When Mithun Chakraborty felt he should do villain roles because of his ‘dark complexion’, later became the ‘dusky Bengali babu’

To pull away the attention of the audience from his complexion, Mithun decided to distract them with his unique dancing style. He added, “I had a complex about my complexion, but then I thought I can dance well, I can do fight sequences well. I wanted to do something which take people’s attention away from my complexion. I did exactly that. I created my own dancing style.”

Mithun made his Bollywood debut with Mrinal Sen’s film Mrigayaa in 1976, which got critical acclaim and won him a National Award for his performance. During the interview, the veteran star joked that Sen cast him in the film because he looked “the best tribal.” However, despite winning a National Award, the actor still had a complex about his darker skin tone.

Mithun Chakraborty with director Mrinal Sen on the sets of Mrigayaa. (Photo: Instagram/Film History Pics)

But with time, Mithun did more films and as his films became hit, he gained confidence in himself. “After Surakshaa (1979) became a hit, I thought I am on track. Now, I have a long way to go and have to fight because it was a difficult task to accept my complexion. If you go back a bit in the past, my films were not accepted in the North. However, things changed eventually and I became the sexy, dusky Bengali babu. My complexion became my biggest USP,” Mithun revealed.

The actor had also spoken about his insecurities in an appearance on a singing reality show last year. He had said, “I never want anybody to go through what I have gone through in life. Everyone has seen struggles and fought through difficult days, but I was always called out for my skin colour. I have been disrespected for a lot of years because of my skin colour…”

Veteran star Shabana Azmi had once shared how her mother Shaukat Kaifi played a significant role in making Mithun let go of his inhibitions about his looks, especially his teeth and his complexion. In an interview with CNN-News18, Shabana recalled, “Mithun Chakraborty was very conscious of the fact that he had jutting teeth, so he used to always smile (with his mouth closed). And he was also conscious of the fact that he had dark skin. This, in spite of the fact that he had worked in the institute, and a lot of those insecurities had gone. But I really, really have to give it to my parents, particularly my mother, who encouraged him so much, and she made him drop his inhibitions.”

From the homepage

Bihar Assembly Election 2025 Live Updates: NDA alliance finalises Bihar seat sharing as BJP, JD(U) keep 101 seats each

‘Technical issue, no other problem’: Afghan Minister Muttaqi plays down exclusion of women journos from press meet

‘How did they come out at 12.30 am?’: Mamata Banerjee questions private medical college’s accountability after MBBS student’s rape