When Mithun Chakraborty traveled to set in a bus, realised his make-up artist made more money than him: ‘I got only Rs 5000’

Mithun Chakraborty won a National Film Award for his first film Mrigayaa (1976), but even after winning the prestigious honour, the Disco Dancer actor continued to struggle to make ends meet. Mithun once shared that when he was working on the 1979 Basu Chatterjee film Prem Vivah, his make-up man and hairdresser made more money than him. At the time, Mithun would travel to set in a BEST bus, as he did not own a car and lived as a paying guest.

“My staff made more money than me,” he told ETC Bollywood. The Guru actor shared, “I got Rs 5000 for the film, and my staff almost made Rs 7500-8000.” He continued, “At that time, Rs 5000 was like Rs 5 crore for me. I used to live as a paying guest which cost Rs 75 per month. I used to have one trouser and two shirts. I somehow managed to get two shoes.” Mithun shared that he somehow made it work by cutting down his expenses as much as he could.

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The actor shared that despite winning a National Film Award, the film industry did not expect him to succeed. Such was the lack of confidence in him that a renowned director once claimed that if Mithun made it big, he would quit the industry. The actor refused to name the filmmaker. “There was a director who once said that if I become a hero, he will leave the industry. But he eventually did a film with me and it became a very big hit. But I never made him feel like he had disrespected me earlier,” he shared. Mithun said that the director remembered what he had said about him. but he never brought it up, and Mithun, too, never mentioned it.

Mithun first tasted stardom after the 1982 film Disco Dancer, which turned out to be a global hit. The actor will next be seen in a film titled Baap which also stars Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff.