New Delhi: To say that disco in India is Mithun Chakraborty and vice versa, won’t be an understatement. The credit for popularising the dance form in India indeed goes to the veteran actor who turned 71 today.
He was the dancing sensation of the 1980s with his stellar dance moves, flashy outfits and lanky frame, lovingly known as ‘Indian Jackson.’ Who can forget “Koi yahan nache nache”, ‘Jimmy Jimmy aaja aaja”, “I am a disco dancer”, “Everybody dance with pa pa pa”?
When Mithun made his acting debut in the 1976 Hindi film ‘Mrigayaa,’ and also won the prestigious National Film Award for the Best Actor the same year, no one had thought that he would rise to such heights, that too for roles which were in complete contrast with his debut film.
Incidentally, ‘Mrigaya’ was based on ‘Shikar’, an Odia story by Bhagabati Panigrahi.
After late Raj Kapoor, he is perhaps the only Indian film hero who enjoys a huge fan following in Russia. His dance numbers are still a craze there. His movie, ‘Disco Dancer’ was a huge success drawing more than 50 million viewers in the erstwhile Soviet Union.
The actor also holds the incredible world record of maximum film releases in a single year. Nineteen films released in 1989 to be precise.
Other Mithunda facts
- He is the inspiration behind a 2008 comic book called Jimmy Zhinchak, Agent of D.I.S.C.O, written by Odisha-born Massachussets-based comic book writer Saurav Mohapatra.
- During his early days, he was a wrestler and had also won the West Bengal State Wrestling Championship in the Junior Category.
- He has a graded black belt in martial arts.
