Veteran actor and Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipient Mithun Chakraborty recently weighed in on the ongoing nepotism debate in an exclusive interview with NDTV. When asked if Bollywood is a “family industry”, the actor said, “Main nahi maanta (I don’t agree). Mere chaar bacche hai, aur chaaro hi filmon mein hai. Mai aaj tak kisi bhi producer ko, kisi ko nahi bola ki mere bete ko chance do. (I have 4 kids, and all of them are working in films. Till date, I have never asked any producer or anybody to give work to my sons.)”
Mithun Chakraborty discussed the film careers of his sons, Namashi and Mimoh. He shared that Namashi auditioned for a role in Bad Boy directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, while his other son, Mimoh, worked in Haunted under director Vikram Bhatt. “Uske baad film chali ya nahi chali, wo sab doosri baat hai. (Whether the films worked or not, it is a separate issue.) But I can tell you with all my heartfelt emotions I have never promoted my children and I told them that you have to fight your own battle,” he added.
He added, “Agar kisi ka baap hero hai aur uska beta bhi hero bana, toh sirf isliye koi nahi banta hero. Uss mein bhi talent hona chahiye. Aur talent nahi hoga toh thank you very much, aap jaa sakte hai. (If someone’s father is an actor and the son becomes an actor too, then it’s not just that what makes a person an actor. The son has to have talent as well. If you don’t have talent, you will be shown the door). Talent will rule.”
Having started his career with renowned Bengali filmmaker Mrinal Sen’s Mrigayaa in 1976, Mithun Chakraborty received the first National Film Award for Best Actor for this film. He won three National Awards, four Filmfare Awards and the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour by the Government of India.
