Namashi recalls dad Mithun Chakraborty was tagged a B-grade actor, says film industry wouldn’t give him work today: ‘Bollywood has forgotten outsiders’

Namashi lauded his father’s journey — coming from Bengal and making a name in Mumbai, entirely on his own. The star kid shared that it was Mithun’s grit that carried him through his career, even when the Mumbai media labeled him a B-grade actor. “What sets him apart is that he is self-made. There was a time, in mid 90s, when my father’s career was declining as a lead. So, he started doing low-budget action films in Ooty. He made about a 100 of them in Ooty, and the media had termed him a B-grade actor. They would look down on his films. The fact that he was able to do 100 films living in Ooty was unheard of. He made his own industry but the media never supported that, they have their favourites.”

Namashi took examples of self-made superstars Govinda and Shah Rukh Khan and commented on the current state of Bollywood and how the industry has become unwelcoming to outsiders. “Bollywood has forgotten to give work to outsiders. We now look at people with names and backgrounds and who is whose friend. That’s why we don’t have superstars anymore but back then anybody who had talent could make it. Today, if a Mithun Chakraborty comes from Bengal, I don’t think Bollywood would be excited to launch him or give him a chance. Today, people don’t believe in outsiders, everything has become about your name. We don’t look for talent, we look for surnames,” he added.