Mithun madness

For him,actor Mithun Chakraborty is no less than God. He is not just a regular fan who believes in watching each and every movie of the actor.

For him,actor Mithun Chakraborty is no less than God. He is not just a regular fan who believes in watching each and every movie of the actor. His admiration and devotion towards Mithunda goes much beyond that. Starting from his caller tune I am a Disco Dancer to the fact that he has travelled all the way to Ooty from Pune,on a two-wheeler to meet the star,speaks volumes about his immense regard for the actor. He knows even the minutest detail of every Mithun film. He has a collection of around 140 video cassettes of Mithuns films,30 video cassettes of Mithuns songs,around 1000 posters and 27 photos of him with the actor.

Noor Ali,who works as a driver with a private travel company,has been in absolute awe of the actor since the time he was 16-years-old. Not just that,for the past 25 years,Ali has been celebrating Mithuns birthday,which falls on June 16. The only difference is that earlier he used to steal money from his fathers wallet but these days,he puts Rs 30 aside every single day as Mithuns birthday celebration collection. Earlier,his father used to beat him for this craze and nowadays,its his wife Bano Sheikh,who is tired of Alis extravagance for the star.

When I was young,I used to distribute chocolates amongst my friends and nowadays,I cut the cake and have breakfast with my colleagues, says Ali. Alis obsession for Mithun,as he confesses,began when he watched his movie Suraksha and Disco Dancer. But this 44-year-old waited too long for a chance to see the actor up,close and personal. In the year 1991,when Mithun came to Pune for the premiere of his film Agneepath,Ali stood amongst the crowd,watching the actor go into Mangala theatre. So much was his craze that he waited for three hours to see Mithun again,coming out of the theatre.

After 1991,I started saving money to travel to Ooty to meet him, says Ali. Finally in 2005,when he was able to collect Rs 25,000,he set off for Ooty on his two-wheeler. He hired a mechanic too,who travelled along with him. Apparently,the actor had to leave for an urgent shoot. I was very disappointed,but Mithunda is very kind,he had given instructions to his staff and they treated me very well. I even clicked a lot of pictures in his hotel, he says. Later,Ali got those pictures enlarged and framed by spending Rs 8,000.

In 2007,when Mithun again visited the city for his film Zor Lagake Haiyya,Ali got the chance to meet him. This time,he spoke to Mithun in detail and expressed his regards,love and passion for the actor and his films. Besides being a great star,he is also a very good human being, says Ali. This year,Ali got a personal invitation from the star to visit him at his residence and have dinner with Mithuns family members. After dinner,while leaving,Ali asked Mithun to give him something as a memorabilia and he presented him with a jacket,which he wore during the shoot of Dance India Dance. He says,I wasnt expecting this. It was a truly great gesture on his part.

Ali has been waiting for a long time for Mithuns latest film Luck. Just the way he dresses up to watch all of Mithuns films,this time around too,Ali dressed up like his reel Mithunda white shoes,round-neck t-shirt and a shining jacket,to boot.

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