Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty once opened up about the struggles he faced in the early years of his career, recalling how he battled industry bias, rejection, and insecurity from peers before eventually becoming a leading star.
Speaking on Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in 2023, Mithun shed light on the emotional toll of those years and credited actor Zeenat Aman for playing a pivotal role in turning his fortunes around.
Recalling the lack of opportunities he encountered, Mithun said, “Kitni ladaai ek insaan lad sakta hai (How many battles can a person fight)? Koi bhi badi heroine mere saath kaam karne ko taiyaar nahin thi (no big actress was ready to work with me). They thought I was a ‘chota star.’ ‘Yeh kabhi kya hero banega?’ (He can never become a hero). Who will make him a hero? Kya kya bolte they mere baare mein’. (They said a lot of unsavoury things about me). I don’t even want to say it. Phir dard hota hai (It only hurts me).”
He further revealed that even after films were announced, actresses would sometimes walk out, leaving him to question whether he would ever move beyond ‘B-grade’ cinema.
“There was a time when I thought I wouldn’t transition from B-grade films to A-grade films. There were times when the actresses walked out even after the film was announced. There was pressure, and other actors were insecure that I would make it big someday. So they may have warned those heroines, ‘Iske saath kaam karogi toh hamare saath kaam nahin kar sakti’ (If you worked with Mithun, we don’t work with you in films).”
Mithun credited Zeenat Aman for changing the narrative around his career, sharing how her support encouraged others in the industry to follow suit. “Zeenat ji said, ‘What a good-looking man he is!’ I will do the film with him. It was Zeenat ji who broke the jinx. Zeenat ji had a status of the number 1 heroine of that time, so following her footsteps, every other actress started saying yes to the films that I worked in. With Taqdeer’s release, I became an A-category actor.”
Expressing his gratitude, he added, “I will forever be grateful to Zeenat ji for helping me attain that. Zeenat ji, if you are listening to me, I offer my ‘pranaam’ to you.”
Taqdeer was released in 1983.
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