Mithun Chakraborty recalls dancing for dinner and sleeping on footpaths

Mithun Chakraborty won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his very first film, Mrigayaa, in 1976. That honour did not open doors right away. In a candid chat with filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan, the veteran star went back to the years when he could never count on his next meal.

Farah remembered those days from her own childhood. Her uncle, KK Shukla, wrote films for Amitabh Bachchan, and young Mithun would turn up at his parties to dance. She said he asked for no money, and his only reward was dinner at the end of the night. Farah said many people use the word struggle loosely, but this was the real thing.

Mithun called it "beyond struggle." He spoke of sleeping on streets and in gardens. On some nights, he said, he was so worn out from walking that he dozed off on the footpath and woke up there. Farah added that she believes he is the only star who rose to megastar status after starting out as a junior artist.

The chat reportedly went further. According to reports, his sons Namashi and Mimoh pointed to a yellow Beetle, his first car, and said he lived in it for 15 days in Mumbai. They reportedly added that he swept and mopped a gym in return for the use of its shower. Mithun is also said to have opened a hotel in Ooty in 1994, at a time when his career looked shaky. Reports say he once saw 19 of his films release in a single year, a feat that earned him a Limca Book of Records entry.

The big breakthrough came a few years after his debut. The 1979 film Suraksha set up his run of success, and Disco Dancer later made him a household name. Reports add that he has now worked in more than 350 films across several languages, Telugu among them.