Bollywood superstar and king of dance Mithun Chakraborty is back on TV after a break. He will been seen tickling the funny bones and lending his master touch in Sony Entertainment Television’s The Drama Company. IndianWikiMedia met up with Mithun da, as the actor is lovingly called, at the launch presser and had a quick chat. Excerpt…
What is your character in Drama School?
I am playing the role of Shambu dada, the head of drama school, which is full of loser performers and how I use them to make money is what the fun is all about. All the actors (Krushna Abhishek, Sudesh Lahiri, Ali Asgar and Ridhima Pandit among others) are fine performers. I am a bit nervous about how I will fit in this scheme of things (smiles).
Why did you agree to take up TV fiction so late in your career? You have been dabbling with non-fiction for a while though…
Although you may call me a superstar, generation next does not know me much and TV helps me to connect with them. Also it would be wrong to underestimate the small screen, it is huge. It is easier to impress the audience for two hours in a theater but to hold some one’s attention while they are doing their daily chores at home is no mean task. Here I will admit that my Dance India Dance stint has played an important role in energizing brand Mithun.
You had taken a break?
The industry always wanted me it was just that I was not well. All that is now in the past, I now just want to do good work and create a place for myself in people’s heart as Shambu Dada.
You are still known as Disco Dancer?
No one plan such things. It is a humbling experience when you are told no party is complete without someone breaking into my disco dancing style.
There are very good mimics in this show, how do you feel when someone apes you?
When they do it well I enjoy but if they do it wrongly, I ask them to do it correctly.
What is the biggest change in film space these days?
Today, audiences are very time conscious, gone are the days when we would have three hour films. Now audience first checks run length, before buying a ticket.
According to you, who are the biggest comedians?
Internationally Charlie Chaplin, Laurel Hardy etc and here Jagdeep , Johnny Walker among others. Today Kapil Sharma is one of the best. It would be tough for many to reach where he is now.
What’s next?
I have two Hindi films (Ram Gopal Varma’s Gehar and Anil Sharma’s Genius) and one Kannada film in the pipeline.