. As per your taste and age, Mithun could evoke different emotions in you. For some, he is our first desi James Bond whose craze as Gunmaster G9 in Surakshaa continues to reflect in memes. Some continue to worship his Elvis-inspired pelvic thrusts that made him a dance phenomenon with Disco Dancer. From Motihari to Moscow, his Jimmy Jimmy avatar and signature dance move still drive crowds into a frenzy and inspire a new generation of actors.

For his female fans, he continues to be the boy next door singing romantic ballads in the hills while grappling with the challenges of love and family in Pyar Jhukta Nahin, Pyar Ka Mandir, and several other titles that begin with the word ‘Pyar’ (love) or the gentle lead of Basu Chatterjee’s middle of the road cinema with a message like Pasand Apni Apni and Sheesha. If Hindi cinema made him a star, Mithun got an opportunity to express intricate human relationships in Bangla films where he worked with stalwarts such as Mrinal Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, and Rituparno Ghosh and garnered two National Awards for the best actor. His masterful turns in Titli (2002), Kaalpurush (2005), Shukno Lanka (2010), and the recent Kabuliwala exemplify his commitment to meaningful cinema.

Mithun’s politics has been as malleable as his range in acting. Starting from the far-left ideology during his student days, he aligned with the Congress after the Emergency, followed by a short innings with the Trinamool Congress that sent him to the Rajya Sabha before switching to the Right. A survivor across mediums, observers indicate that sometimes the actor’s personal life informs his professional and political choices.

Despite not being on social media, he continues to enjoy a loyal fan base that keeps his pull at the box office and election rallies intact. At 74, Mithun has half a dozen films on the sets. If you ask him if there is still some fire left in his tank, he will shoot back in his trademark style: “Koi Shaque?” (Any doubt).