Bhubaneswar: Moments after Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared on X that veteran Bollywood actor Mithun Chakraborty (74) would be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the Odia film fraternity was elated. The actor, who hails from Bengal, has also worked in Odia movies and is known to be close to quite a few veterans from Ollywood.
So much was the excitement among Odia film enthusiasts that they felt someone from their own land would be honoured with the country’s highest award in the field of cinema. “It feels as if someone from Odisha is being honoured. Mithun da is so close to our hearts,” said Odia film expert and enthusiast, Surya Deo.
Former chief minister Naveen Patnaik also congratulated the actor for the honour. “Congratulate versatile actor Mithun Chakraborty on being selected to receive the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He has essayed many memorable roles on screen including in Odia cinema,” he posted on X.
Debut film ‘Mrigayaa’ based on Odia short story
But, how is the ‘Disco Dancer’ connected to Ollywood? Well, besides several of his Bengali movies dubbed in Odia ran housefull in Odisha during the peak of his career, he had also acted in two Odia films.
Not just that, he made his acting debut with the art house drama of Mrinal Sen’s ‘Mrigayaa’, a Bengali film based on an Odia short story, titled ‘Shikar’, by writer Bhagbati Charan Panigrahi. Set in the 1930s, the short story is about the tough lives of a tribal community in a tiny Odisha village. But, Mrinal Sen modifies it to be scripted in the backdrop of a rebellion on the lines of the Santhal revolt that took place in the 1850s. In the film, Mithun—who plays the character of Ghinua, a native tribal who is also an exceptional archer—has been cast opposite Bengali actor and danseuse, Mamata Shankar, who also made a debut. Mithun also won a national award for the 1976 film.
Tryst with Odia films
The actor, fondly referred to as ‘Mithun da’, had also played roles in two Odia films—‘Sahara Jaluchi’ and ‘Ae Jugara Krushna Sudama.’ In the 1998 film, ‘Sahara Jaluchi’ directed by Sudhanshu Sahu, he was cast alongside actors Uttam Mohanty, Siddhanta Mahapatra, Jyoti Misra, Mihir Das, and Aparajita Mohanty. This was his first Odia film, where he played a special appearance role. The name of his character is ‘Biju.’ The film was known for its popular songs. The music was composed by Radhakrushna Bhanja.
He played a major role in ‘Ae Jugara Krushna Sudama’, a 2003 Odia film directed by Hara Patnaik. He shared the screen with Uttam Mohanty, Anita Das, Jyoti Mishra and Usashi Mishra. It is a remake of Hindi film ‘Khudgarz’, which itself is based on Jeffrey Archer’s 1979 novel Kane and Abel. He plays the character of a poor person in the film. Apart from these, several of his Bengali films like Coolie, Barood, Pratigya, Raja (the Bengali film is titled as ‘Guru’), Mauda Mani (‘Bangali Babu’ in Bengali), among others.
His association with Odia film fraternity
“He was close to Manmohan Mohapatra, one of the most prominent film directors of Odisha. They were bosom friends. They studied together at FTI Pune,” recollects Deo. Besides, he shared good relations with Siddhant Mohapatra, Uttam Mohanty, Hara Patnaik and Sudhanshu Sahoo.
