MITHUN CHAKRABORTY
The man who turned from a wanted Naxalite into an internationally acclaimed actor and superstar is a phenomenon. He has it all a charming persona, dark handsome looks which melt the hearts of females ranging from Punjabi Yogeeta Bali to the southern siren-Sridevi.
He also has vocals to command attention and the dancing talent to make the first disco blockbuster of Indian cinema as the street dancer jimmy, which made him globally renowned, but he is an actor before a superstar and the only actor to win a national award for Mrigaya, his debut art classic with Mrinal Sen.

He went onto make good use of his martial arts training and dancing talent in Suraksha and Wardat which made him a star, till movies like Mujhe Insaaf chahiye, Pyar Juktha Nahin and Swarg Se Sundar made him a superstar rival for Amitabh Bachchan.

But he balanced his commercial success with artistic merit in Swamivivek Ananda, Hum Paanch and Ghulaami which were all off-beat roles which were awarded with both commercial and artistic success. His pairings opposite Padmini Kholapuri, Rati Agnihotri, Yogeeta Bali, Ranjeeta, Kim, Madhuri Dixit, Tina Munim and Sridevi were appreciated across the width of Indian sub-continent, yet he was equally at home with Smita Patil and Mamta Shankar in the parallel cinema because of a wider appeal as the artist who can portray both the ordinary and extra-ordinary .

His ability to counter trash with genius is unique as he can do a Dost and then go onto play the doomed soldier in Ghulaami who is romancing a fragile Anita Raaj in a realistic drama. His turns in Wanted, Sharara, Mujrim, Beshaque, Boxer and Guru also made him an action star while his sophisticated romantic comedies like Pasand Apni Apni and Shaukeen struck gold for quality cinema at box-office.

He wisely worked with directors like Mrinal Sen, K.A Abbas, Basu Chaterjee while working with a newcomer like J.P Dutta in Ghulaami, yet he was never cast by the movie moguls like Yashraaj, despite that he was able to survive and flourish in the cut-throat milieu of Mumbai is no less than a miracle itself, but then talent will always win if it is sincere and honest and he has both those qualities in abundance.

He played a memorably negative and subtly evil role in Sheesha and then won the national award for his great sympathetic portrayal of a disillusioned freedom fighter in Tahader Katha.
He has a huge following in Bhojpuri cinema too and is worshipped in Orissa, Bengal and Bihar where he continued to make movie from 1995 to 2005 while in semi retirement from Hindi cinema.
But his Jallad and Agneepath won him 2 Film-Fare awards although the movies are shoddy and very poorly made. He made Prem Pratigya with Madhuri Dixit which won Madhuri Dixit a Film-Fare award and was a huge hit showing his tough and tender aspects in a showcased portrayal as a street don.

There is no doubt that Gudia and Titli are two of the most internationally acclaimed movie from India recently, while Gudia was the last Hindi movie selected for Cannes competition section, titli won the coveted FIPRESCI award from the European critics. He portrayed the two complex characters with an ingenious dexterity and insight only a natural genius can achieve.

His most recent artistic accomplishment is Kaalpurush which won the best movie national award for 2006. In Hindi cinema he returned with the critically acclaimed Elaan and followed up with Dil Diya Hai, Chingaari and Guru where he was acclaimed by the critics again.

I feel he has given the most balanced account of himself in both commercial and art movies of all the Indian actors and he is working in almost a dozen movies which promise to bring him more plaudits than before.

He worked last year in Om Shanti Om in a guest appearance and created history when he turned the crowds wild when he turned up on the set to dance opposite Sharukh Khan, with whom he shares a friendly interest in cricket teams as well.

He is described as a charitable, gracious person who won the stardust role model award and has a huge chain of 5-star hotels as well a financially and naturally talented man rich in all aspects, he is the only regional language star to become a superstar in Bollywood too which has remained a unique phenomenon.

Sources: from Dr Usman Khawaja;s article.

Promo: Super Stars-Live in Concert (Bollywood Super Star Mithun Interview)

Mithun concert

Bollywood mega star concert promo.

Mithun & Bappi Lahiri at stage show