Mithun Chakraborty says he was once the hottest star but 'ek bohot akela aadmi ho gaya tha'
India Today
Mithun Chakraborty, who had once reigned over Bollywood, said that superstardom is a very lonely place. The veteran actor will next be seen in Bestseller.
Mithun Chakraborty danced his way to the audiences hearts in the 80s, but at the peak of his career, the actor says he found himself grappling with the reality that fame not only brought legions of fans but also crushing loneliness.
Chakraborty started his acting journey with filmmaker Mrinal Sen’s National Award winning 1976 drama Mrigayaa. It was the 1979 spy thriller Surakshaa that laid the grounds for his stardom in the 80s with blockbusters like Disco Dancer, Dance Dance, Pyar Jhukta Nahin, Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki and Commando among others.
These were the busy years for the actor who headlined more than 100 films in the decade, often juggling four movie shoots a day. Fans gave him the moniker of ‘Dancing Star’ and ‘Disco Dancer’.
“I had never imagined that I would become a superstar. But, when I did become the number one star of the country, I found that it was Oh my God, an extremely lonely place. It is really, very, very lonely. You are all alone there. It was lonely because everybody thought I was beyond their reach, I was unattainable,” the actor told PTI.
As Chakraborty grew in stature, so did the myth of his stardom, which started invading his personal space.
The actor said he lived with the puzzling reality of showbiz: he was the most wanted star but everyone was too apprehensive to even talk to him.
“They would say ‘Stay away from dada, he has become too big’. My friends would also be scared of me. It was a very weird atmosphere. I would wake up, go to shoot, come back and be lonely, while being the biggest star, the hottest selling star of the country. Main ek bohot akela aadmi ho gaya tha (I had become a very lonely man). But this is part of life too,” he added.
